“Sinking”
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Imagine setting up a desk in the middle of a heavy metal concert and trying to do your work. "It's so loud in here," you might say, "I can't hear myself think!"
Sounds absurd, but sometimes our thoughts get so loud and loaded with dark ideas, it feels like we've cranked up the volume and set a Death Metal track to repeat in our heads. Scientists call our ongoing, inner dialogue "self-referential thought." Since it's constant, these typically negative and anxious patterns become ingrained. We get stuck in a conversation we can't seem to escape!
The Psalms often mirror our sense of drowning in a chaotic sea. Thankfully, they don't leave us there. Book Two of the Psalter begins with a pair of psalms (Psalm 42 and Psalm 43) that end with identical words, an intense interrogation of the author's soul.
"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God" (Psalm 42:11 and Psalm 43:5).
The Quicksand of Despair
"Why are you cast down, O my soul," he asks. He wants to understand his depression1. The word "cast down" can suggest sinking or melting away2. That sinking feeling. If you've known "despair" (NASB) or felt "troubled" (YLT) and "down in the dumps" (MSG), you get it.
Quicksand looks solid until you step into it. Suddenly, you find yourself stuck and sinking. To escape the quagmire, you have to avoid flailing, shed excess weight, and grab a helping hand. Desperation can lead to abrupt movements, but it makes you sink further! We react to despair the same way, busying ourselves, but our flailing digs us deeper until we turn to God. We have to "lay aside every burden" (Heb. 12:1) and grab someone on firm ground.
The Tempest of Turmoil
When the storm rages "in turmoil within" you (Psalm 42:11), remember what Peter did when he began to sink.
"But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.' Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?' And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased" (Matt. 14:30-32).
The psalmist takes responsibility for himself. He says to himself, "Hey, you've forgotten the one fact that could get you through this. You've forgotten who God is." When we learn to have this kind of conversation with ourselves, we learn to lift our downcast chins and force our eyes upward. Wishing can't do much for us, but hoping in the one we know will bring about good (Rom. 8:28; Gen. 50:20)? That kind of confidence can finally change our tune.
