Yesterday, at the church we visited, something happened that will be etched into my memory for a long time. A homeless man who had struggled with alcohol dependency was being baptized. He looked like he was about my age. The pastor read from some statements the man had made prior to the baptism. "I had lost the touch for life," he said. Jesus had changed everything for him and he was filled with hope again, he went on to say.
Wow. That's exactly how I feel! I am not chemically dependent. I am living a responsible life. But, due to a depression that is creeping back over my head like a smothering blanket, I am feeling like I have "lost the touch for life." I have battled depression since I left the womb. The struggle is part of who I am. I am tired of it. I don't think it's God's plan for the believer. Wintertime is especially hard, however.
Today will be an excellent day to feast my mind and heart on the scriptures which call me to joy in the Lord. I like this one: "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved." Psalm 55:22 (NKJV)
Here's another powerful passage: "You number my wanderings;/Put my tears into Your bottle;/Are they not in Your book?/When I cry out to You,/Then my enemies will turn back;/This I know, because God is for me./In God (I will praise His word),/In the Lord (I will praise His word),/In God I have put my trust;/I will not be afraid,/What can man do to me?/Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God;/I will render praises to you,/For You have delivered my soul from death./Have you not kept my feet from falling,/That I may walk before God/In the light of the living?" Psalm 56: 8-13 (NKJV).
Wow. That's exactly how I feel! I am not chemically dependent. I am living a responsible life. But, due to a depression that is creeping back over my head like a smothering blanket, I am feeling like I have "lost the touch for life." I have battled depression since I left the womb. The struggle is part of who I am. I am tired of it. I don't think it's God's plan for the believer. Wintertime is especially hard, however.
Today will be an excellent day to feast my mind and heart on the scriptures which call me to joy in the Lord. I like this one: "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved." Psalm 55:22 (NKJV)
Here's another powerful passage: "You number my wanderings;/Put my tears into Your bottle;/Are they not in Your book?/When I cry out to You,/Then my enemies will turn back;/This I know, because God is for me./In God (I will praise His word),/In the Lord (I will praise His word),/In God I have put my trust;/I will not be afraid,/What can man do to me?/Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God;/I will render praises to you,/For You have delivered my soul from death./Have you not kept my feet from falling,/That I may walk before God/In the light of the living?" Psalm 56: 8-13 (NKJV).
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