God’s love, which is stronger than death, is causing me to continue walking the path of the mission the Lord has given me (John 6:1–15). “At that very time some Pharisees came and said to Him, ‘Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill You.’ He replied, ‘Go tell that fox, “I will keep driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach My goal.” In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see Me again until you say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (Luke 13:31–35). ...
Downcast and disturbed “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” (Psalms 43: 5). There are many reasons why people are downcast and disturbed. One of them is being abandoned by the beloved. For example, we may be downcast and disturbed when we feel that we have been abandoned by our beloved spouse. The same is true of children. If they have been abandoned by their beloved parents, they may feel downcast and disturbed. But what if we feel that we Christians have been forsaken by our Heavenly Father? In the context of Psalms 43, the psalmist was downcast and disturbed because he felt that he had been forsaken by God. He said, “You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? …” (v. 2). He had been suffering because of “deceitful and wicked men” (v. 1). And ...