
Here are three mistakes we make when we are tempted to despair:
1.)š š¢š«š¬š, š°š š„š¢š¬ššš§ ššØ šØš®š«š¬šš„šÆšš¬ ššØšØ š¦š®šš”. 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.) ššššØš§š, š°š š š¢šÆš š¢š§ ššØ šš”š šš¢š«šš®š¦š¬ššš§ššš¬ š¢š§š¬šššš šØš šš¢š š”šš¢š§š ššØš« š£šØš². We allow ourselves to be deceived, no, we deceive ourselves into thinking that there's no way out. We surrender.
3.) šš”š¢š«š, š°š š¬ššš¤ ššØš¦ššØš«š šš§š š¬šØš„ššš šš«šØš¦ šš”š š°š«šØš§š šš”š¢š§š š¬ šš§š šš”š š°š«šØš§š š©ššØš©š„š. 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:
āšš¢š·š¦ šŗš°š¶ š³š¦š¢ššŖš»š¦š„ šµš©š¢šµ š®š°š“šµ š°š§ šŗš°š¶š³ š¶šÆš©š¢š±š±šŖšÆš¦š“š“ šŖšÆ ššŖš§š¦ šŖš“ š„š¶š¦ šµš° šµš©š¦ š§š¢š¤šµ šµš©š¢šµ šŗš°š¶ š¢š³š¦ ššŖš“šµš¦šÆšŖšÆšØ šµš° šŗš°š¶š³š“š¦šš§ šŖšÆš“šµš¦š¢š„ š°š§ šµš¢šš¬šŖšÆšØ šµš° šŗš°š¶š³š“š¦šš§? šš¢š¬š¦ šµš©š°š“š¦ šµš©š°š¶šØš©šµš“ šµš©š¢šµ š¤š°š®š¦ šµš° šŗš°š¶ šµš©š¦ š®š°š®š¦šÆšµ šŗš°š¶ šøš¢š¬š¦ š¶š± šŖšÆ šµš©š¦ š®š°š³šÆšŖšÆšØ. š š°š¶ š©š¢š·š¦ šÆš°šµ š°š³šŖšØšŖšÆš¢šµš¦š„ šµš©š¦š® š£š¶šµ šµš©š¦šŗ š¢š³š¦ šµš¢šš¬šŖšÆšØ šµš° šŗš°š¶, šµš©š¦šŗ š£š³šŖšÆšØ š£š¢š¤š¬ šµš©š¦ š±š³š°š£šš¦š®š“ š°š§ šŗš¦š“šµš¦š³š„š¢šŗ, š¦šµš¤. šš°š®š¦š£š°š„šŗ šŖš“ šµš¢šš¬šŖšÆšØ. šš©š° šŖš“ šµš¢šš¬šŖšÆšØ šµš° šŗš°š¶? š š°š¶š³ š“š¦šš§ šŖš“ šµš¢šš¬šŖšÆšØ šµš° šŗš°š¶. šš°šø šµš©šŖš“ š®š¢šÆāš“ šµš³š¦š¢šµš®š¦šÆšµ [šŖšÆ šš“š¢šš® 42] šøš¢š“ šµš©šŖš“: šŖšÆš“šµš¦š¢š„ š°š§ š¢ššš°šøšŖšÆšØ šµš©šŖš“ š“š¦šš§ šµš° šµš¢šš¬ šµš° š©šŖš®, š©š¦ š“šµš¢š³šµš“ šµš¢šš¬šŖšÆšØ šµš° š©šŖš®š“š¦šš§. āšš©šŗ š¢š³šµ šµš©š°š¶ š¤š¢š“šµ š„š°šøšÆ, š š®šŗ š“š°š¶š?ā š©š¦ š¢š“š¬š“. ššŖš“ š“š°š¶š š©š¢š„ š£š¦š¦šÆ š„š¦š±š³š¦š“š“šŖšÆšØ š©šŖš®, š¤š³š¶š“š©šŖšÆšØ š©šŖš®. šš° š©š¦ š“šµš¢šÆš„š“ š¶š± š¢šÆš„ š“š¢šŗš“, āšš¦šš§, ššŖš“šµš¦šÆ š§š°š³ š®š°š®š¦šÆšµ, š šøšŖšš š“š±š¦š¢š¬ šµš° šŗš°š¶.ā
šš¢šŖ š§š¢ ššššš§ šš¢š„ šš¢š¬
Now how to we counteract these three mistakes? Here are three lessons from Psalm 42:
1.) šš¶šæšš, ššµš² š£šš®š¹šŗš¶šš š±š¼š²šš»'š š“š¶šš² š¶š» šš¼ šµš¶š š³š²š²š¹š¶š»š“š. 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.) š¦š²š°š¼š»š±, ššµš² š£šš®š¹šŗš¶šš š³š¶š“šµšš š³š¼šæ š·š¼š šÆš š®š³š³š¶šæšŗš¶š»š“ ššµš¼ šš¼š± š¶š. 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:
šš©š°š® š©š¢š·š¦ š šŖšÆ š©š¦š¢š·š¦šÆ š£š¶šµ šŗš°š¶?
Ā Ā Ā Ā ššÆš„ šµš©š¦š³š¦ šŖš“ šÆš°šµš©šŖšÆšØ š°šÆ š¦š¢š³šµš© šµš©š¢šµ š š„š¦š“šŖš³š¦ š£š¦š“šŖš„š¦š“ šŗš°š¶.
ššŗ š§šš¦š“š© š¢šÆš„ š®šŗ š©š¦š¢š³šµ š®š¢šŗ š§š¢šŖš,
Ā Ā Ā Ā š£š¶šµ šš°š„ šŖš“ šµš©š¦ š“šµš³š¦šÆšØšµš© š°š§ š®šŗ š©š¦š¢š³šµ š¢šÆš„ š®šŗ š±š°š³šµšŖš°šÆ š§š°š³š¦š·š¦š³.
When you feel weak and discouraged, do you turn to Hebrews 4:15-16, which says:
šš°š³ šøš¦ š„š° šÆš°šµ š©š¢š·š¦ š¢ š©šŖšØš© š±š³šŖš¦š“šµ šøš©š° šŖš“ š¶šÆš¢š£šš¦ šµš° š“šŗš®š±š¢šµš©šŖš»š¦ šøšŖšµš© š°š¶š³ šøš¦š¢š¬šÆš¦š“š“š¦š“, š£š¶šµ š°šÆš¦ šøš©š° šŖšÆ š¦š·š¦š³šŗ š³š¦š“š±š¦š¤šµ š©š¢š“ š£š¦š¦šÆ šµš¦š®š±šµš¦š„ š¢š“ šøš¦ š¢š³š¦, šŗš¦šµ šøšŖšµš©š°š¶šµ š“šŖšÆ. šš¦šµ š¶š“ šµš©š¦šÆ šøšŖšµš© š¤š°šÆš§šŖš„š¦šÆš¤š¦ š„š³š¢šø šÆš¦š¢š³ šµš° šµš©š¦ šµš©š³š°šÆš¦ š°š§ šØš³š¢š¤š¦, šµš©š¢šµ šøš¦ š®š¢šŗ š³š¦š¤š¦šŖš·š¦ š®š¦š³š¤šŗ š¢šÆš„ š§šŖšÆš„ šØš³š¢š¤š¦ šµš° š©š¦šš± šŖšÆ šµšŖš®š¦ š°š§ šÆš¦š¦š„.
When we are fearful and anxious, Psalm 32:7 echoes our heart's cry:
š š°š¶ š¢š³š¦ š®šŗ š©šŖš„šŖšÆšØ š±šš¢š¤š¦;
š š°š¶ š“š©š¢šš š±š³š¦š“š¦š³š·š¦ š®š¦ š§š³š°š® šµš³š°š¶š£šš¦;
š š°š¶ š“š©š¢šš š“š¶š³š³š°š¶šÆš„ š®š¦ šøšŖšµš© š“š°šÆšØš“ š°š§ š„š¦ššŖš·š¦š³š¢šÆš¤š¦.
When you sin, and you feel that God cannot forgive you, do you remind yourself of 1 John 1:9, which says:
šš§ šøš¦ š¤š°šÆš§š¦š“š“ š°š¶š³ š“šŖšÆš“, š©š¦ šŖš“ š§š¢šŖšµš©š§š¶š š¢šÆš„ š«š¶š“šµ šµš° š§š°š³šØšŖš·š¦ š¶š“ š°š¶š³ š“šŖšÆš“ š¢šÆš„ šµš° š¤šš¦š¢šÆš“š¦ š¶š“ š§š³š°š® š¢šš š¶šÆš³šŖšØš©šµš¦š°š¶š“šÆš¦š“š“.
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: āšš°šø š¦š¢š“šŗ šŖšµ šŖš“ šµš° š³š¦š¢š„ šµš©š¦ šš¤š³šŖš±šµš¶š³š¦š“ š¢šÆš„ šØšŖš·š¦ š¢ š¬šŖšÆš„ š°š§ šÆš°š®šŖšÆš¢š š¢š“š“š¦šÆšµ šµš° šµš©š¦ šµš³š¶šµš© š¢šÆš„ šŗš¦šµ šÆš¦š·š¦š³ šµš° š¢š±š±š³š°š±š³šŖš¢šµš¦ šøš©š¢šµ šŖšµ šµš¦ššš“ š¶š“!ā Christian, appropriate God's word to yourself!
3.)š§šµš¶šæš±, ššµš² š£šš®š¹šŗš¶šš šššæš»š šš¼ šš¼š±. 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,
š¾š¤š¢š š©š¤ š¢š, š¢šš šøš©š° šš¢š£š°š³ š¢šÆš„ š¢š³š¦ š©š¦š¢š·šŗ šš¢š„š¦šÆ, š¢šÆš„ š šøšŖšš šØšŖš·š¦ šŗš°š¶ š³š¦š“šµ.
That's what God says in Isaiah 55:1;
š¾š¤š¢š, š¦š·š¦š³šŗš°šÆš¦ šøš©š° šµš©šŖš³š“šµš“,
Ā Ā Ā Ā š¤š°š®š¦ šµš° šµš©š¦ šøš¢šµš¦š³š“;
š¢šÆš„ š©š¦ šøš©š° š©š¢š“ šÆš° š®š°šÆš¦šŗ,
Ā Ā Ā Ā š¤š°š®š¦, š£š¶šŗ š¢šÆš„ š¦š¢šµ!
šš°š®š¦, š£š¶šŗ šøšŖšÆš¦ š¢šÆš„ š®šŖšš¬
Ā Ā Ā Ā šøšŖšµš©š°š¶šµ š®š°šÆš¦šŗ š¢šÆš„ šøšŖšµš©š°š¶šµ š±š³šŖš¤š¦.
And you know what? In the last verses of the Bible, that is also what the Holy Spirit tells us in Revelation 22:17;
šš©š¦ šš±šŖš³šŖšµ š¢šÆš„ šµš©š¦ šš³šŖš„š¦ š“š¢šŗ, āš¾š¤š¢š.ā ššÆš„ šš¦šµ šµš©š¦ š°šÆš¦ šøš©š° š©š¦š¢š³š“ š“š¢šŗ, āšš°š®š¦.ā ššÆš„ šš¦šµ šµš©š¦ š°šÆš¦ šøš©š° šŖš“ šµš©šŖš³š“šµšŗ š¤š°š®š¦; šš¦šµ šµš©š¦ š°šÆš¦ šøš©š° š„š¦š“šŖš³š¦š“ šµš¢š¬š¦ šµš©š¦ šøš¢šµš¦š³ š°š§ ššŖš§š¦ šøšŖšµš©š°š¶šµ š±š³šŖš¤š¦.
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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