“Lost your faith?”
Some people do. But it is seldom because they have encountered some philosophical or scientific argument that God isn’t real. Usually, people lose their faith for one of two reasons:
First, they simply no longer desire to live as God expects. Having given themselves to living as they please, they assuage their guilt by maintaining God isn’t real.
The second reason however is far more prevalent: God simply let them down. He didn’t seem to be there when they needed Him. He didn’t answer when they called. The Psalms are full of prayers offered by these people. What they all have in common is that they are still addressing their petitions to God. Psalms 42 and 43 are examples of these prayers and those two have much in common with each other (compare 42:5, 11 and 43:5 , 42:9 and 43:2).
In Psalm 42, the writer thinks back on all those times when he went to worship – the good old days when “church” was a delight. Now that his life is in the darkness of the deep, he wonders where God is. His friends taunt him with :where is your god now?
Where indeed?
The Psalmist (and us) has two choices: he can abandon God. If he does, he’s still in the pit but all hope is gone. Or, he can stick with God and keep crying out. The latter alternative is the one of faith, and the one to remember when you too find yourself depressed beyond measure. The writer says through it all “I will yet praise him.” He is the saving God.