Here are three mistakes we make when we are tempted to despair:
1.)𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡. We give in to the feelings. We wallow in despair so much you might think that we actually like it. We listen to sad songs, watch sad movies, whine to our friends and family, and walk around with that long face and that overextended pity party.
2.) 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝, 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐲. We allow ourselves to be deceived, no, we deceive ourselves into thinking that there's no way out. We surrender.
3.) 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝, 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. We turn to other things for relief, like a person trying to fill up his canteen of water without realizing that it has a hole in it.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, one of the best expositors of the 20th century, and who wrote the book SPIRITUAL DEPRESSION: Its Causes and It's Cure, tells us:
“𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧? 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘦𝘵𝘤. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶? 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 [𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘮 42] 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴: 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. “𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘖 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭?” 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘚𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, “𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”
𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗢 𝗙𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗬
Now how to we counteract these three mistakes? Here are three lessons from Psalm 42:
1.) 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀. Yes, he acknowledges them before God, and he goes on and affirms the goodness, the graciousness, the steadfastness of God despite everything.
In the same way, our marriages may be messed up, our lives in a never-ending spiral of problems, our salaries not enough, our relationships broken - BUT, and that is a big interjection - but God is still faithful and loving, and in fact He loved us so much He sent His Son to rescue us, maybe not from our marital issues or financial trouble, but from a bigger, hotter eternal problem that all sinners deserve.
In His love, He initiated a rescue mission so that the worst of sinners like you and me can be saved, and not just saved, but one day be put on display before the entire universe as a testament of His graciousness, mercy and love. This, brothers and sisters, is the gospel applied to us. The gospel is not only relevant to our salvation but to our continuing walk in Christ. That is why we must preach the gospel to ourselves frequently and constantly. This is why we must cling to its truths and run to its comforts.
2.) 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝘀. He says, Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. His antidote to despair is Hope! Praise! He praises God in the middle of the storm around his life.
One of the ways to do this is to wield the sword of the Spirit, which, in Ephesians 6:17 Paul says is the word of God. The Bible. To know God's word is to understand the character of God and to have a glimpse of what God reveals about Himself and about ourselves.
Do you spend time in reading Scripture? Do you meditate on it? Do you memorize verses? These are your weapons against depression, against the discouragement of the world, the weakness of the flesh, and the temptations of the devil.
For example, when you feel depressed, do you remember the words of Psalm 73:25-26, which says:
𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘐 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶?
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶.
𝘔𝘺 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭,
𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳.
When you feel weak and discouraged, do you turn to Hebrews 4:15-16, which says:
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥.
When we are fearful and anxious, Psalm 32:7 echoes our heart's cry:
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦;
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦;
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.
When you sin, and you feel that God cannot forgive you, do you remind yourself of 1 John 1:9, which says:
𝘐𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.
Turn to God's word, and equip yourself with these life-giving words so when the storm is at its worst, you find refuge in God and His promises. Again, Martyn Lloyd-Jones gives us insight: “𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘶𝘴!” Christian, appropriate God's word to yourself!
3.)𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝗱. He verbalizes his feelings to God. He opens up his deepest emotions, and bares it all before the sovereign Lord who sees all. Notice that in verse 1 the Psalmist expresses longing for God first and foremost?
Do we run to God like children seeking comfort and refuge from a loving parent? Or do we run to other things, like barkada, alcohol, drugs, and yes, even church friends.
I am not saying don't open up to trustworthy believers. Yes, please do, and they are there to show love and care for one another, just as Christ command us, but first and foremost, turn to God. To God, because only God can truly, fully, wholly satisfy.
That's what Jesus invites us to do in Matthew 11:28, where He says,
𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵.
That's what God says in Isaiah 55:1;
𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙚, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘴,
𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴;
𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺,
𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘵!
𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘬
𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦.
And you know what? In the last verses of the Bible, that is also what the Holy Spirit tells us in Revelation 22:17;
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺, “𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙚.” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺, “𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦.” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦; 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦.
Father, Son and Spirit calls us to come to the one who can give us rest, and to the one who can satisfy our deepest hunger and thirst. Come to the One who wipes away every tear from our eyes. Come.
Here's an old sermon on Psalm 42:
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