And in Times of Despair - Pt. 1

 

There often comes a time in a believer’s life when they succumb to the wiles of the enemy and sin.  This is to be a battle that we will constantly face, we see this in the Apostle Paul’s discourse on this in Romans 7:5-25.  This was nothing new to the Apostle, he was well aware that troublesome times lie ahead of all men.  Though we all do try to live a godly life, we soon find that we all fail because of our sinful nature, we find ourselves in agreement with Job who said, “For man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward.” Job 5:7 NASB).  We soon begin to understand the craftiness of the enemy and how he can so easily lure us down a one-way street of his false promises of easy-isms.  Man, in his own strengths soon believes that he can defeat the enemy on his own but it is not long before his false sense of security overcomes him and he falls.  The once rosy path that he was promised soon turns into a miry pit of despondency.  It is not long before the believer finds himself wrapped up in sins deception and soon he is caught in the middle between depression and anxiety.  It is here that the enemy violently shakes us back and forth, shaking you much like a dog shakes a rag-doll.  It is not long before he has the believer in such a daze, that they do not know if they should wallow in depression or fret in a state of anxiety.  Once the believer is fully ensnared we find that the enemy drops them in their own self-pity much like the dog drops the rag-doll once he is finished shaking it.  They find themselves in such a state of despair, they are trapped, caught without even the strength to reach out to God for help.  They even feel as though they lack even the breath to cry out to God and lack the assurance the He would hear them even if they cried out.  Much like the rag-doll once the dog is finished shaking and dropped the believers finds himself lying on the floor in a heap, lacking strength, no will of its own left to move or help itself.  Lying as it were without hope in a pool of its own self-pity, wallowing in despair, believing that there is no help.

 Once sin takes place and you try to deal with it on our own, you soon find that we lack much in ourselves, we lack the power to overcome the onslaught of the enemy.  Without strength and without hope we finally turn to the Word of God and we do find that which we need.  We find that through confession and repentance that forgiveness does come from God according to 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.  The sad truth is that so often, so many believers have little understanding the depth of God’s forgiveness to the point that they dwell in the remanence of the guilt of the sin.  It is here that the enemy so often steps back in to once again steal the believers joy by replacing it with doubt, and once doubt has been established he swings into play and ensnares them again.  Then once in his grasp he is much again like the dog with a rag doll, grasping it firmly challenging all on comers to take his prey from him.  He swings them to one side and Anxiety has its hand on the believer and is leading them, haunting them, taunting them to wonder...  What’s going to happened me?  What if I get caught?  What if I get found out?  How could God still love me?  Why would God want to love someone like me?  Once they start to gain momentum on the anxiety the enemy throws them a curve.  He then swings the believer back the other way and Depression grips their soul and they in turn begin to wonder...  How could I have sinned this bad?  How could I have committed this embarrassment to my family?  How could I have ever done so to our loving and sovereign God?  How could God ever have loved me?

You go back and forth violently never resting on one side or the other, not staying on either side long enough to even begin to deal with the sin.  Your focus continues to withdrawal inwardly and your thought life become more and more dark because of the absence of hope.  It is not long before you embrace the despair as you begin to accept the ride on this downward spiral.  Self-pity has replaced God on the throne of your heart.  You begin to bow down to it as it constantly massages the low esteem that you have.  You are in for the ride of your life as he continues his onslaught keeping you in bondage of sin, riddled with both depression and anxiety.  You do not know which way to turn and soon end up in a heap without even the strength to reach out or even call out to God, resembling the ragdoll that the dog drops once it is finished.  We soon resemble that ragdoll, weak and worn out without the strength to cry out for help.

The truth is, there is good news, there is hope and that hope as always resides in Jesus Christ.  Let me draw you a picture to explain, picture Moses in the Old Testament when he led Israel out of the Egyptian bondage.  The climax of their withdrawal, the epitome if you will is when they were encamped at the Red Sea.  To the thoughts of many, and the enemy included, Moses had led the people of Israel into to a great place of ambushment.  It is here where we find Pharaohs army on one side, the Red sea on the other and stone walls on the other two sides; there was no humanly way out, it is here in this place the enemy had an “Ah-ha” moment as he believed the he had won.  But God stepped in, which we see in Exodus 14.  We need to follow Moses’ lead, we need to climb up on the rock between depression’s army and the sea of anxiety, lift up your hands to an Almighty and Sovereign God and open your eyes and “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.”  The Rock that we are to climb up upon Christ, He is the solid ground, He is our firm foundation, He is the one that we are to rest upon at all times, in all circumstances and in all situations.  He is the one who saves us, He alone keeps us.  Jesus calls to us to cry out to Him, He alone has the strength and ability to deliver us from the jaws of despair, from the bondage of either anxiety or depression.  He alone is our Only hope and strength as the scriptures says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  Psalm 46:1

To be continued…

Farewell to My Father

In sorrow today we have said our goodbyes, 

   To the one who has greatly influenced our lives.

From life’s beginning when we took our first breath,

   To today as you took your last breath in death.

You had often carried us around in your strong arms,

   As you captivated us with fatherly charms.

Sometimes we rode on your shoulders so high,

   As we felt as though we could have touched the sky,

By the hand you led us so often in life,

   Leading and teaching us how to walk thru this life.

In your shadow and footsteps we wanted to go,

   And follow your lead as you took us in tow.

You picked us up when life knocked us down,

   Stood us back up and turned us around.

In our trials and struggles you taught us to be,

   All that we are plus all we could be.

We were never afraid when you were close by,

   Making us feel so secure as we stood by your side.

As a young man I saw in you what a man had to be

   Loving and true to friends and family.

Laughter was always heard in your voice,

   Even in struggles we found we could rejoice.

Though life can sometimes treat us unfair,

   You were there to lighten the burden we had to bare.

Now you are gone we will see you no more,

   We now have a void that we’ll now have to ford.

Alone now we have to take the full reigns of life,

   No help for the choice, no fatherly advice.

His wisdom remains in our hearts and minds,

   Precious treasure to be reaped over upcoming time.

What will be missed the most is the sound of his call,

   Though never forgotten, by one and all.

On Tuesday October 15th at 1:10 PM dad took his last  breath and 
stepped off into eternity. He closed his eyes in our presence and 
opened them in the presence of the Lord Jesus.  
Just like the Apostle Paul he could say, 
“...the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought the good fight,
 I have finished the race…”  (2 Timothy 4:6-7)  
91 years of life  - 1928 - 2019