Read: Psalm 56:8-9
“Then they cried to the Lord
in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of
darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains.”
– Psalm 107:13-14
The journey through
depression is often slow and frustrating. We may not even be aware of what is
causing this darkness in our life. Negative conditions and emotions are
signals that there are issues in our soul – our mind, will and emotions - that
need correcting. It may be our attitude, unholy activities, unforgiveness
toward our self or someone else, carnal goals and aspirations, filling our
hectic life with too many activities or some deep hurt that is still
unknowingly festering within. Journaling
is an excellent way to stay in touch with our soul. If we know what we are
thinking and feeling, we can more readily word our prayers and ask others for
help.
God also brings His Saints to our rescue. The Bible
encourages us to share one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). However, first we must be honest enough to
admit to our self that we are troubled and humble enough to confess our true
feelings and circumstances to another human being (James 4:10; Proverbs 29:23). Even the most detailed of plans can
fail without God’s wisdom and a multitude of counseling from those who already
walked this way before us (Proverbs 15:22). Therapists can help as well, because they are trained to understand the
human mind and they can help us to unlock hidden doors within our soul.
In the pit of gloom, we have
obstacles to overcome, but we lack energy or direction. However,
even in times of depression, God will speak to us, if we will seek Him and
listen for His voice (Isaiah 45:3). The Lord
is good to those who wait for Him (Lamentations
3:25). His unfailing love rests upon us as we wait on Him (Psalm 33:22). By drawing near to God, He draws near to us. As we surrender our life to
Him, walk away from our sin and allow Him to purify our heart, .He
enables us to identify and resist Satan’s lies until clarity comes to our mind (James
4:7-8).
As we wait upon the Lord, our heart takes courage and our
hope rises (Psalm 27:14, 39:7; 40:1). However,
waiting is the hardest discipline for humanity today. We eat instant food. We
have instantaneous access to the world through the Internet on our phone in the
palm of our hand. We immediately access cash with an ATM machine. We get
instant answers to all of our questions via Wikipedia, Google, and the like. We
have direct help in a few moments of time for any technological issue we
experience.
We are not used to waiting. We get frustrated waiting in
long lines, and at red traffic lights, and in the doctor’s waiting room, and for
the restaurant waitress to bring our food and for people to show up on time for
an appointment with us, etc. Waiting takes patience in the face of our
suffering (James 5:10). However,
God uses times of waiting in our life to heal us from our losses, to renew our
strength, and to prepare us for the next trial, so we can mount up with wings
and soar with the eagles (Isaiah 40:31).
God is waiting too. He desires a people who will look to Him
and wait on Him for His intervention. God will always hear us when we cry out
to Him (Micah 7:7). Jesus, our
high priest, experienced every trial and temptation that we do in our life, and
He can sympathize with and relate to what we are going through at any given
moment in our life (Hebrews 4:15-16). He
empowers us, even when we are tired, weak and worn out. He does His perfect
work in us as we wait on Him (Isaiah 40:29;
Job 5:11; Philippians 1:6).
Prayer:
Father God, we thank You for Jesus as our Rock, our firm
foundation in this stormy world in which we live. We look to You to put a new
song in our heart, so that we can praise You in the midst of our negative circumstances
(Psalm 40:3). Remind us
that You work out all things, even the depressing issues in our life, for our
good (Romans 8:28). Use our
weaknesses to show other people that it is Your joy that upholds us and gives
us our strength (Psalm 40:1-3). Thank you
for Your strength as our sword and shield. Our heart trusts in You and leaps
for joy, because You are our help in times of trouble (Psalm 28:7).
Thought for the Day:
God keeps track of our sorrows in His journal and stores
every one of our tears in His bottle. - Psalm 56:8