Psalm 42: Thinking About the Woman at the Well

I've been thinking about the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well (cf. John 4:1-42).  Whenever we face taunting, isolation, fear, sleeplessness, and deep discouragement, God is only a prayer away. We're in good company if we lament our hardships and our sins, and seek God's steadfast love. Whether it's the long way around we take to avoid the taunts of others, the anxious and sleepless moments of dread as we think about possible future happenings, or guilt and shame over past choices and present temptations, we can pray this psalm: with David. With the sinful woman at the well. With the tax collector in the temple (Luke 18:13). And getting to the end of the psalm, we can pray: 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. Amen.