Psalm 42 is one of the beloved Psalms as it open with the line, “As the deer pants for flowing streams, so my soul pants for you, O God.” It deals with such a common experience for believers: the seeming absence of God at different times in our life of faith. This has been called the “dark night of the soul” amongst other descriptions. What do we do? How do we handle these times, when God feels absent, even when He is not? Three times David tells his own soul, and tells us, “to hope in God.” That is the answer!