Do you ever feel like...? - Have you ever noticed that we humans are prone to emotional highs and lows which are influenced by a number of external and internal factors?
If you haven't, then I might suggest you are either delusional, somewhere between birth and rational thought, or not human. If it's the latter than you might want to check out the SETI Institute, they've been looking for you.
For me, some of those factors are finances, what others say, what others in my church do or don't do, what I think others think about me, the effects left by time's passing, the aches and pains in my body, self-doubt, singleness, and/or allowing negative thoughts to propagate.
For you I would imagine that some of those things that affect me, affect you. But you might also be prone to chemical imbalances, your spouse [notice the proximity to chemical imbalances ;-) ], your boss and co-workers, where you're going to be tomorrow, your children and grandchildren, and/or your health.
Some of these things of course can propel us to emotional highs where we feel good about ourselves and our circumstances, but then the same things given a negative twist will send us into black moods if not out and out despair.
I've heard some "Christians" say if your depressed than you're not a Christian.
Phooey.
God created us emotional beings. Which isn't to say that we should be ruled by our emotions/feelings but that we should recognize them and deal accordingly with them. I'm not implying that one should accept the feelings of despair or bleak outlook. That is not what our Father wants for any of us. He wants His best for us. Jesus is our hope after all, and He has gone ahead of us to prepare something so marvelous that John struggled with words to describe it in the book of Revelation. What I am saying is that we must work at taking every thought captive in the reality of the Cross of Jesus. I've had to exercise this of late. I also have to admit my failure to exercise it enough.
Volunteering in the ministry, particularly a small body of believers like mine, can be very taxing at times and indeed, rather lonely. I have heard that it can be the same in a large church, too. Some statistics make the claim that 10 percent of church members do 90 percent of the work. Sometimes I think it's probably more around a 5/95 split on average, but that's just a gut feeling.
These thoughts give rise to a question in my mind, why does God allow us to experience these feelings that so often war within us distracting us from Him and His will?
The question makes me think of a quote I read:
"Have we come to the place where God can withdraw His blessings and it does not affect our trust in Him?" - Oswald Chambers: NOT A BIT OF IT!
In the midst of the "emotional" low that I've been in of late my trust in God has been shaken some. Not my trust that He is, that He knows, but that He cares all that much about my circumstances. I've felt a bit like David crying out,
Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger. My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest - I would flee far away and stay in the desert; Psalm 55:1-7
This is one of the reasons I so love the Word of God, it speaks so clearly to my soul. The wonderful thing I find in David is that he reminds in Psalm after Psalm of what the Lord has done in the past and declares that in the light of the circumstances of the now we should remember God's goodness. But also we should balance that with the promises God has made to us. Promises of life and love in eternity with Him.
I am under vows to you, O God; I will present my thank offerings to you. For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. Psalm 56:12-13
So why does the Lord allow these feelings?
Sunday I was speaking with a close friend. He was telling me about some Karate experts he saw on TV breaking objects like boards and bricks and I was reminded of the training that they must go through to be able to accomplish such feats of strength and mind without shattering their bones completely. The person must train regularly, even daily strengthening muscle and hardening bone. They do this by starting small, not jumping to breaking two-by-fours and bricks, but working on smaller items and beating upon bags and padded wood repeatedly. (added note: Those small items seem big at first and even cause pain, but after much training they are mere twigs.) Someone once told me that the constant training actually causes minute fractures in the bones that harden as they heal making the bone more strong and more dense.
In the same way I believe the valleys where we feel like the Lord has removed his blessing from us are the places where He is training us and strengthening our trust and faith in Him. It's a process that leads to a more mature, more rich, and more strong relationship with the Father as He reveals Jesus in us. It's a process that helps us to testify to those who don't know Jesus as Lord and Savior, sharing with them how He empowers us. Even more then just telling, it allows those who don't know Jesus, and even those who do, to witness us putting our faith in action in the midst of those periods of despair. And that speaks louder than mere words.
Though in the these dark times when we can't see Jesus being revealed in us, you will be surprised to find out how others will later tell how they were encouraged by your faith and could see your faith revealing Jesus in your life.
My blogging friend, Vicki, has a post about speaking to our despondency. I suggest you read it. I love what Vicki says about our brokenness and sufferings:
There are no shortcuts to God, only the Cross. But this is glorious truth. To surrender in our brokenness is to rely on the power and grace of our Lord. Apart from Him, we don't really know how to accept suffering. But through Him, we become more than conquerors.
And the more we live and move and have our being in Him, the more we'll start talking back to despondency. For nothing can separate us from His love.
And nothing ever will.
Amen!
The Great Separation continues.
