282nd Meditation
“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Ps 42:11).
In the Gospel the Lord tells us: “In the world you will have hardship, but be courageous: I have conquered the world” (Jn 16:33).
Indeed, there are so many interior and exterior anxieties that trouble our soul, disturb and frighten it, and often we do not find the right way to face them. Perhaps we even run the risk of looking for the wrong solutions, in order to calm down and escape from the situation.
However, access to the Lord is always wide open. God will restore serenity and peace to our soul, if we call upon Him with perseverance and place our hope in Him. He never disregards any prayer, even if the answer does not come immediately. We should not be ashamed or embarrassed to go to our Father in our inner insecurity or distress; but we must go to our Father and lay our helplessness before Him. Surely God will be waiting for us, to give us security in Himself.
But then the soul should learn the lesson of these moments when she experiences His goodness, and, when she again finds herself in the midst of tribulation, begin to thank the Lord beforehand because she knows that He will save her. In this way, she triumphantly counters tribulation by confronting it with the victory of the Lord.
The more we do this, thus rooting our trust in the Father, the more we will be able to apply today’s psalm verse and address our soul and say to her gently, but also firmly:
“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him.”