On Day One we acknowledged that sometimes the soul can see what the heart, mind, and body cannot; this does not mean the soul is always right. Psalm 42 twice confronts the soul, calling it out for being downcast and disturbed. “Why?” the psalmist asks, which seems strange hearing of the tears, taunts, and bones suffering “mortal agony”; why wouldn’t the soul be low?

Then again, isn’t the soul supposed to operate in a different sphere, not impacted by the same things that bring down the heart, mind, and body? Isn’t the soul meant to be attuned to spiritual realities, keeping us grounded when the “realities” of the world grow daunting? Yet a third time, in Psalm 43, the soul is confronted: “Why are you so downcast and disturbed? You are not meant to be brought down by this!”

Our souls are not impenetrable; though spiritually attuned, they remain susceptible and must be emboldened. Realizing this, the psalmist remembers what God has done — who He is — and from the deepest part of his being he calls out to God amidst the tumultuous waves of hardship. He claims what God can do as though he is doing it, even as he feels forgotten by God.

These two psalms end without us seeing the soul renewed, but we must believe it was, or else this likely would not be a Psalm. We are afforded a glimpse of a soul-in-process, and invited to confront our own as well.