What does Psalm 42:7 mean?

Because of his suffering (Psalm 42:9–10), the psalmist feels despondent. His grief is like floods cascading over his head. Nevertheless, he refers to those floods as the Lord's "breakers and waves." It appears that he sees the Lord's hand in his trials.

The phrase "deep calls to deep" can reflect a few possible meanings. One is that the deep waves and waterfalls are being followed by other, equally deep waves. This would imply a constant barrage: an unending chain of these overwhelming feelings and experiences. Another interpretation is that the depths of the psalmist's desire for God (Psalm 42:1) call out for an intense response from the Lord. Either connects to similar phrasing used in the book of Jonah, when Jonah recalls his experience being swallowed by a sea creature (Jonah 2:3).

When trials sweep over a believer, he can take courage, knowing that the Lord has a purpose in allowing those trials. Trials have the capacity to draw believers closer to the Lord if they see them as serving the Lord's purpose. In Romans 5:3–5, Paul explains that "we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." In love, God allows trials to inflict believers, not to make them bitter, but to make them better.