This is a sermon by Kyle Johnston, delivered at Jubilee Community Church in early 2025. Kyle shares some wonderful encouragement from this familiar Psalm. (Note that the talk starts at 3 min 25 sec.)
Click here to watch our video of Psalm 23.
Why not share this with someone else to encourage them today?
How Do We Retain Courage and Hope in Difficult Situations?
Whether we’re facing personal challenges or feeling overwhelmed by the sheer scale of pain in the world, it can be hard to hold on to hope. In times of suffering, how do we keep the faith?
As Christians, how should we respond when the problems around us feel insurmountable? This is a valid and urgent question. Over the past few years, I’ve found Psalm 42 to be a deep source of encouragement whenever I feel overwhelmed or discouraged.
One of the things I love about Psalm 42 is that we don’t know its exact context. It feels timeless — a universal cry for help to God from anyone facing desperate situations. The authors, the sons of Korah, use two vivid water-based metaphors to describe their struggle. The first is thirst: a hunted deer dying of thirst, desperate for water (vv. 1–2). The second is drowning: troubles crashing over them like a torrential waterfall (v. 7).
Can you relate?
In this place of deep desperation, the psalmists cry out to God. Even while overwhelmed, they cling to the belief that God’s love and support run deeper still. Their honesty is refreshing. And their words offer practical help for any of us walking through discouragement.
Here are three insights from this psalm that can help us find our footing when hope seems distant:
The psalmists ask God bold, even painful questions. At times, they’re essentially crying out, “Have you abandoned us?” (vv. 2, 3, 9, 10). As believers, we’re not called to ignore reality or explain away suffering with clichés and platitudes.
Peter Scazzero puts it well:
“I couldn’t build God’s kingdom with lies and pretence. I found out the things I ignored eventually erupted into much bigger problems later. We have to ask the painful, difficult questions we prefer to ignore.”
(Emotionally Healthy Leadership, p. 41)
We don’t need to hide our doubts from God. Naming them in His presence is a powerful step toward healing. I experienced this personally during a season of grief. John Mark Comer expresses it beautifully:
“God is not shocked by your emotions. No matter how messed up your soul may be, God is right there with you, listening.”
(My Name Is Hope, p. 24)
We may not always get the answers we want — just ask Job! Sometimes it feels like we get no answers at all. But God’s shoulders are broad enough to carry our burdens. He welcomes our honesty, even when it feels irreverent.
The psalmists deliberately call to mind God’s past faithfulness (vv. 4, 6). They’re not clinging to nostalgia — they’re using memory as a weapon against despair. Recalling moments when God has come through can fuel our courage for today and tomorrow.
This is especially relevant for those of us living in South Africa. Our challenges are real, rooted in deep inequality and poverty. Yet this country remains a miracle. God has intervened in powerful ways before — and He is still at work.
The truth is, we’re all prone to spiritual amnesia. From Adam and Eve to the Israelites in the wilderness to the disciples who fled at Jesus’ arrest — we forget easily. That’s why remembering requires intentionality. I believe this is one reason Jesus gave us the practice of communion. In it, we’re reminded that His death and resurrection have secured the ultimate victory. When the world feels like it’s falling apart, that’s a solid place to begin our remembering.
Twice in Psalm 42, we read this powerful refrain:
“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
(vv. 5, 11)
Hard times can shake us to the core. Our inner lives get unsettled, our perspectives distorted, and our faith challenged. But we’re not powerless. Sometimes we need professional help — and that’s okay. But God has also given us tools to restore our souls.
The first is His Word. Speaking truth from Scripture into our own lives can be transformative. I’ve experienced healing through the Word, even when my heart struggled to believe what I was reading.
The second is worship. Even amid chaos, the psalmists still choose to praise. Worship becomes our anchor. God is always worthy of our praise, and this act realigns our souls with truth.
As David once declared:
“I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
(Psalm 27:13–14)
In this beautifully raw psalm, we find a simple, powerful framework for hope:
He is present, even in our despair — and His love runs deeper than our pain.