Russ Waldrop / "From the Pulpit"
Published: May 1, 2008

For those who can’t afford the time and money of formal psychoanalysis, a procedure called “self-analysis” has emerged. It seems simple enough — buy the book, analyze yourself, save the money and get well in the process. Yet, the real experts on professional counseling caution against such “simplisms.” Like an amateur doing one’s own car repair, when it comes to fixing our “inward parts” (Jer. 31:33; Luke 11:39 KJV), some contact with a professional is highly recommended. 
Then again, there’s the 42nd Psalm, an 11-verse exercise in spiritual self-analysis. It’s free, easy to find and it can supplement counseling with almost any therapist. How might it help us today with our own “self-analysis”?
“As a deer longs for water, so I long for you, O God” (v. 1 TEV). Hopefully, we are like this deer who bows its head to drink from a cool stream. It is not searching for “the perfect bottled water” or interested in the scientific formula of “two parts of hydrogen and one part of oxygen” that form H2O. A deer is too thirsty for that. Aren’t we?
In our self-analysis, have we been drinking water from the right streams? “Theological correctness” and right doctrine won’t satisfy us. Like the Psalmist, we can say, “My inner self thirsts for God, for the living God” (v. 2 Amplified Bible). No novelties, no “improvements,” no substitutes, please. Like that deer, when our souls are thirsty, only cool, wet, living water will do and plenty of it (John 4:13-14).
So, we continue to analyze our ‘selves’ for any dryness in our spiritual lives. Let’s look and listen to the Psalmist. He talks directly to himself, both questioning and affirming his faith, “Why are you cast down, O my inner self. And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, my help and my God.”(v. 5 Amplified Bible).
He isn’t even talking to God yet. Like one friend wanting to repair a rift with another, he works on himself first. Having finished that self-preparation, he turns to God in thirsty honesty: “O my God, my life is cast down upon me and I find the burden more than I can bear; therefore will I earnestly remember you” (v. 6 Amplified Bible).
When we are spiritually thirsty, do we remember where the water is? Depending on how long ago we had our last drink, can we be sure that the stream is still there? For the Psalmist, and often for us, the water was in his recent past and his memory brought it back. He formed “word associations” that brought refreshing water to his lips again. Memories of old watering places like “the Jordan River,” “Mount Herman” and “little mountain Mizar” (v. 6) helped restore his relationship with God.
We have similar memories that can remind us where the water is — the church where we were baptized, a favorite deacon, taking Communion and any verse of “Amazing Grace” are just a few examples. You have others.
The Psalmist concludes his self-analysis by reviewing his questions and affirming his faith. His closing words could become a benediction upon our own dryness: “Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for him; for I shall yet praise Him who is the help of my countenance, and my God.” When we are spiritually thirsty, this might help us remember where, and who, the water is.
The Rev. Russell G. Waldrop, D. Min, LPC, is a pastoral counselor and chaplain of Western State Hospital. Contact him at 540-332-8004 or at .