We all can get depressed to some level, or
another at any given time in our lives. I do realize that major
depression is a serious deal, and needs to be addressed medically.
This is not the kind of depression that I am talking about. I an
talking about minor depression. Some of us call them a good case of
the blues. More or less it is a time in our lives that nothing seems
to go the way that we are thinking that it should.
David found himself in this shape in the book
of 1st Samuel chapter 30.
David , and his might warriors were away from
home, and when they returned the found that the Amalekites had burnt
their homes, and taken all their family hostage!! Verse 4 states that
ever man lifted up his voice, and cried until they had no power left
to cry.
Could you imagine coming back home, and finding
every thing that you once owned lying in a pile of ash? And to top
that off everyone that you love has been taken captive by a
heathenish nation that loved to prey on the weak, and would never
pass an opportunity to assault the Jewish people.
It would seem that would be enough to crack
even the toughest shell, but it was about to get worse for David. The
men were starting to talk about stoning him, because they blamed him
for their own grief!!
6 And
David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning
him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man
for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself
in the Lord his God.
David
had a solution to his depression problem. He didn't wallow in his
pity, …....The way that I've done more times that I really care
to admit. ( Actually, I have done this more than I can count!!)
By the normal standards of mankind,..........David had ever right
to throw a major pity party in his honor, …....But he did
something else. He encouraged himself in the Lord!!
Now
if that worked for David, and it did. Why wouldn't
that work for us? How many of us have ever been at the
point that David was at? Lost everything that you own, and
all those that you love, plus your comrades in arms threatening
to take your life? We must admit that it wasn't looking good
for David!!
How
do we encourage ourselves in the Lord? Well,...........I am
glad that you ask!! I found an articile by Jeff Doles that is
really good. It's much better that I could write, so here it
goes.
DAVID
AND HIS BAND OF SOLDIERS HAD JUST RETURNED HOME TO ZIKLAG,
only
to find that it had been burned with fire, and their wives and
children carried off by the Amalekites. “Discouraged” is not
a big enough word to describe the state of their morale.
The
Bible says they wept bitter tears until they simply had no more
power to weep. For David, it was even worse, for he was their
leader, and his men were so consumed by grief that there was even
talk of stoning him. He was in distress, and it might have
destroyed him completely, except for this: David encouraged
himself in the LORD his God.
This
required a definite resolve on David’s part, an act of his
volition. To default on this decision would only have deepened
his distress, and discouragement would have rendered him
helpless. What is more, the wives and children of him and his men
would have been lost forever. So David chose encouragement, not
only to be encouraged—for there was no one around him who
could, or would, do that for him—but to encourage himself. The
most important thing to notice here, though, is that David did
not encourage himself in himself. Rather, the Scripture says that
he encouraged himself in the LORD his God. You see, this was not
just about David, for David had a covenant with God, and that
made this whole thing God’s business.
Having
thus encouraged himself, David was then able to move on to the
solution God had prepared for this problem.
BEFORE
WE GO ON AND TALK ABOUT ENCOURAGEMENT, there are a couple of
things we need to understand about discouragement. First,
discouragement does not come from the Lord, it comes from our
adversary the devil. That is why David could encourage himself in
the Lord, because the Lord was the source of his solution, not
the source of his problem.
Second,
discouragement is an indication that we are walking by sight, not
by faith. Paul said, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2
Corinthians 5.7), and that was the source of his stability and
strength. When we walk by faith, with our confidence in the Lord
and his promises, it is impossible to be discouraged. But when we
walk by sight, trusting in our senses, our feelings and our own
understanding, we easily fall prey to all the deceptions of the
world, the flesh and the devil. When we find ourselves in
discouragement, we discover where we have been placing our trust.
The solution is to put our trust back in the Lord.
Paul
said that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God
(Romans 10.17). So when discouragement comes and you find that
you have been walking by sight instead of by faith, head back to
the Scriptures and let the promises of God build your faith back
up to strength.
GOD
WANTS YOU TO BE ENCOURAGED AND HE HAS GIVEN YOU THE MEANS BY
which
you can encourage yourself in Him.
Recognize
that you do not have to stay discouraged. It may be like a bird
that flies
over
your head, but you do not have to let it nest in your hair. You
can be encouraged, and in fact, you can encourage yourself.
Remember
that, if you know the Lord Jesus Christ, you are in covenant with
God,
and
He has committed Himself to take care of you in every situation.
When the
circumstances
of life pressed in on David, David pressed in on the benefits of
his
covenant
relationship with God. He briefly outlined these in Psalm 103.
Bless
the LORD, O my soul,and forget not all His benefits:
Who
forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,
Who
redeems your life from destruction,
Who
crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who
satisfies your mouth with good things,
So
that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103.2-5)
Stop
giving voice to your discouragement and start giving voice to
your encouragement.
Stop
repeating the lies of the devil and start speaking the promises
of God. Stop
speaking
out of fear and start speaking in faith. Stop talking about the
problems
and
start talking about the solution. Find out what the Word of God
has to say about your situation, then start speaking it, rather
than your feelings.
Meditate
on the Lord. One of the Hebrew words for “meditate” literally
means to
murmur,
and implies the moving of the lips. Another word means to
converse with
yourself.
It is your “self-talk,” the way you speak to yourself about
the things in
your
life. Everybody meditates on something, but often it is on the
wrong thing, on the wrong person, or with the wrong focus.
You
see, meditation is not a matter of positive thinking, and neither
is encouragement.
Rather,
they are both matters of faith. It is not about us, but about
Him. Let your meditation be about the Lord, about His love, His
Word, His promises, His goodness, His works. As you do, you will
be able to cast your cares on the Lord, with strong confidence
that He cares about everything going on in your life (1 Peter
5.7).
We
have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness, in the midst of Your
temple. (Psalm48.9)
But
I will sing of Your power; yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy
in the morning; for
You
have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. (Psalm
59.16)
I
call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my
heart, and my spirit makes diligent search. (Psalm 77.6)
I
will remember the works of the LORD; surely I will remember Your
wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk
of Your deeds. (Psalm 77.11,12)
May
my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the LORD. (Psalm
104.34)
I
will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will
delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your Word.
(Psalm 119.15,16)
Oh,
how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. (Psalm
119.97)
My
eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on
Your Word.
(Psalm
119.148)
I
remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on
the work of Your hands. (Psalm 143.5)
I
will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on
Your wondrous works. (Psalm 145.5)
Get
in the presence of the Lord. “Give thanks to the Lord. Enter
his gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise” (Psalm
104.4). This requires a quality decision: I will give thanks. I
will praise.
Nehemiah
said, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8.10).
David said to the Lord, “In Your presence is fullness of joy”
(Psalm 16.11). When we get into the presence of the Lord we will
find all the strength we need and encouragement for every
circumstance.
Stand
in the armor of God. Paul said, “Put on the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
You can find a description of this in Ephesians 6.11-18:
We have the
truth of God’s Word, the righteousness of Christ and the gospel
of peace (wholeness) at work on our behalf.
We have the
helmet of salvation (salvation, healing, deliverance, prosperity
and
preservation)
to guide and direct our thoughts.
We have the
shield of faith to quench his fiery darts. Make no mistake,
discouragement is most certainly one of the devil’s fiery
darts.
We have the
sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. This is the
offensive weapon that silences the voice of discouragement and
all the lies of the devil.
We have all
kinds of prayer in the Holy Spirit by which we can persevere and
supply every need of the saints. Learn to pray as the Spirit of
God leads.
DISCOURAGEMENT
WILL TELL YOU THAT YOU HAVE NOTHING GOING FOR YOU
and
everything going against you. Encouragement tells you that you
have everything going for you and it doesn’t matter what you
have going against you. God is on your side, with the provision
for every need and the answer for every problem you may have.
That is why Jesus came, and why, like David, you too can
encourage yourself in the LORD
your God.
…........Much
Love
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