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Thank you for taking the time to stop by. My prayer is that you will be encouraged to continue to press towards your destiny, and that you will be as blessed by reading this blog, as I am blessed by your visit. Don't forget to become a member and post your comments. They are 'food' to all those who read them....especially me. Stay Blessed!



Denise Searles ( Lady Dee)

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Don't Relinquish Your Hope....



Psalm 42:11

Why art thou cast down , O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God (KJV).

Why, my soul, are you downcast?  Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God (NIV).

 Why, I ask myself, are you so depressed? Why are you so upset inside? Hope in God! Because I will again give him thanks, my saving presence and my God (CEB).


Hebrews 10:35-38

Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.  For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.  Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him (KJV). 


I do love the psalmist David.  It seems to me, that he has a way of adeptly expressing all the deepest groaning of the spirit and soul of man.  It is in times when words fail me that I find that I can turn to almost any psalm, and David, or one of the other psalmist...he didn't write them all..lol.. have penned for me the praying song I could not utter.

Depression...not a word that the average bible-thumping, Holy Ghost-filled, saved, sanctified Christian wants to deal with.  Most of us prefer to ignore it...forget about confessing it...even when it glares at us at every turn.

But I am convinced that even great prophets, women, and kings in the bible faced this particular spiritual attack.  David, Elijah, Jeremiah, Moses, Hannah, Rebekah, etc...Yet God did mighty things in them and through them.  Even in their despair, disappointment, disillusionment, and outright depression, God still had the last say, and their ending was better than their beginning.

Truth is many of us wrestle with it..depression...from day to day.  Like the prophets of old, even after a mighty move of God, we are left alone to face our frailties, shortcomings, and perceived failures.  In our heads we keep a list of the things that didn't go right, instead of a list of the things that God has done to blow our minds.  Our mind, will, and emotions (the soul of man) constantly bombards us with 'woulda ,'coulda, shoulda', and the 'what-ifs' of life.  If that isn't enough, the enemy of our souls is constantly on the attack to steal our joy and peace, kill our dreams, and destroy our hope.

When faced with difficult and painful circumstances; death, sickness, divorce, troubled marriages, difficult children, financial burdens, broken promises, and unfulfilled dreams; depression almost seems inevitable.  The aformentioned ingredients by themselves most certainly leave a bitter taste in our mouths.  However, the master baker knows the recipe for the delightful dessert he desires to make of our lives, and works, mixes, and kneads all the ingredients together in carefully measured proportions to accomplish his purpose in us.

In spite of our circumstances; there's Good News!  Paul admonishes us in the book of Hebrews, not to cast away our confidence.  Simply put, don't relinquish your hope!  He lets us know that there is a reward, and at the appointed time the purpose of God will be revealed in us.  God is working patience in us.  Patience will lead to experience, and experience will strengthen our hope.  This hope, which is in us because of the Holy Spirit, who will not let us give up, won't let us stay defeated; this hope will also not let us be ashamed.  This hope is only in the God of all hope....Don't relinquish your hope!  Hold on to the promises of God.  He that shall come, will come, and will not tarry.


P.S.  The above was written during the last few months of 2012.  In 2013 as we begin this year, I want to encourage us (you and me)...not to lose our hope, but to actively fight to maintain our hope as we walk by faith (the just ...righteous ..those in right standing with God...live by faith) on a daily basis.  Blessings....

 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Just happened to scroll pass this today and made that wonderful decision to stop for a min. and read......What wonderful words of inspiration!!! Depression is all around, tomorrow so uncertain, but oh how comforting to know that there`s hope for a better day, for tomorrow and we are not alone! Thank you for this moment of clarity!