THAT SLIPPING FEELING

It’s all too familiar.

Those who have battled depression will know what I’m talking about.

It’s an inner awareness that all is not well. It’s an imposing reality that you’re in for a rough ride. It feels unavoidable. It creates dread.

There are very direct results:

·         Greater difficulty negotiating social connections [desire to isolate]

·         Feelings of failure

·         Lack of motivation [have to force oneself to work]

·         Loss of hope

·         Brooding

·         Disappointment

·         Guilt

The list could go on, but you get the idea.

This slipping feeling is depression’s early warning system!  The ultimate destination of bottoming out is inevitable – UNLESS YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR COURSE.

Ah, now comes the essential question: How do you change your course?

The answers here will vary depending on the person and their past experience.

Some possible answers are:

o   Call the doctor and ask for a prescription.

o   Contact a counselor and set an appointment.

o   Ask for prayer in your small group [if you are part of one].

o   Increase your physical exercise and outdoor exposure – especially sunlight.

o   Talk with a trusted friend about your feelings.

o   Write down your thoughts and feelings [Journaling is an excellent practice for maintaining mental health!]

o   Read something therapeutic or for pleasure.

o   Call out to God for understanding and help by searching His Word, talking with a pastor [or trusted spiritual guide] or simply talking with God Himself!

I’m sure there are other alternatives that could be pursued, but I hope you get the main message: Your body is sending you a message as a warning! Act immediately or the descent of the slide will quickly accelerate your path to a dark place!

If you’ve been to this dark place before, you definitely don’t want to go there again! None of the doors have doorknobs to facilitate your escape! It’s dark! You’re isolated! You morbidly review your life – especially your failures. The loneliness is excruciating!

Make no mistake about it: This miserable, hopeless, dark and depressed place is a carefully laid trap set for you by your spiritual enemy! 

MEMORIZE John 10:10,

A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy,

but I [Jesus] came to give life – life in all its fullness.

[NCV]

As one who has spent too much time in the ‘slough of despair’, I can testify that you DON’T WANT TO GO THERE!

FIGHT IT! FIGHT HIM – THE ENEMY OF YOUR SOUL! 

Don’t be afraid to speak to your enemy out loud! Jesus did! We should! Tell him to go back to hell where he belongs and where he’ll be for all eternity!

MEMORIZE James 4:7-8,

So give yourselves completely to God.

Stand against the devil, and the devil will run from you.

Come near to God, and God will come near to you.

You sinners [that’s all of us] clean sin out of your lives.

You who are trying to follow God and the world at the same time,

MAKE YOUR THINKING PURE.

[NCV]

 Call out to God! Ask for His direction and help! Ask Him to send ‘someone with skin’ to walk with you and encourage you!

READ SCRIPTURE! If you don’t know where to read, check out the following verses in a contemporary Bible like The Message or The Living Bible:  [Try meditating on one-per-day]

ü  Deuteronomy 31:8

ü  Psalm 34:17

ü  Psalm 40:1-3

ü  Psalm 3:3

ü  John 16:33

ü  Romans 8:38-39

ü  II Corinthians 1:3-4

ü  Isaiah 41:10

ü  Matthew 11:28

ü  I Peter 5:6-7

ü  Psalm 23:4

ü  Colossians 4:7-8

If you’ve got THAT SLIPPING FEELING, feel free to private message me. I’d be happy to pray for you! I’ve been on that slippery slope many times and care about those who share this struggle!

DEEP, DEEPLY DOWN

The bulk of the book of Job is the ongoing dialogue between Job and his friends.

Eliphaz – from Teman – is the first to speak.  He seems to think that Job’s suffering is due to unintended sins.  He encourages Job to accept God’s correction.

When Job responds to him, we find that Eliphaz’s words have not comforted Job – but upset him. 

As Job speaks, we can hear his pain! 

“Would that my anguish were weighed, laid on a scale together with the disaster I’ve suffered!  For there is not enough sand in the seas to outweigh it!  It’s no wonder my untamed words are but incoherent stammering.” [6:2-3  all quotes from The Voice Bible]

In 6:8-10 Job seems to wish that God would bring his life to an end.  It is not a suicidal wish; he knows that only God has the right to begin and end life! 

In vs.11-13, he wonders how he will be able to “persist in this life”?

In his despair he seems agitated with the lack of understanding exhibited by his friends.  However, he continues to value their friendship – they are, after all, with him in his pain!  He cries out to them: “In all seriousness, teach me, and I will be silent.  Where have I erred? Help me understand.” [v.24]

In chapter 7 Job describes his despair:

“When I lie down at the end of the day, I wonder, ‘How soon till morning so I can arise?’ But the night stretches on, and I toss and turn until sunrise.” [v.4]

In the depths of his pain he cries out to God:

“I hate my life.  I have no desire to keep on living.  Leave me alone, God, for I have only a short time left.” [v.16]

Questioning himself and his integrity, he cries out:

“I have sinned.  What have I done to You,…Why have You targeted me…?...So I’ve sinned inadvertently, can’t You pardon me? Are my crimes such You can’t forgive my sins?”  [v.20-21]

Job is deep in the pit.  He is questioning everything.  He is full of self doubt.  He needs answers and cries out to his friends!

_______________________________

Some of us have been here with Job!  We’ve felt the deep pain and the isolation that grief and sorrow brings.  We wonder where God is.  We don’t understand why the bottom seems to have fallen out.  We feel alone.  We can’t endure the long days of suffering. We wish we could just die and end it all.  We query about why things have gone so badly. 

But, like Job, we must respect God’s sole right to begin and end life!  We must turn to friends – even if their attempts to comfort and advise seem weak and ineffective.  We must continue to trust God and believe that – in His time – He will bring us out! 

The Psalmist’s words must be tattooed on our mind:

“The deepest pains may linger through the night, but joy greets the soul with the smile of morning.” [Psalm 30:5].

If you’re in this season of despair and desire the companionship of one who has travelled this road – private message me to gain a prayer partner.  I promise to maintain your confidence and privacy! 

CALL OUT TO GOD

Reading the psalms can be shocking!  This book, in the center of our Bibles, shows us – with no uncertainty – that we can bring all our thoughts and emotions to God without hesitation.  We find in this book rants, complaints against God, appeals for God to destroy the enemy, laments of deep sadness and sorrow, jubilant and zealous expressions of joy and praise, historical reflections, acrostic meditations, and nearly defiant demands.  

The one-hundred-fifty psalms were the hymnbook for the Israelites.  In quite a few cases instrumental instructions are included for choirs and orchestras.  Because it was a liturgy for worship, it includes all the various circumstances that God-followers face. 

Some years ago, Crystal Lewis gave us a worship chorus that clarifies the message deduced from the psalms:

Come just as you are
Hear the spirit call
Come just as you are
Come and see
Come receive
Come and live forever 

Life Everlasting
Strength for today
Taste the living water
And never thirst again

Come just as you are
Don't you hear the spirit call?
Come just as you are
Come and see
Christ My King
Come and live forever more

The psalms teach us that we may feel free to come to God in any and all circumstances!  Our mood does not prohibit us from coming to the throne of grace!  We may feel free to come when we are desperate and seem incapable of using the right kind of language.  We are welcome, even if we are:

• angry
• depressed
• vengeful
• frustrated
• disappointed
• subject to bullying
• overwhelmed
• nervous
• anxious
• feeling like a loser
• exhausted
• feeling suicidal
• feeling hopeless
• rejected
• in deep grief

[You realize, of course, that this list could go on and on…]

Actually, these are GREAT times to turn to God and empty our hearts!  God can take our honesty;  God prefers it!  He does NOT want us to put on airs, to say what we think He wants us to say, to pretend all is well!  The psalms show us that God is open to our deepest and most extreme experiences!  He simply waits for us to BRING IT to Him and leave it with Him! 

There’s an old hymn:  [written by Charles A. Tindley]

If the world from you withhold of its silver and its gold,
And you have to get along with meager fare,
Just remember, in His Word, how He feeds the little bird—
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

Refrain:
Leave it there, leave it there,
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there;
If you trust and never doubt, He will surely bring you out—
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

If your body suffers pain and your health you can’t regain,
And your soul is almost sinking in despair,
Jesus knows the pain you feel, He can save and He can heal—
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

When your enemies assail and your heart begins to fail,
Don’t forget that God in Heaven answers prayer;
He will make a way for you and will lead you safely through—
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

When your youthful days are gone and old age is stealing on,
And your body bends beneath the weight of care;
He will never leave you then, He’ll go with you to the end—
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

I don’t know what you may be facing or experiencing today, but I know you’d feel a lot better if you’d lay it out before Almighty God!  Regardless of how ugly – even repulsive – your thoughts may be, God can bear it.  You may not be up to it, but He is!  Bare your soul!  Unload your burden!  Speak the truth!  Feel free to rant! 

Then listen…

God will dip into His limitless resources and He will begin a process that will eventually lead you to a better place!