A Soul That Thirsts for God

What do you do when you still want God, but you don't feel close to Him? In this episode, we turn to Psalm 42:1–11, where the psalmist gives us an honest picture of spiritual longing and discouragement. His soul thirsts for God, yet he is struggling with tears, questions, memories of worship, and the feeling that God is far away. Yet throughout the psalm, he continues to seek God and repeatedly tells his own soul, “Hope thou in God.”

We explore three central truths from Psalm 42: a soul that thirsts for God is still seeking God, we can be honest with God about spiritual discouragement, and we can speak God's truth to our discouraged hearts and choose to hope in Him. We consider what it means to continue seeking God when prayer and worship feel difficult, to remember His faithfulness during dry seasons, and to distinguish between what we feel and what God's Word tells us is true.

Psalm 42 reminds us that spiritual discouragement does not have to become the final word. We may not understand why we are walking through a particular season, and our circumstances may not immediately change, but we can continue seeking the living God and placing our hope in Him. As the psalmist says, “For I shall yet praise him.” If your soul feels spiritually dry today, this episode is an encouragement to keep seeking God, keep trusting Him, and keep hoping in Him.