Many of our heroes in the Bible dealt with sorrow. This, in itself, comforts me! David, “a man after God’s own heart” dealt with it in big ways! His journaling of feeling depressed in Psalms 42 encourages me and I hope it does the same for you:
42:1 As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. 5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my God. My [c] soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. 8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. 9 I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” 10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
Here are some practical ways to deal with depression that the Holy Spirit shows me through David (I hope He blesses you with this like He has blessed me!):
- Verse 1: In the midst of David’s sadness, he never stops thirsting for God, panting for Him. V. 2: In his heaviness, David longs to meet with God.
- V. 3, 10: Can you relate? Have you ever felt like you’ve cried days and nights? Have you ever had the world question your faith saying, “Where is God in all of your mess?”?
- V. 4-6: Like David, in our dark nights and meloncholy, we need to REMEMBER and RECALL how our living God has blessed us and delivered us in the past, and truly know this is the same living, powerful God going before us!!! (Please read: Deut. 6:20-25; 8:1-20)
- V.7: In all the shallowness of this world, know there’s ONE that longs to get deep in your heart!!! [tweetable author=”@toddlollar”] God longs to know you and to get deep inside us!!! As we long to be deep in the Lord, HE WILL FULFILL US!!! The deeper we get in Him, the deeper we will want to get. “Deep calls to deep”! [/tweetable]
- V. 8: God is longing to direct his love right to you! In the dark nights, God is singing over you: “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” – Zeph. 3:17
- V. 9: Let’s do not be afraid to ask God real questions about how we are feeling such as: “Why have You forgotten me?!” or “Where are You in this mess?” or any other real question. God is our ROCK! He can take it!!! V.10: Praise God! The answer to our questions of agony is: PUTTING OUR HOPE IN GOD AND PRAISING HIM!!! He is our savior – He has saved us before and He will keep saving us!!! That is what He longs to do!
[tweetable author=”@toddlollar”]Notice: In verse 1, David starts off panting for God. In verse 10, David ends with praising God and putting hope in HIM![/tweetable]
God is encouraging us as well to start our days panting for God in the morning and ending our days, praising Him and putting our hope in God!!!
- How do you get through rough times?
- What proactive ways do you pursue God in these times?
- Looking back, how do you see God delivering you? In light of this, how will you approach difficult times?
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