Why do I Ever Leave You

Spurgeon on Depression

In conjunction with my previous post on depression, I would like to post a link to an excerpt from Charles H. Spurgeon's Lectures to His Students as this led me to the Scripture which I have just exposited. As one who experiences moments of depression and loneliness, the insights from this "Prince of Preachers" greatly encouraged me. I especially appreciate his insights on God's purposes for our depression. I highly encourage you to read it sometime when you get the chance. The entire excerpt can be found here:
http://www.gotothebible.com/HTML/downcast.html

I will leave you with it's powerful conclusion:

The lesson of wisdom is: Be not dismayed by soul-trouble. Count it no strange thing, but a part of ordinary ministerial experience.

Should the power of depression be more than ordinary, think not that all is over with your usefulness. Cast not away your confidence, for it hath great recompense of reward [Heb. 10:35]. Even if the enemy’s foot be on your neck, expect to rise and overthrow him. Cast the burden of the present, along with the sin of the past and the fear of the future, upon the Lord who forsaketh not His saints. Live by the day—aye, by the hour.

Put no trust in frames and feelings. Care more for a grain of faith than a ton of excitement. Trust in God alone. Lean not on the reeds of human help. Be not surprised when friends fail you; it is a failing world. Never count upon immutability in man: inconstancy you may reckon upon without fear of disappointment.

The disciples of Jesus forsook Him, so be not amazed if your adherents wander away to other teachers. As they were not your all when with you, all is not gone from you with their departure. Serve God with all your might while the candle is burning, then when it goes out for a season, you will have the less to regret.

Be content to be nothing, for that is what you are. When your own emptiness is painfully forced upon your consciousness, chide yourself that you ever dreamed of being full, except in the Lord.

Set small store by present rewards, be grateful for earnests by the way, but look for the recompensing joy hereafter. Continue, with double earnestness, to serve your Lord when no visible result is before you.

Any simpleton can follow the narrow path in the light: faith’s rare wisdom enables us to march on in the dark with infallible accuracy, since she places her hand in that of her Great Guide. Between this and Heaven there may be rougher weather yet, but it is all provided for by our Covenant Head. In nothing let us be turned aside from the path which the divine call has urged us to pursue.

Come fair or come foul, the pulpit is our watchtower, and the ministry our warfare; be it ours, when we cannot see the face of our God, to "trust under the shadow of thy wings."

In Christ,
Lee
Soli Deo Gloria!!!

Where to Go When Depressed

Then it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great, without killing anyone, and carried them off and went their way. When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. Now David's two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strenghtened himself in the LORD his God.
~1 Samuel 30:1-6

One thing no Christian is immune from is depression. Due to living in a fallen world, circumstances and situations inevitably seek to rob us of joy. Even the greatest "heroes of the faith" underwent boughts of depression. Job, Jonah, and Elijah at different points pleaded that God would take their lives while Jeremiah spent much time lamenting over the judgment that would befall his people. Timothy appears to be a discouraged young minister who might have even contemplated giving up the ministry due to growing opposition and persecution. One cannot read some of David's psalms and overlook periods of depression which the king after God's own heart experienced.

One such period of depression for the king occurred upon his return to Ziklag to find the city in ashes and all of the women and children carried off by the Amalekites. This included his two wives at the time. The response of David and his people is typical and expected. They lifted their voices and wept. In fact, their weeping was so great that the author explained that they did not cease until there was no strength in them to weep. Not only was this enough to depress the king, the people also turned against him. They were so embittered, literally bitter in soul, that they talked about stoning him! These were his men. The very ones who had supported hiim and fought right alongside him. This understandably made David greatly distressed. He must have felt like Job, having lost everything he held dear to and being left with those who seemed to make the situation worse (remember the lack of comfort and compassion shown to Job by his wife and "couselors").

Many of us find ourselves in similar situations sometimes. We suffer the pain of losing something we hold dear, a severed relationship, or being dismissed from a job in a steep economic time. We have relatives or family members once close confidents turn on us and become bitter enemies. Much of which make us weep with all of our strength and become greatly distressed. However, notice how David dealt with these depressing situations. He strengthened himself in the LORD his God. The situation looked bleak but the king did not give up and instead looked to God for his strength. David may have strengthened himself here similarly to that in which he did in Psalm 27. He would not be afraid of his enemies because he recognized that God was defense of [his] life (Ps. 27:1). He looked to be in the LORD' s presence where he would be protected in the day of trouble (Ps. 27:4-6). His army had now forsaken him just as his parents so he may have reminded himself that the LORD will take me up (Ps. 27:9). Through it all, what may have kept the king going in such a trying time was the consistent faith that I would see the goodness of the LORD / In the land of the living (Ps. 27:13). He found his comfort in God alone. He focused on the One who can provide joy in the midst of the darkest valley or deepest pain. He focused on the One who gives hope in what seems to be a hopeless situation. Sometimes the greatest comfort we need can come from redirecting our focus from the terrible situation we're in to the terrific God in control of such a situation and the knowledge that He is working through it for our good and for His glory.

David did not run away from the circumstances but sought the strength which only God could give to deal with them and move forward. He did not pick up the latest self-help book which outlines "12 Steps to Overcome Depression" but went to God. Interestingly, this seems to be the last place we often go in times of depression where it should be our first. In fact, it was the LORD who provided David with the guidance of how to handle these specific depressing circumstances.

After finding his strength or encouragement in the LORD, David asked for the Ephod from the priest Abiathar and asked God whether he should pursue them (v. 7-8), receiving an affirmative from God. Then through further provision of an Egyptian servant of an Amalekite, God led David to those who had burned the city and captured its residents and he received all that was lost. Where would the king have been if he allowed the depression to cripple him to the point of giving up or had attempted to strengthen himself elsewhere?

I don't know what you may be struggling with currently or the events and circumstances depressing you but I do know that there is One you can call out to during this time who can provide strength amidst the feebleness and weakness which has resulted. Like David may we find our strength in the God of all comfort when faced with the depression which comes from the pain and trials life brings!

In Christ,
Lee
Soli Deo Gloria

The Milky Way (Jeff Noblit)

This is a wonderful video from Jeff Noblit, the senior pastor of Paul Washer’s home church, showing the lack of meat in the church pulpit today. Please watch and listen to what he is saying.



Watch Full Version

Held

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
~2 Corinthians 1:3-4



One of the hardest things to attempt to understand is the sudden death of a loved one or a newborn barely given a breath to have it taken away. While we realize that God is righteous and just and in control of these things we struggle to comprehend His timing or plan and purpose in it all. As God spoke through Isaiah to a people which struggled to understand God accepting them back after their sin: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways / And My thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). While we may not understand God's reasons for all of the pain which comes from the most trying of times, we need to remember that He is there to comfort us as Paul reminded the church of Corinth that He is the God of all comfort who comforts us in all of our affliction. Not only does God comfort us during these unexplainable, incomprehensible situations, but also uses the comfort He gives for us in turn to comfort others. I love this song sung by Natalie Grant which conveys this truth so powerfully. Regardless of what kind of pain or suffering you may be experiencing right now, rest assured that the God of all comfort is there to hold you during this time and comfort you in your affliction. And who knows, He may intend the comfort given to you in a storm to be used for you to comfort someone else. God bless and take care!

In Christ,
Lee
Soli Deo Gloria!!!

Two months is too little
They let him go
They had no sudden healing
To think that providence
Would take a child from his mother
While she prays, is appalling
Who told us we'd be rescued
What has changed and
Why should we be saved from nightmares
We're asking why this happens to us
Who have died to live, it's unfair

This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

This hand is bitterness
We want to taste it and
Let the hatred numb our sorrows
The wise hand opens slowly
To lilies of the valley and tomorrow
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive

This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

If hope is born of suffering
If this is only the beginning
Can we not wait, for one hour
Watching for our savior

This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held
[Repeat Chorus]
This is what it means to be held