At the End of My Rope

Sometimes I feel like nothing ever goes right in my life! Every little thing makes me angry and when I’m not angry, I’m depressed. In my more lucid moments, I realize that I’m just being selfish and that seems to make me more depressed. My mind struggles with what I should do. I’m not helpless to the point that I can’t reason, so why can’t I think of an answer? Why can’t I get my attitude where it should be? Why am I like this?

When I consider what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 7:14-25, I realize that I’m not the only one who suffers like this. And I don’t really think that Paul and I are the only two, either. I have generally found that I am enough like everyone else that if I preach sermons I need to hear, most everyone else benefits, as well. The same is true of this battle. Now, I realize that some suffer from depression more than others and some suffer from clinical depression and need medical care. Please don’t take what I say here to mean that I don’t think there is a need for professional, medical care for the clinically depressed. I’m speaking more to the spiritually depressed; those people like me who occasionally get “down,” feel self-pity and who need a little encouragement to get their ship aright or their act together, as the case may be.

If I’ll just think this through, I’ll remember Paul’s words in Romans 7:24, 25: “Wretched man that I am, who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” That’s the main bit of encouragement we need to get us out of the doldrums. However, there are some other things from Scripture that will help.

Several years ago, Neal Pollard wrote an article published in the Gospel Gleaner quarterly, entitled “God’s RX for Depression.” It’s an excellent article and I’d like to share some of what I read there. He gives a three-part plan for handling depression that I have found to work well in my own life. First of all, Find Someone to Serve. I’ve found it true that when I’m “out of sorts,” if I’ll find something nice to do for someone else, it helps me get back to where I need to be with my attitude. How many times do we find Jesus at a particularly stressful point in His life, turning to the multitudes and healing all kinds of diseases and feeding the hungry? There is something cathartic about helping other people.

Second, Find Some Time to Meditate. By meditation we mean, of course, meditation on the word of God. The further you get from God, the weaker spiritually you’re going to be. Every one of us needs to be spending more time in the word of God, especially when we’re depressed and the whole world seems to be falling apart.

Third, Find Something to Eliminate. The article suggests eliminating doubt or dread, which is a good suggestion. Both doubt and dread suggest a lack of faith in God. Remember, before you can ever be filled with Christ, you must empty yourself. Something in you is causing depression; get rid of whatever it is and give yourself fully to Christ. Your problems won’t necessarily go away, but you’ll have much more ammunition to use in dealing with whatever this life throws at you.

God is for you if you are for Him! And if God is for you, who can be against you (Romans 8:31)? You can and should have a great week because God loves you and so do I.

Donnie Bates

A Glorious Life

One of the most inspiring passages of Scripture to me is 2 Corinthians 3.  Paul wanted the Corinthian Christians to know that he considered them and the work he did among them as adequate testimony of his faithfulness.  He did not consider that he needed letters of commendation from anyone.  His work spoke for itself.  He was confident in Christ.

You may not feel confident.  I know I sometimes don't feel I have confidence through Christ toward God (2 Corinthians 3:4) because of the things I do or say or think.  You might think it all well and good for Paul to feel confident, but he was Paul!  He was an apostle!  "He wasn't like me!!"  Spend some time reading Romans 7 if you don't think Paul suffered through the same kind of turmoil in his everyday life that you and I do.  Paul's confidence did not come from his apostleship in some miraculous or automatic way.  He did not consider himself adequate in himself, but his adequacy was "from God" (2 Corinthians 3:5).

Here is the thought I want you to begin your day with:  Your adequacy is from God, too!  Paul draws a contrast in this chapter between the old law and the new law; the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ.  The old Law of Moses came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face (2 Corinthians 3:7).  It was full of glory and yet compared to the Christian life, Paul called it a "ministry of death" (2 Corinthians 3:7).  And if that old "ministry of death" had all that glory, how much more will the ministry of the Spirit (the Christian life) be filled with glory?  How much, indeed!

I want you to notice just how Paul describes the Christian life in the next few verses:  “For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.  For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory on account of the glory that surpasses it.  For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory” (2 Corinthians 3:9-11).  How many times does he mention "glory" here? 

I know it's hard to remember passages like this when the going gets rough, but we have to try.  There are times when life seems too difficult.  The demands of faithful Christianity are too demanding, we think.  The temptations of life are too difficult to resist.  Or so they seem.  In reality, they are not!  The devil has done a good job of convincing us otherwise, but we can have confidence.  Yes, even a spiritually broken-down old horse like me or you!

Did I say "confidence"?  Yes, confidence!  Confidence is a difficult commodity to have or to hold on to, I know, but it is available.  I can look my enemy straight in the eye and tell him to give it his best shot.  I don't have to worry about the devil winning over me.  I can have confidence that I will win over him.  The writer of the book of Hebrews says we can enter the holy place (the presence of God) with confidence (Hebrews 10:19) and that we should draw near to the throne of grace to find grace to help in time of need...with confidence (Hebrews 4:16).  And Paul says that because of the hope we have within us, the hope of eternal life, the hope of salvation and the love of our heavenly Father, we can speak out with boldness (2 Corinthians 3:12); "boldness" and "confidence" being the same.

When you look at the week ahead of you, what do you see?  Do you see intimidation?  Do you see weakness?  Do you see temptation?  Do you see an enemy standing before you, ready to torture you and make you give up your faith?  Well, take a good look at the glorious life of a Christian, then, look that old devil in the face and spit in his eye!  He can't touch you!  He can tie you to a chair, tie your hands behind your back and hit you with everything he's got and you can still laugh at him because of the glory of your life in Christ!!!  Thanks be to  God through Jesus Christ our Lord!  He loves you and so do I.

Donnie Bates