Psalms 40-45 Since I gave up HOPE I feel a lot better!!

June 20th Psalms 40-45

     Hope

       It's been said you can live 40 days without food, 4 days without water and 4 minutes without air...but there is no life at all without hope. One of the intangibles in life that may go unnoticed is this need for hope.

       Trying to think back to times in life when I've been or witnessed hopelessness. There is a despair that can be overwhelming. The psalm speaks of a deer longing for water. Here in northern MN this is a concept not really appreciated. There is water everywhere. What happens in a desert filled with a wadi and a well. What would a deer do with either of those? As the desert heats up and dries up, so does hope.

       I never noticed until today that chapters 42 and 43 have the same last verse. Memorize one you get two(if your counting). "Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God."

       In the movie Shawshank Redemption one character(prisoner) is a little concerned for the newbie(prisoner) who seems to cling on to hope. Hope is something that will mess with you in prison, best to give it up. The response is one of the great lines of the movie..."I either gotta get busy living or get busy dying!"

       In the opposite world of Steve Taylor comes the song "Since I gave up hope I feel a lot better." The lyrics to the bridge...

       

       While the world winds down to a final prayer

               Nothing soothes quicker than complete despair

       I predict by dinner i won't even care

               Since I gave up hope I feel a lot better.

     Expressed perfectly in opposite world!! Thanks Steve