There has been a lot of joy in Israel this week with people celebrating the Fall Feasts to a ceasefire in the war with Gaza to the hostages’ exuberant homecomings. But the joyous atmosphere has also been tempered with some bittersweet thoughts of those families left grieving the return of deceased hostages and the toll of the war on the soldiers who have served so valiantly. For these, it is often difficult to join in celebrations with the same optimism and enthusiasm. Is there a well of joy and contentment that they can draw from when calamity presses them into a dark pit?
Have you ever heard the saying “Misery loves company”? When David fled from Saul (1 Samuel 22:1-2) he found himself discouraged and depressed in the depths of a cave of Adullam. And all of David’s family along with about four hundred men who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered to him, and he became captain over them. David could have wallowed in his self-pity and let his bitterness take root, being fed by the negative feelings of those sitting around him in the dark recesses of the cave. But Psalm 57, which he wrote while hiding in that cave shows a different perspective on David’s attitude.
“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by. I will cry out to God Most High, to God who performs all things for me. He shall send from heaven and save me…” (Psalm 57:1-2)
Seven times in that psalm David mentions the heavens above from the perspective of the pit he was sitting in. He was at one of his lowest points yet looking upward to the One who could save him. There is a special word in Hebrew for joy. This word, chedvah (חדווה), has a deeper connotation than simply feeling joyful. It is a deep, steadfast joy that satisfies even despite heavy burdens of life that can press down on you. This is the joy that David was tapping into. He understood that he could not stay in the dark pit he had fallen into, and the only ladder out of that hole was to cling to the deep, steadfast joy that only God could give–chedvah.
Do you feel like you are in the pit of despair or depression today? Have circumstances been pressing you on every side as a heavy burden? Is your perspective like David’s was, sitting in a dark place seeing only a small opening to the sky at the mouth of your cave? You can do what David did. He worshipped his way out of that dark cave into the light of a new day, a fresh outlook. Look at verses 7-8,
“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise. Awake, my glory! Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn!”
As he worshipped, the shadows of depression began to dissipate, and light started to fill his soul again. You may not feel like singing praises when you are down and discouraged, but it is the antidote, the source of chedvah for your soul. Look up! Focus on a higher plane and let chedvah be your ladder out of whatever pit you find yourself in.
I hope you will find a deep, satisfying joy welling up in your heart today. Be encouraged in the Lord until the calamities that are pressing on you have passed by. And as you worship your way out of the shadows, my prayer for you is in Romans 15:13,
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Amen!