Tag Archives: Depression

Jun 12 2013

Psalm 77 – Has God Forgotten?

This psalm has been seen both as a national (or community) lament and a personal lament.  It is appropriate for both because the underlying question is the same in either case – “has God abandoned me?”  The psalmist raises the questions not disrespectfully, but in genuine wonder and distress.  The problem is not an uncommon one for any of us.  How do we deal with the doubt that can come over us when there are times in lives that result in grave trouble or great sorrow?

crying_002No matter whether the trials are from illness, loss of a loved one, loneliness, or any kind of suffering at all, how do we come to terms with the pain and suffering we feel and reconcile those feelings with a loving, just, and gracious God? When the trials continue for long periods of time with seemingly no relief, do we not have the same questions of God that this psalmist has?  (“Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” “Has His steadfast love ceased forever?” “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?”)

The devil uses those feelings to bring our doubts to their fullest heights in the hope that our faith will ultimately fail.  Little by little (or sometimes a lot by a lot) he tries to wear us down and bring doubt to our Christian hearts.  There is no reason to suppose that God is offended by the questions.  We already have the answers after all.  God is love – His love never ceases.

He cannot forget to be gracious because His grace is everlasting.  Repeatedly, the Scriptures tell us that “The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression” (Numbers 14:18).  Remember Psalm 27:14: “Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage” – and again, verse 14 of this chapter “You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.”

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

May 2 2013

Job 16 – God Has Worn Me Out?

In the speech that Eliphaz had finished, the only new invective was that of adding to the list of Job’s supposed sins that he  is also an extreme hypocrite due to his refusal to admit his wickedness.  Job addresses them as the “miserable comforters” they are and declares that if their roles were reversed, he would try to ease their pain instead of making them more miserable.  He would rather they would have just kept silent as when they first arrived.

Depressed_002In the following verses, while he says that God has worn him out, and that his state bears witness of his sins in the eyes of those around him, he seems to have at last concluded that it is not God Himself that has done all of these things to him.  Instead, he says that God has allowed it to happen, and that he has given him up to the hands of the wicked and evil that are tormenting him (verse 11).   And the fact that he still believes that he is not wicked both confuses and saddens him.

How utterly hopeless a feeling it must be to believe that in the face of all that tragedy, not only has mankind turned their backs on him, but the Lord has abandoned him as well.  Now, it sounds like all that he has to look forward to is a few more years just waiting to die.  Job is deep in the clutches of depression, the depth of which we could never really know.

But that is not the whole story here.  In the midst of all this depression and despair, Job not only has hope, he is certain about his assurance.  Job feels that God has abandoned him to evil, yet he speaks with certainty in verses 19-21 of one who will intercede for him: “Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and he who testifies for me is on high.” And then: “my eye pours out tears to God, that he would argue the case of a man with God.”

Through it all, Job know through divine inspiration, that it is God Himself that will intercede for him.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Apr 24 2013

Psalm 55 – Cast Your Burden on the Lord

prayingmanA good portion of this psalm relates to betrayal by a once close and trusted friend; and Spurgeon seems right to assess it as reading “like a song of the times of Absalom and Ahithophel.”  Some have also seen it as a prophetic foretelling of the prayers of Jesus in the face of His betrayal and imminent death; and that certainly does fit as well.  There is no reason why it cannot be both, as most of the Royal psalms do refer to present as well as prophetic circumstances.  Consider verses 3-6:

…in anger they bear a grudge against me.
My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me.
And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;

But as a lament, much of it also seems to have application to the despair that overwhelms one because of the oppression of the world and the ultimate enemy – the devil himself, who lays in wait, constantly seeking to beat us down, and causes us grievous harm in ways we may not understand as being from his work at the time they occur.  As such, it is like a great many other psalms, which have tremendous power and application in our own prayers when we often wonder how we can carry on through our suffering:

Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
Attend to me, and answer me;
I am restless in my complaint and I moan
because of the noise of the enemy

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Apr 10 2013

Psalm 44 – Why are you sleeping, O Lord?

This lament psalm has been the subject of much speculation as to when it was written, and under what circumstances.  Some of the proposed answers for those questions have been the reign of Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24), the time of the Macabees (inter-testamental), the reign of Hezekiah (2 Kings 18), and even the time of Babylonian captivity (2 Kings 25). It is reasonable however to more narrowly define the circumstances in terms of a group or community of people who are simply persecuted unjustly.

The time and circumstances really do not matter though.  It begins in verses 1-8 as a wonderful hymn of praise to God.  From there, it becomes much like several other lament psalms that cry for help from God, while it appears to the psalmist that God not only is ignoring their pain, but may well be responsible for some of it; and the psalmist cannot understand what they could have done to deserve such.   We may even read in shock at the way the psalmist addresses the Lord, as in verses 23-24:  Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?  Rouse yourself!  …Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?

In that respect, the psalm is of great value to God’s people today in a couple of ways.  First, it demonstrates without a doubt that even in keeping with God’s will, godly and righteous people do often suffer undeservedly.  The apostle Paul pointed this out very well in Romans 8:36, as he linked the sufferings of persecuted 1st century Christians with that of God’s people in this psalm, quoting verse 22:

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

Rembrandt - Apostle Paul - WGA19120

Rembrandt – Apostle Paul – WGA19120 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The second thing that we can take away from this psalm, which is the inspired word of God, is that when we are hurting it is not wrong to cry out to Him – and yes even to express the unfairness of it all and our grieving disappointment that He has not yet taken away our pain.    It may be His will that we have that pain eased soon, or He may have more important plans for us and for those we influence.  But no, it is not sinful to be hurt, nor to plead for His mercy for us.  But keeping our eyes on the promise to which He will surely be faithful, we can know that He loves us even in those times.  And we should keep close Paul’s words that follow in Romans 8:37-39:

“in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Mar 19 2013

Proverbs 19 – A Man’s Folly

The first of the verses of this chapter of Proverbs that caught our eye as real wisdom is verse 3:

When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin,
his heart rages against the Lord

Don’t misunderstand this post.  As the Book of Job eloquently points out, man’s troubles are not always brought about by his own actions.  But most of us have known someone – maybe you even know someone now – who fits the description of this verse.  The person I am speaking of has either done something foolish, or lived a life of sin – or often, both of these.  Now their deeds have caught up with them in their life, and the consequences they are having to live with are great.  Perhaps it has resulted in trouble with the law, their marriage, financial devastation.  Maybe their health is bad due to a life of fast living and sinful self-indulgence.

jailBut instead of recognizing that most of what has come to pass in their life is self-inflicted, they instead rail against the Lord.  I have known people in this position who loudly proclaim that no just God would allow such things to happen to them, and they shake their fists at the heavens.  How tragic and ironic that we are inclined to blame our Creator for such trials in our lives, when He is precisely the one we need at those times – not to mention the fact that such trials will not have the opportunity to have their effect of building our strength and character as James advised (James 1:2-4) in that frame of mind.  It is a lose/lose situation.

We begin to overcome our own folly only after we come to recognize it for what it is, resolve to change, give ourselves over to serve the Lord, and allow Him to strengthen us day by day.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Mar 12 2013

Proverbs 18 – Restore My Soul

Proverbs 18:14 speaks truly:

A man’s spirit will endure sickness,
but a crushed spirit who can bear?

Have you ever felt totally defeated?  Have you ever thought that if only there were someone to whom you could wave a white flag, you would be perfectly willing to surrender?  When the spirit is crushed, the whole of life can feel like it is too much to bear.  So what do you do?

depressionLearning to “surrender all” to Jesus is not easy.  It goes against everything we have been trained to do all of our lives.  We are taught to pull ourselves up “by our bootstraps.”  We’re trained to find solutions to problems, and then to implement them.  Do not misunderstand me, God does not want us to sit around and just expect that He is going to fix all of our problems for us.  Quite the contrary.  But we must learn that there is a limit to our abilities.  There are always going to be things that are beyond our control.  How about a plan?

1.  Talk to God each and every day.  Find your quiet place and your quiet time.  Perhaps you can take a walk by yourself – just you and the Lord.  Ask Him for His wisdom in knowing what you can and must do, and for His help in getting those things done.

2.  Spend time each day in God’s word.  God speaks to us through His word.  You will not find each and every time you read that there is that one magical verse that will give you insight and clarity of thought.  But by training yourself to let Him speak to you, you will receive the grace of His knowledge over time.  He has promised that He will not withhold from us the wisdom that we need.

3. This is the hardest one (for me), but the most important.  Realize that there is a point at which you have done all that you can do.  You have sought His wisdom.  You have talked with Him and bared your soul concerning your burdens.  And just as importantly, you trust Him to take care of the rest.  You trust that whatever happens next, God will not forsake you.  He will carry His sheep like the good shepherd He is, and with His help, – come what may, you can bear it.

Three scriptures, a song and a prayer for the weary soul

Psalm 55:22 – “Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you”

1 Peter 5:6-7 – Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you

Philippians 4:4-7 – Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The song – a special prayer to the Lord

Restore My Soul

Restore my spirit, Lord, I need restored.
My heart is weary, please help me, dear Lord.
I stand in need of more strength from Your Word,
Renew my love, rebuild my faith,
O restore my soul.

Revive the fire, Lord, deep in my soul.
Stir my desire to work in Your fold.
Light in my heart, dear God, my zeal grown cold.
Renew my love, rebuild my faith,
O restore my soul.

Renew my courage, Lord, it needs restored.
My cup is empty, refill it, dear Lord.
Replace all doubt and fear with faith so bold.
Renew my love, rebuild my faith,
O restore my soul.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Mar 5 2013

Proverbs 17 – The Lord Tests hearts

crucible

Proverbs 17:3: “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.”

A crucible is a container that is used to melt metal on a furnace. A crucible for silver would usually be made of clay/graphite, and would have to withstand extremely high temperatures, possibly ranging from 1800 – 2500 degrees Fahrenheit.  In the process of refining these precious metals, the impurities float to the surface as “dross” where they can be removed.  The extreme heat makes the precious metals better – richer, and even more pure.

The Lord does test our hearts (1 Chronicles 29:17), for He looks upon man in a different way than other men do (1 Samuel 16:7).  And James tells us that we should “count it all joy” when we encounter trials (James 1:2-4).  So what do we do when those times of trial seem too much to bear?

Ahhh… that’s the part that is most difficult to accept, at least it is for this blogger.  Let’s look closely at what James says in verses 5-8:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

Most of my life, I have failed to put verses 5-8 together with verses 4-6.  James is trying to tell us that if we do not know how to “let steadfastness have its full effect,” if we do not seem to be able to cope -to stand the heat, we should ask for God to give us the wisdom to do so.  He has promised to give it “without reproach.”  And God always keeps His promises.  That means He does not disapprove of our asking for it.  He will not chastise us for our weakness, nor will he belittle us for any ineptitude on our part.  But we must ask with faith, not just believing, but knowing that God will deliver that wisdom to us.  That is the kind of faith for which I must continually pray.  I am still working on it.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.