These Things I Remember

“She is clothed with strength and dignity…” Proverbs 31:25(a)

Yesterday, in the midst of a major communication mix-up, I felt myself getting increasingly upset. I tried to figure out how it had happened. How to avoid it in the future. And (most importantly) exactly whose fault it was. By nightfall, I felt like one nap-deprived negative nerve ending.

This morning, I was led to Psalm 42 for some much-needed morning time in prayer and the Word. In verse 4, David laments the loss of his glory days, “These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.”

Oh, how this hits home! Some of my favorite worship memories seem so distant: Singing at the top of my lungs and clapping to the rhythm, accompanied by an incredible bluegrass band, at summer camp when I was a kid. Powerful song services with Sandi Patti and Mandesa at Women of Faith. Raising voices and hands with dozens of other women as Tapestry led praise and worship at a women’s retreat.

“I used to . . . ” but what about now?

My day-to-day experiences seem so barren in comparison.

But David isn’t actually taking a self-centered approach. When he says “These things I remember,” he’s not evoking a “poor me” memory, thinking back on how much better his life used to be. Instead, he focuses on what’s important, what’s vital, what I need to remember (but am so quick to forget): thanksgiving to God!

He emphasizes this in verse 5, saying, “I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” and (in verse 8) the “God of my life“.

I find the juxtaposition David uses to close this Psalm to be both an encouragement and a kick in the pants.

I am heartened that even David regularly asked, “Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?” If a man after God’s own heart struggled like this, there’s hope for me!

And I am reminded to put my “hope in God.” To expend my energies not on analyzing how my latest crisis happened, how to prevent it in the future, or even who to blame. But to always, 24/7, remember Who I praise — whether in a group or as a congregation of one: “my Savior and my God.” (Click to Tweet this.)

The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him. (Psalm 28:7)