On April 15, 2013, I awoke to read Psalm 42.

As I soaked in the words in this iconic and gut-wrenching song, runners were warming up at the starting line of the Boston Marathon – months of mental and physical training bolstering their excitement for the race. But when they crossed the finish line later that day, they were unprepared for what befell many of them.

I sat in the safety of my living room as reports came trickling in. Pictures and headlines all pointed to the needlessness of the tragic bombings. And having just read Ps. 42, I was struck by the confusing and infuriating nature of worldly suffering.

The title of this psalm, added later, describes the difference between godly grief and worldly anguish. The NKJV renders it: “Yearning for God in the Midst of Distresses.” That is what differentiates a believer’s encounter with suffering from the world around us.

In Ps. 42, the authors (the sons of Korah) outline the difference between godly grief and worldly anguish:

1. Godly grief thirsts for the presence of God (Ps. 42:1-3)

“As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?

My tears have been my food day and night,
While they continually say to me,
“Where is your God?” (Ps. 42:1-3)

The psalmist knows real-world suffering. He meet pain with constant tears. However, his grief is tempered with the knowledge that God is both living and just.

In the face of terrible events, the entire world pants for justice asking “Where is your God?” We know he is alive and trustworthy. More than justice, vengeance, answers or apologies, godly grief seeks the solace and promises of God’s presence when disaster strikes.

2. Godly grief pours itself out in the presence of God (Ps. 42:4)

“When I remember these things,
I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go with the multitude;
I went with them to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and praise,
With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.” (Ps. 42:4)

In this psalm, the psalmist used to go to the temple along with the multitudes, but the pain of circumstances interrupted the free-flow of worship and praise.

Centuries later, this truth about human nature still rings true. Emotions can leave us raw. Our words come out wrong and our prayers are ragged. This is the reality of worshiping God in a fallen world.

But in the face of loss and tragedy, God doesn’t expect us to paste on a smile to worship him. Ironically though, this is often our default mode of “Christianizing” our circumstances. We also tend to cover up pain by a variety of means – throwing ourselves in a new schedule, filling up our calendars with activities, over reaching our finances in retail therapy, and even taking on new church or ministry projects.

Or worse still, we allow whatever lie that is peeking through our circumstances to grow so big that we must look to deeper and darker things in which to pour the blackness of our tears – liquids, chemicals, media, or more.

The problem is this: the worldly means into which we pour our souls are untrustworthy vessels for catching our tears. Like rusty sieves, they cannot do what the presence of God can do – comfort, restore, and renew us again.

“You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle” (Ps. 56:8)

Instead of pasting on a smile, we must look to the Person of Christ, who IS ‘God With Us,’ instead of the things of this world. He alone is the trustworthy vessel into which we can safely pour our hurt.

3. Godly grief finds help in the presence of God (Ps. 42:5-11)

“Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance.” (Ps. 42:5)

Hope and help in the Living God inform godly grief. That is not to say we should ignore the powerful emotions that come with anguish, but rather, those who pour their hurt into Christ filter our emotions through the knowledge that God stands ready to help.

Paul echoes Ps. 42 when he warns us against ignorant anguish or sorrow that is not undergirded by such a vast hope (1 Thess. 4:13). It is through God’s countenance that we find hope to praise him once again.

Here’s three ways the Psalmist says God’s countenance helps the grieving soul:

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God’s countenance reminds of his power (vs. 6-7)
God’s countenance brings us his lovingkindness (vs. 8a)
God’s countenance points to his faithfulness (to give us his song) (vs. 8b)

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God’s countenance is with us both night and day, the Psalmist says. And even when others mock and misunderstand the hope within us (vs. 9-10), we are encouraged to follow the Psalmists lead and cling to the help God’s presence provides.

Ultimately, it is through God’s countenance that our own countenances are changed – from fallen and disquieted to uplifted and restful.

“Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God” (Ps. 42:11)

The difference between worldly anguish and godly grief is three-fold. In the midst of distress, our soul thirsts, pours itself out, finds help & hope in the presence of God.

Dear Heavenly Father, help me to rest in your presence today. Help me to direct my grief upward to you instead of seeking solace inwardly by withdrawing or lashing out. Give me the desire to want to rise early and meet you and to hope in you above all things. You are acquainted with my loss and pain. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

Did you miss a post in my Psalms series? Then click here!