Are You Full of Sorrow?

“My soul clings to the dust;

    give me life according to your word!

When I told of my ways, you answered me;

    teach me your statutes!

Make me understand the way of your precepts,

    and I will meditate on your wondrous works.

My soul melts away for sorrow;

    strengthen me according to your word!

Put false ways far from me

    and graciously teach me your law!

I have chosen the way of faithfulness;

    I set your rules before me.

I cling to your testimonies, O Lord;

    let me not be put to shame!

I will run in the way of your commandments

    when you enlarge my heart!” (Psalms 119:25-32 ESV)

Are You Depressed?

Are you now, or have you ever been depressed? I have been, in the past. You cry and you pray, and yet the answers just don’t seem to come. And so you look for various ways to try to lessen your pain, to drown it out entirely, or to run away (escape) from it so that you don’t feel so bad. And yet none of these remedies of the flesh ever satisfy, and many of them only leave you feeling even more depressed, and perhaps full of guilt, too, because you went to broken cisterns that don’t hold water in order to find refreshment for your troubled mind, rather than looking to the giver of life to bring healing to your wounded heart and soul.

Although there are many factors which may lead to or contribute to depression, I believe one of the primary reasons people go through depression is because they are listening to the wrong voices. There are many voices which speak to us – our own thoughts, the world, TV (all media), Satan, family, friends, the church, church leaders, music/songs, our pasts, people from our pasts, school, “what-ifs,” and/or jobs/careers, etc. All of these outside influences have had some kind of impact on our lives, on our thinking, and on how we view life, and in how we view ourselves in relation to God, to others, and to our circumstances.

The problem comes in when we either make conscious choices of our wills to continue allowing the wrong kinds of input into our minds, and/or when we allow, consciously or not, these wrong voices to influence our thinking, and so we end up believing the lies instead of the truth. I know that this (the latter) is something I had battled many years. So I prayed to God that he would make me aware of when I was listening to the wrong voices in my head, so that I could reject the lies, and so that I could cling to the truth, instead of to the dust. Amen!

Give Me Life

I love that song by Casting Crowns called “The Voice of Truth.” It speaks to the issue of these voices which speak lies into our minds and into our hearts and how we need to reject those lies, and how we need to listen to the voice of truth and follow after the truth, instead. It is a song that has encouraged my heart many times, over many years. 

The wrong voices remind us of past failures and they convince us that we cannot be victorious, whole, or pure. Yet, the voice of truth tells us that Jesus Christ died to set us free, and that we can walk in victory in his power and strength, by his grace, if we choose to. So, “I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.” So simple, and yet so profound!

Instead of clinging to the dust, we need to cling to the Word of God. We need to be open and honest with the Lord concerning our suffering, casting our burdens upon him and leaving them there, believing in his promises, and trusting in his grace. We also need to rid our lives, as much as is possible, of those wrong kinds of voices (influences) over our minds and not continue to entertain them in our minds. And, as I have been doing for some time now, we need to pray and ask the Lord to make us aware of when we are listening to the wrong voices so that we can reject them, and so we can embrace the truth instead.

According to Your Word

Not only do we need to rid our lives of the wrong kinds of influences (voices), but we need to cling to the voice of truth. We find this truth in God’s Holy Word, the Bible. 

Although we are not under the Old Covenant relationship with God, and thus many of these teachings in the Old Testament may no longer apply to us, the Bible says that all scripture is “profitable for teaching, reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). So, there is still much to be learned from the Old Testament, as well as and in light of the New Testament and our New Covenant relationship with God. In other words, if it is supported in the New Testament by the teachings of Christ and of the apostles then it still applies to us today.

Thus, in the Old Testament, when we read such words as laws, statutes, precepts and commandments we must understand these to be speaking to us today of God’s Word, Christ’s teachings and instructions, and the teachings of the apostles, as well as all that still applies to us from the teachings of the Old Testament. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are members of God’s household, which was built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with Jesus Christ being the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:14-22). The prophets prophesied much concerning Christ (the Messiah) and the church age and the time of the end, so there is still much to be learned from reading them, as well.

Teach Me

So, if we have been clinging to the dust, and we need to be renewed and refreshed in mind, spirit, heart and emotion, we need to go the Word of God and in prayer, and we need to pray that the Lord Jesus would teach us all that we need to learn in order to forsake our former ways of responding to our circumstances, and so we can now respond with faith and assurance in who he is, in his sovereignty over our lives, and in who he has created us to be. We need to learn what his word teaches us with regard to faith, holy living, godliness, trust, security, faithfulness, and lies and truth, so that we can put off those lies and put on what is true.

This means that we need to make spending time with the Lord in his word and in prayer top priority in our lives, realizing that our fellowship with him and our time in his word is what gives us the nourishment, guidance and counsel our souls need for knowing how to combat these lies and to put on the truth. We all need this! Our times with our Lord and in his word are the bread and water for life we need in order for us to live godly and holy lives for Christ in this present age while we wait for his return (Titus 2:11-14). 

The Lord’s Anointed  

An Original Work / December 16, 2011

Based off Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Sov’reign Lord on me;

Anointed to preach the Good News;

Sent me to bind up the brokenhearted;

Proclaim freedom for the captives.

He sent me to preach release for pris’ners

Who are walking in sin’s darkness;

Proclaim God’s grace to all men who’ll listen;

And tell them about God’s judgments;

Comfort all who mourn;

Give crowns of beauty;

Oil of gladness and thanksgiving. 

They will be called oaks of God’s righteousness,

A planting of our Savior, God,

For the display of our Lord’s splendor, and

They will rebuild God’s holy church.

God will renew them, and will restore them,

And you’ll be called priests of the Lord.

You will be ministers of our God, and

You will rejoice in salvation.

The Lord loves justice;

He is faithful to 

Reward those who are seeking Him.

I delight greatly in the Lord;

My soul rejoices in my Savior, God.

He has clothed me with His salvation,

And in a robe of His righteousness.

He has given me priestly garments to wear, 

As the bride of Jesus Christ.

As the garden of our Lord and Savior, 

He causes us to grow in Him.

He makes righteousness, 

Praise, and thanksgiving

Spring up before all the nations. 

https://vimeo.com/114836524