Sunday, April 20, 2014
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Where?
My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
Psalm 42:3
Friday, April 18, 2014
Under the Juniper Tree
1Kings 19:1-4
1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers
2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers
Paul
2 Corinthians 1:8
"For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life."
The Psalm of the Pit
Psalm 88
1 O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
2 Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
3 For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
4 I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:
5 Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.
6 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.
7 Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.
8 Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
9 Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
10 ¶ Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?
12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.
14 LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?
15 I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
16 Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.
17 They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together.
18 Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.
1 O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
2 Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
3 For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
4 I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:
5 Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.
6 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.
7 Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.
8 Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
9 Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
10 ¶ Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?
12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.
14 LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?
15 I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
16 Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.
17 They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together.
18 Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.
I'll Walk Through the Valley - If you want me to.
Ginny Owens is a Christian Music Performer. She is blind.
A Christian and Depression
In 2006 I was diagnosed as suffering from clinical depression.
I found that much of what I thought I knew about the condition was wrong . . . and there was much that I didn't know at all.
Depressions is a disease. A mental and physical disorder.
It is not a mood. It is not sadness, discouragement, unhappiness, or feeling "blue."
Depression is not feeling depressed, or lonely, or negative.
For me . . . the worst part of being diagnosed as a depressant . . . was that I am a Christian. It seemed to me to be a particular failure. A weakness. A thorn in the flesh.
(2 Corinthians 12:7 "A messenger of Satan, sent to buffet me.")
Paul prayed three times to be delivered from his malady (whatever it was). I must have prayed a thousand times for the removal of mine. Paul got an answer to his prayers ("My Grace is sufficient for you"). I never got one . . . unless Paul's answer is mine, too.
God refused to remove his thorn . . . and mine. So I seek Grace.
This blog is for me . . . I need to chronicle my journey since 2006 . . . and beyond. It may be for you, too.
I have found that depression is not brought on by sin, disobedience to God, or a lack of spiritual fortitude and strength. It can be as much a part of the Believer's life as Paul's thorn was a part of his.
I found that much of what I thought I knew about the condition was wrong . . . and there was much that I didn't know at all. Depressions is a disease. A mental and physical disorder.
It is not a mood. It is not sadness, discouragement, unhappiness, or feeling "blue."
Depression is not feeling depressed, or lonely, or negative.
For me . . . the worst part of being diagnosed as a depressant . . . was that I am a Christian. It seemed to me to be a particular failure. A weakness. A thorn in the flesh.
(2 Corinthians 12:7 "A messenger of Satan, sent to buffet me.")
Paul prayed three times to be delivered from his malady (whatever it was). I must have prayed a thousand times for the removal of mine. Paul got an answer to his prayers ("My Grace is sufficient for you"). I never got one . . . unless Paul's answer is mine, too.
God refused to remove his thorn . . . and mine. So I seek Grace.
This blog is for me . . . I need to chronicle my journey since 2006 . . . and beyond. It may be for you, too.
I have found that depression is not brought on by sin, disobedience to God, or a lack of spiritual fortitude and strength. It can be as much a part of the Believer's life as Paul's thorn was a part of his.
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