Depression

¹ Save me, O God,

for the waters have come up to my neck.

² I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold.

I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.

³ I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched.
My eyes fail, looking for my God. (Psalm 69 NIV)

"My spouse died yesterday after a long battle with illness. I know it's best the suffering is over, but it makes Christmas tomorrow so different...."

"My husband's been out of work for 18 months, we can't sell our house, we have two daughters in college; we don't know what to do...."

"My mom died this year. She loved Christmas - decorated her house like no one I've ever seen. Loved the music, loved the gifts, loved the grandkids...She was gone so suddenly last spring. How will my dad and the rest of the family ever make it through this first Christmas?"

"A year ago she was fine, living on her own. Now she's in an assisted living facility and can't remember who I am day to day. I miss my mom. I miss our conversations, her humor, her fullness of life. She's just not the same."

"My mom died on Christmas and my sister committed suicide because of depression. Now I'm seeing the same signs in my wife...What do I do?"

And so I pray in the words of the psalmist:

¹ My God, my God, why do you seem to abandon us?
Why are you so far away when we groan for help?
² Every day we call to you, God, but you do not answer.
Every night you hear our voices, but we find no relief.

³ Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
⁴ Our ancestors trusted in you,
and you rescued them.
⁵ They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you and were never disgraced.

¹¹ Do not stay so far from us, for trouble is near, and no one else can help us.

¹⁵ Our strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.
Our tongues stick to the roof of our mouths.
You have laid us in the dust and left us for dead.

¹⁹ O Lord, do not stay far away!
You are our strength; come quickly to our aid!
²⁰ Save us from the sword;
spare our precious lives from these dogs.

²² We will proclaim your name to our brothers and sisters.
We will praise you among your assembled people.
²³ Praise the Lord, all you who fear him!

²⁴ For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
He has not turned his back on them,
but has listened to their cries for help.

²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied.
All who seek the Lord will praise him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.

²⁷ The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him.
All the families of the nations will bow down before him.
²⁸ For royal power belongs to the Lord.
He rules all the nations. (Psalm 22 NLT, alt.)

God, for those hurting right now, facing the depths of the abyss, I pray that you will reveal yourself to them, deliver and protect them, encourage and uplift them, be their strength and their joy. May they know your love and grace in a profound way. Amen.

Fix

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8-9 NLT)

Last week a friend and I were having a conversation that, in part, was about the struggles, worries, and fears we were each dealing with. At the end of the conversation we came back to this verse. Usually, I focus on that list of things to think about: things that are true, noble, authentic, excellent, lovely, etc. But when I reread the verse I was caught by the "FIX" at the beginning of the NLT. FIX your thoughts. Don't let them get distracted or led astray. FIX your thoughts on that which is of God. Then you (I/we) won't have to fight evil's barbs; when we are focused on God it's easy to discern what is not of God.

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. (Deut. 11:18 NIV)

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith... (Heb. 12:2 NIV)

But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD;
in you I take refuge—do not give me over to death. (Ps. 141:8 NIV)

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him. ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," by Martin Luther)

Creator of the Universe, Fixer of our Salvation, Spirit of Life, we praise you for who you are. You are Light, Abundant Life, Peace, Joy, and Wisdom. You are far more than we can understand, yet we know we are precious and beloved children of yours. Thank you for offering us the gift of your grace in Jesus Christ and the Abundant Life lived through the Spirit's power. Thank you for the tools we need to fight the fears, worries, and struggles of this life and to fight against your enemy. Give us wisdom, give us courage, give us strength for the facing of this hour and these trials. Help us to FIX our thoughts and our actions on that which is honorable to you. Help our minds be filled with things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious; the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse; things honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable; things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Fix our eyes on Jesus and your Word in our souls. Make us more like Jesus as he works us into his most excellent harmonies. In the strong name of Christ we pray. Amen.

I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. (Philippians 4:8-9 MSG)

Between the paws of the true Aslan

Recently I reread "The Last Battle" from the Chronicles of Narnia series by CS Lewis.  It is a child's eye view of the End of the World, but filled with hope and God's protection over his beloved.  In the middle of the book the AntiChrist character and his lackeys (Calormenes) have set up camp around a shed in the woods.  The last, true King of Narnia, Tirian, and his followers are hiding around the camp, preparing for battle.  The bad guys have called down their god "Tash" who they say is equal to Aslan [Christ] but who they really don't believe in.  In preparation for the battle to come, we read this:

Tirian bent his head to hear something that Jill was trying to whisper in his ear. "What do you think is really inside the stable?" she said. "Who knows?" said Tirian. "Two Calormenes with drawn swords, as likely as not, one on each side of the door." "You don't think," said Jill, "it might be . . . you know . . . that horrid thing we saw?" "Tash himself?" whispered Tirian. "There's no knowing. But courage, child: we are all between the paws of the true Aslan."   (http://www.mylibrarybook.com/books/673/C.S-Lewis/The-Last-Battle-6.html)

I don't know about you, but it seems like there is plenty of uncertainty, pain, and angst swirling around us right now.  Each of us probably has different definitions of what our own "angst" may be, but whatever that is, hear again these words:  "Child, we are all between the paws of the true Christ."  We are each held in the palms of God's hands.  We are each sheltered under God's wings.  We are each known securely by a loving Father.

"You who sit down in the High God's presence, spend the night in Shaddai's shadow, 
   Say this: "God, you're my refuge. 
      I trust in you and I'm safe!" 
   That's right—he rescues you from hidden traps, 
      shields you from deadly hazards. 
   His huge outstretched arms protect you— 
      under them you're perfectly safe; 
      his arms fend off all harm. 

"If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God, 
      "I'll get you out of any trouble. 
   I'll give you the best of care 
      if you'll only get to know and trust me. 
   Call me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times; 
      I'll rescue you, then throw you a party. 
   I'll give you a long life, 
      give you a long drink of salvation!"  (From Ps. 91 MSG)

God, you are our refuge and we trust in you for our safety.   Thank you for rescuing us from traps, shielding us from hazards, fending off harm.  Thank you for protection against all the angst of this life. Help us call out to you and hear your answer.  Help us hold on to you for life - spiritual, emotional, professional, financial, relational, etc. - and know your loving care.  Give us the gift of long life lived with you and the abundance of peace in our salvation and friendship with you.  Thank you for holding us in your arms, protecting us under your wings, and loving us so much you go to the cross for us.  In Christ's name we pray, amen.

Blessing God anyway

Standing on the stairs were the [spiritual leaders] who called with loud voices to the LORD their God. ⁵ ... "Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting." 
       "Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. ⁶ You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.  Nehemiah 9:4-6 NIV (adapted)

Blessed be Your name in the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow: blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name when the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be: blessed be Your name

With gratitude, God, we thank you for our salvation, our families, our friends, our homes, our many blessings.  We are grateful for health, for provision, forfood, for clothing, and for the breath of life your pour into us.   Blessed be you name when life is plentiful, abundant, and glorious. 

Blessed be Your name when I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness: blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering: blessed be Your name

In humility, God we come to you to lift up the burdens on our hearts - forbabies born too soon, for bank accounts too low, for emotional angst,for skubalon, for loved ones lost and far from Christ, for stresses of job, health, family, or just life in general, for fears for the future.   Blessed be your name on the road in the wilderness, desert, and suffering.  

Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in Lord still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord, Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord, Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away, You give and take away
My heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name

God, we remember those in this world who do not have basic necessities of life - clean water, adequate shelter, nutritious food - and pray you would use us to be the hands and feet of the love of Christ to help them.  

God, we remember those in this world who live in strife and grief and war and we pray that the Peace that passes understanding would fall heavy upon those internal and external places.

God, for the gift of another day to serve you, we thank you.  Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. (Ps. 72:18 NIV)  Amen.

"Blessed Be Your Name" by Beth & Matt Redman

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