Feb 7, 2026 – Downcast
Streams – Psalm 43:5 – “Why are you downcast, O my soul?” Cowman starts today’s discussion with George Mueller’s question about whether there is “ever any reason to be downcast.” He offers only two reasons: “If we are still unbelievers… or if we have been converted but continue to live in sin….” Mueller explains, “Except for these two conditions, there is never a reason to be downcast, for everything may be brought to God ‘by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving’ (Phil. 4:6).” I do believe this; but, still, it just seems like such a cut and dried statement which discounts human emotions. Certainly, as we grow in faith we learn to take our concerns to God sooner than later, but it doesn’t mean that we don’t feel the pain and confusion which indeed does sometimes make the soul downcast.
Mueller reminds us to praise God and put our hope in Him (Ps. 43:5) and for sure when we take the focus off of our troubles and take His yoke upon us (Matthew 11:30), our burdens can feel lighter, but it can take time to get there. Frankly, I’m surprised that Cowman includes these thoughts about not feeling downcast since I understand that she put this book together during a season of trials and sadness and questioning. I suppose it was a cathartic journey; and, in sharing the works she came across as she sought God’s peace and joy despite her troubles, she has helped us look up from feeling downcast. It just feels like Mueller’s message is “don’t be sad.” Sometimes we are sad and downcast, like David who talks about his troubles in the Psalms. But we should also be like him, and like Mueller suggests, and find our way to the peace and joy that God offers us despite our circumstances.
JC – Interestingly, one of the verses Young chose for today asks the same question that Cowman chose from Psalm 43:5. Psalm 42:11 – “Why, my soul, are you downcast?” Jesus Calling seems to soften the, sometimes trite, expectations to “snap out of it” and “get over it and get on with your life,” which I heard after my divorce. Jesus understands that it’s not always that easy, “Come to Me for rest and refreshment. The journey has been too much for you, and you are bone-weary. Instead, see it as an opportunity for Me to take charge of your life. Remember that I can fit everything into a pattern for good, including the things you wish were different.” See Romans 8:28.
Simpson sites Luke xvi. 10 – “Faithful in that which is least” and writes, “The man that missed his opportunity and met the doom of the faithless servant was not the man with five talents, or the man with two, but the man who had only one. The people who are in danger of missing life’s great meaning are the people of ordinary capacity and opportunity, and who say to themselves, ‘There is so little I can do that I will not try to do anything.’ One of the finest windows in Europe was made from the remnants of an apprentice boy collected from the cuttings of his master’s great work. The sweepings of the British mint are worth millions. The little pivots on which the works of your watch turn are so important that they are actually made of jewels. And so God places a solemn value and responsibility on the humble workers, the people that try to hide behind their insignificance the trifling opportunities and the single talents; and our littleness will not excuse us in the reckoning day.” Our assumed “littleness” can inspire a downcast soul. We must be quick to take these type thoughts to God and allow Him to continue His transforming work in us.
Utmost is entitled, “The Discipline of Dejection.” I shouldn’t be surprised that the theme that seems to be evolving, which I didn’t choose, continues with Chambers contribution, “Every fact that the disciples stated was right; but the inferences they drew from those facts were wrong. Anything that savours of dejection spiritually is always wrong. If depression and oppression visit me, I am to blame; God is not, nor is anyone else. Dejection springs from one of two sources – I have either satisfied a lust or I have not. Lust means – I must have it at once. Spiritual lust makes me demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Who gives the answer.” Chambers sites Luke 24:21 when the disciples, despite all the time they spent with Jesus, were questioning whether Jesus really was “the one” since it was now three days after His death. If we look back a few verses to verse 17, “They stood still, their faces downcast,” we see their humanity and lack of understanding of what was truly happening, even in the Presence of the risen Christ (who “they were kept from recognizing”, vs 16).
Chambers points out that when the answers to our questions and our prayers are delayed (or even seemingly non-existent) we believe, “…He has not done it, therefore I imagine I am justified in being dejected and in blaming God. Whenever the insistence is on the point that God answers prayer, we are off the track. The meaning of prayer is that we get hold of God, not of the answer. Dejection is a sign of sickness, and the same thing is true spiritually…. We look for visions from heaven, for earthquakes and thunders of God’s power (the fact that we are dejected proves that we do), and we never dreamed that all the time God is in the commonplace things and people around us. If we will do the duty that lies nearest, we shall see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes when we learn that it is in the commonplace things that the Deity of Jesus Christ is realized.”
Prevail #38 – Larson tells us that, as Joshua was about to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, he told them they needed “ears to hear and a heart to know God’s mighty power and ability to intervene.” She points out that, “We need these too. Pause here for a moment and consider the rogue thoughts and daily stresses cluttering your brain right now. [things that may have your soul downcast] Set those aside for a moment…. Ponder God’s nearness. Lean in and listen to what the Lord your God is saying to you…. Do you believe He’s able to rearrange circumstances and intervene in ways that defy the gravity of your situation? Your presence with Him matters.”
Max – 1 John 4:19 – “We love because he first loved us.” Max paints a picture of two men, one who expects everyone to serve him and is “seldom happy” and the other who finds ways in his day to serve others so he “goes to bed with a smile on his face…. Make your happiness dependent on how others serve you, and you will always be disappointed. Find happiness in serving others, and… well, you can complete the sentence.”
JA – “DO NOT FEAR, for I am with you…. When trouble seems to be stalking you, grip My hand tightly and stay in communication with Me…. During these difficult times, holding onto Me keeps you standing – and able to put one foot in front of the other. As you endure this adversity patiently – in trusting dependence on Me – I bless you with abundant Joy in My Presence.” See Isaiah 41:10, 12:2, and Psalm 23:4.
Power – Joyce reminds us that “Jesus forgave all our sins when He died on the cross, and He paid the price for our guilt as well. [see Psalm 32:5] …Confession is good for the soul…. Our feelings will eventually catch up with our decisions. We can live by the truth in God’s Word and not the way we feel.”
