Another Dreary Day?

This morning here in New Jersey it seems to be another dreary day.  The sky is once again overcast with a light drizzle coming down. The temperature is barely 50 degrees. It’s definitely not a beautiful May morning!  And, such has been the case for the much of the past few weeks.

Have you ever felt like one day after another was just kind of dreary?  Not terrible, just dreary—like a cloud was hanging over your head and there was a cold rain falling around you.  I know I’ve had days like that. We all have and we all do.  After a while dreary days can get to our spirits and begin to drag us down.  After a bit, our hearts and minds can begin to feel a bit dreary as the joy of life seems to get lost behind the clouds of the day. 

I wonder if that’s not how the psalmist was feeling when twice he wrote in Psalm 42, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?” (vss. 5 & 11) If you read through the psalm you find that he was in the midst of a very real struggle. It was like a cloud was hanging over his life. He writes of his tears (vs. 3) and the feeling that waves were breaking over him (vs. 7). I can only imagine what it was like for him as he awoke day after day to face another dreary day. Yet, in the midst of it all, the psalmist still feels a glimmer of hope; he somehow knew that the sun was still shining behind the clouds. 

So, twice the psalmist speaks to himself these words: “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, My Savior and my God.”  (vss. 5 & 11)  In the midst of the dreariness of his life, the psalmist knew where to turn. He knew from whom he could yet find renewed hope and joy.  He begins to look beyond the clouds and rain—beyond the pain, sorrows, and uncertainties—to the One who is able to break through all of life’s difficulties filled with power, strength, healing, and the warmth of his love. 

Are you feeling a bit downcast today?  Maybe you woke up this morning feeling a bit dreary. That’s ok. It’s normal to have those kinds of days.  Yet, I want to encourage you to look beyond the clouds that seem to be hanging over you; look to the One who is the “sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4:2) and our “bright Morning Star” (Revelation 22:16). Let’s look to Jesus, the One who is able to bring us renewed hope and joy, even on the most dreary of days! 

Have a great day!

Pastor Tim Harris