Depression

I think everyone experiences some form of depression at one point in their life. You feel like you are sinking. You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders and you are teetering on the edge of emotional stability. It is scary being in that place, that very dark place where you just can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is during these times that you need to hold onto the promises of the Lord.

1. God can carry our burdens. We just have to let him.
Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

2. It is actually a blessing when we experience sadness because it allows God to reveal Himself as our Comforter.
Matthew 5:1-48
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. ...

3. God is ALWAYS present. Even when we feel alone in that darkness the bible says He is VERY PRESENT and that He will not abandon us like orphans.
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

4. Not only is He with us when we are in despair, He goes before us, leading the way through the darkness.
Deuteronomy 31:8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Do We Really Need Friends?

In today's society it is so easy to feel alone, even when you are in a room of complete strangers. Rather than having one on one conversations we would rather text someone or write on their facebook wall. Don't get me wrong, I love social networking. I just think that it has become a crutch for a lot of people and has made it easier to have superficial friendships. Sure you may have 400 friends on your friend list, but how many really know what you are struggling with?

The bible tells us that it is important to have friends:

True Friends Strengthen and Help Each Other
Ecclesiastes 4:9–12
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

Proverbs 27:17 NIV
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

So maybe today you should leave your comfort zone and try to be a real friend to someone. They are probably just as lonely as you are...

New Struggles

It has been so long since I have blogged what the Lord has been teaching me on here. Maybe it is because I haven't really wanted to learn it. God called my husband and I to move to a new place and to start a new job. The calling was clear and yet I was still reluctant to leave. I left my family, my friends, my support system, my routines, my home, my perfect weather to support my husband in his calling to be a pastor. And since we have arrived all I have done is complain. It is funny because even reading this I realize how selfish and childish I sound...MY home, MY friends, MY weather. MY, MY, MY. It's all about me, me, me when it is supposed to be about HIM, HIM, HIM.

This makes me think about King Nebuchadnezzar. You can read about him in the book of Daniel. Basically he was a very successful king who had lots of accomplishments. He took credit for all of his work and did not credit God with any of it. And God gave him plenty of chances.

First Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about the future and no one was able to interpret it until Daniel came along and told him the meaning and that the dream was from God. Nebuchadnezzar was in awe and placed Daniel in a high position, but he still did not turn to God. Then Nebuchadnezzar tried to burn Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego alive but God saved them. Nebuchadnezzar even saw a 4th in the fire with them and yet he still did not turn to God. Finally he had another dream about a great tree and in the dream he saw a messenger:

Daniel 4:13-17 “In the visions I saw while lying in bed, I looked, and there before me was a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven. He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field.

“‘Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times pass by for him.

“‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.’


Daniel interpreted this dream and warned the king that he was the tree and that if he did not turn to God that he would be thrown out from his kingdom and wander like an animal for 7 years. The king STILL did not turn to God and a year later this is exactly what happened. He wandered like an animal for 7 years until he finally praised God and the Lord restored Nebuchadnezzar back to his throne.

So I know I need to learn the lesson that Nebuchadnezzar did. I am learning about faith and trusting in God's plan over my own. I know God is in control. I have seen His miracles. I recently gave birth to a baby who the doctors said I was miscarrying! God is bigger than what I want. I long for the comfort of my home but at the same time I know I am where God wants me to be. Maybe, like Nebuchadnezzar, I was a tree that got too big and needed to be chopped down so that I could learn to rely on God.

Don't miss out on the lessons God is teaching you. He knows everything and is everywhere.

Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.

19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,
and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Life is Short

“Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. 5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath.”
— Psalm 39: 4-5

Our lives on this earth are so temporary. We could die at any momment. We never know when that last breath may be. Recent events in my life have been a reminder of this fact. A friend of mine lost her father in a car accident. He was stopped at a red light and someone rear ended him. To think that one day he was healthy and alive and then the next he had left this world is a harsh dose of reality. My own father was in the hospital a few weeks ago and is currently there again.

You might be wondering, what is the point in recognizing that life is short?

Well, first of all, if you don't know Jesus as Lord then the knowledge that this life could end at any momment should be quite frightening to you. Where will you go when you die? Do you think that if you were a "good person" that you will go to heaven? Well I have got news for you, and you'e not gonna like it... the bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever thought badly about someone? No matter how good you think you are, you are still a sinner. The only way to heaven is by accepting Jesus as your savior. Ephesians 2:8 says "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."

For those of you who are followers of Christ, this knowledge should make you even more eager to share the Good News with those around you who do not know the Truth. I know my dad is not saved and every time he goes to the hospital I think that it might just be my last chance to witness to him. Knowing that this life is temporary is also exciting for us as Christians because we know that we will have an even better life in eternity! All the pain and trouble that we experience in this life will be nothing! How awesome is that?

Confession

Sometimes I don't learn the lesson God is teaching me until I completely fail His test. Although I wrote about how God is teaching me about dealing with frustrating people this week and how we should act, I totally did not follow this! I completely snapped at a clerk at a Walmart this week (long story, but it still doesn't excuse my actions). I went back to apologize today and I am very grateful that she forgave me. Hopefully now I have learned the lesson. It just goes to show you that we are all works in progress!

Striving for Holiness

It is so easy to become complacent in our faith. We get to a comfortable spot where we feel like we know what we need to know and are good with God. But the truth is that it is never enough to just be "good with God". We should be constantly striving toward holiness.

Genesis 20:26 You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have
set you apart from the nations to be my own.

How holy should we be? We should be so holy that the secular world hates us. Afterall, the darkness does not like the light:

John 15:19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it
is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.
That is why the world hates you.

But I find myself afraid to be hated by the world. I don't want to say things that will offend people. So I water down my faith and I become luke warm. This is wrong and it is not the path that leads to holiness.

Romans 6:18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to
righteousness.

1 Tim 6:11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

God makes it clear that we should be so dedicated that we become SLAVES to righteousness, constantly persuing it and fleeing from all else.

Have you been pursuing holiness or have you let your relationship with God become stale? I encourage you to take some time this week and reflect on where your faith stands.

Difficult People

The holidays are upon us and I am sure you have run into some pretty frustrating people. It seems like so many people are in such a rush and can be so rude! One thing the Lord has really been working on me is learning to "love" these frustrating people.

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you" Luke 6: 27-31.

Some might say that it is impossible to love your enemies, but Jesus had to do this daily. OK really if someone took my jacket, would I let them just take my shirt? And if someone hits me wouldn't I want to hit them back? The trick is that you have to think of the other person as better than you.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves” Philippians 2: 3-4.

When you put the other person's needs above your own, you will not want to cause them harm, you will want to help them. Now I am not saying that this is easy, but God can give us the strength to do anything... even to bite your tongue when someone cuts in front of you in a grocery line that you have been in for an hour!

God, change my heart and make it like yours. Teach me to love my enemies the way that you love me unconditionally.