Why So Downcast?

The day seemed heavy, the tasks too large, the sky dark, the bickering loud, the to do list never ending, the stairs long, and my heart low.  What was wrong?  I really don't know.  Have you ever had days like that when you just can't put your finger on the real problem?  The best way I could have described myself was, as David said in the Bible, downcast.

So what did I do?  Nothing but keep whispering David's verse from Psalm 42:5, "Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God."  I struggled through the entire day and probably quoted that verse 20+ times, till I finally fell into bed near midnight, glad to go to sleep and whisper a quiet prayer for the next day. 

The better question is -  what should I have done?  Hindsight, they say, is 20 / 20 ~ I wish I had taken the time to put in a worship CD and sing my heart out, because I know from many times before when we put on a "garment of praise" it deals with a "spirit of heaviness".  Or I could have called my husband and asked him to pray with me - but those thoughts eluded me.  I feel like I merely survived the day, and yet...

I believe God allows us to go through times like those in order to lean heavy on Him and know He is there.  The Word says in II Corinthians 7:6, that, "God...comforts the downcast."  That is how I felt.  At the end of the day; bone tired and emotionally weary, I was very aware of God's comfort and thankful for it.  The verse from Psalms kept truth and perspective before me, even though the day was hard.

We live in a time when we all want to be "fixed" right away, but that is not reality.  Sometimes reality is doing our best and staying close to God in those times...giving up on perfect and just being real in His strength, while reciting His wonderful Word until it reaches the deepest parts of ourselves.  After the rain, the sun seems to shine even brighter than before!