Discouraged, Broken-hearted and Crushed

One of my best girlfriends sent me a text this morning that simply stated, "Psalm 34:18". I was in the middle of something and couldn't look it up at the moment so I made a mental note to look it up when I finished what I was doing. Throughout the morning, I continued to work and became more and more discouraged. Everything I was trying to do was leading to a dead-end, and I began to doubt I was doing what I was supposed to.

I continued to research the information I needed to move forward with my task. It seemed that the task should have taken about thirty minutes; however, my research led to opening about twenty different tabs. It would seem that in twenty or so tabs, I could have found the information I needed. I felt like I was reading a bunch of words in English that did not go together.

By about 1:30 this afternoon, I finally felt so discouraged. One would have thought that a task I started at 8:30 this morning would have been completed, and I would have moved on to bigger and better things; however, I had not only failed to complete my original task, I had been distracted from writing anything. I tried to encourage myself that it was all a part of the process of monetizing my blogs, but I felt like a complete failure.

Suddenly, I remembered the text my best girlfriend had sent me, and I knew it had to be a Word I needed to hear. I looked up the verse and read the preceding verse. These are the words I read:

Psalm 34:17-18
The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
    He rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
    he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

God spoke clearly to me in that moment. I was broken-hearted and my spirit was crushed, but God wanted me to know that he was near and would rescue me. He also wanted me to know that in my troubles, I needed to call out to Him for help even though I felt like running away. I thanked God for His goodness to me, for speaking to me in the midst of my troubles when I felt hopeless. God is so good.

I figured a little down-time would be a good thing for me. I often find encouragement from some great friends on Facebook so I pulled it up. I had been on there for about 5 minutes when I saw:

Matthew 7:7-8
"Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

 God spoke to me again. He reminded me that when I am having trouble, all I need to do is ask, but He didn't stop there. He reminded me that if things aren't going well, I need to keep knocking. He will give me the answer; he will open the door at the appointed time.

Do I have my answer right now? Do I know exactly what my course of action is? Am I certain that I know the next steps to take? My initial thought is No, but upon further inspection, my answer is Absolutely! The only step I need to take is to keep praying and listening for God's direction. I have actually found a couple of potential sites to help me.

Am I still discouraged? Of course I am. Being human, I am subject to discouragement and disappointment when things do not work out. Being a child of God, I am encouraged that He will help me overcome this disappointment. Tomorrow is another day, and I intend to seek Him throughout the process. I know He will guide me, and I know he will not leave me broken-hearted and crushed. He will lift me up, even when the discouragement tries to sneak in and steal my joy. I serve a good God who loves me and will direct my paths.

Will it look like I expect? Will everything go smoothly? Probably not, but I know that God will be near to me and open the right doors at the right time.

Help! I'm Sick

“Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”                        Joshua 1: 6-9

Have you ever been so sick that you didn't think you would ever feel normal again? That is exactly how I felt over the past couple of days. I was so weak last night because I had not been able to eat much. I had laid around all day and did not think I would even be able to function today. Last night, in spite of having no appetite, I forced myself to eat a decent meal and felt my energy returning. Today, I feel more normal; however, my appetite has still not returned completely.

This experience has caused me to think about how we can become so sick in our spiritual lives that we lose our spiritual appetite. Being in the habit of regularly studying God's Word and spending time with the Lord can be equated to regularly eating a meal. When we allow the things of this world (ie tv, movies, music, Facebook, etc.) to crowd out our time with the Lord and studying His Word, we can become spiritually sick.

It usually doesn't happen all at once. We miss time with the Lord once, and it is like skipping a meal to do something unhealthy. If we continue to skip a meal to do something unhealthy, it is like purposefully exposing ourselves to a sickness we have no immunity to until we eventually become sick. When we become sick spiritually, we will lose our desire to spend time with God.

When we realize that we have been spiritually sick, we are faced with the choice to do one of two things. We can choose to continue to allow other things of this world to crowd out our time with the Lord or we must force-feed ourselves the Word of God. Sometimes we find our appetite for God's Word has returned, but other times, our appetite continues to be weak.

Often this weak appetite, or lack thereof, for spending time in God's Word and in prayer is our first indication that we are spiritually sick (see Psalm 119:9-16, 33-40 below). When this becomes apparent, we need to press through and make ourselves partake so that we will overcome our spiritual sickness. As we read God's Word and see God's offering of love and grace that are new every morning (see Lam. 3:22-24 below), we will have more desire to read His Word and spend time with Him. May you desire to increase your appetite today!

In His Grace

Psalm 119:9-16, 33-40
How can a young person stay pure?
    By obeying your word.
I have tried hard to find you—
    don’t let me wander from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.
I praise you, O Lord;
    teach me your decrees.
I have recited aloud
    all the regulations you have given us.
I have rejoiced in your laws
    as much as in riches.
I will study your commandments
    and reflect on your ways.
I will delight in your decrees
    and not forget your word.

.....................................................

Teach me your decrees, O Lord;
    I will keep them to the end.
Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions;
    I will put them into practice with all my heart.
Make me walk along the path of your commands,
    for that is where my happiness is found.
Give me an eagerness for your laws
    rather than a love for money!
Turn my eyes from worthless things,
    and give me life through your word.
Reassure me of your promise,
    made to those who fear you.
Help me abandon my shameful ways;
    for your regulations are good.
I long to obey your commandments!
    Renew my life with your goodness. 

Lamentations 3:22-24
 The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!”

Admonishment to Live By

“And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

“And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again. I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault, for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know.

“So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders. I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.

“And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself." Acts 20:22-32

It amazes me that Paul knew he was going to be jailed and could still say that without doing the work of the Lord, his life was worth nothing. I wonder if we could have the same attitude if we knew what was to come in our lives.

I do know that Paul gave some charges to his brothers and sisters in Christ, and that includes us. He admonishes us to guard ourselves as we feed and shepherd God's flock, protecting one another from those intent on hurting God's people just as a wolf will infiltrate a flock of sheep and destroy it from the inside out. Paul also encourages us to watch carefully over one anther because even some of those in the flock will turn against the others.

Interestingly, he doesn't tell us to do any of this in our own power. It will be through prayer that we will know God's voice, that we will hide His word in our hearts and instinctively know His message of grace to share with those who are set apart for Him. May we in the Church take heed of Paul's words today.

In His Grace!