What do we do with the deep sense of despair we deal with. You know those deep rooted hurts and wounds that sit inside of us? The questions about whether we are alone, maybe it is just me, no one else has these issues. How do we move forward, when we question our ability to get it right, because we have messed it all up too many times. Can true healing and restoration happen? Can we overcome? Can these hurts, the feeling of despair go away?
In second Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 10 the Apostle Paul reminds us that when they were full of sorrow they also were rejoicing. I have pondered this and other such ideas in the Scriptures. What can it mean to be rejoicing while I have such deep sorrow and despair in me. Then I was reminded of what I heard Pastor Mark Driscoll say in a sermon "Sing until you feel like worshiping". This statement was made to challenge our thinking that our heart and emotion decides whether or not we enter true worship. Driscoll was making the point that we are called to worship and sing unto our Lord, so start and keep going until you do feel like it. Do what you know is right and eventually your emotions and heart will catch up.
So what am I saying? Well I think that we need to worship and rejoice in our God. In what He has done for us and continues to do in us. No matter how badly I fail, no matter how much hurt is placed on me by others, He has endured so much more for me. I need to rejoice and celebrate because even at my lowest, Jesus cared enough to die for me. Even when I seem to have lost all hope, He is my only Hope that I can cling to.
Most of us do not need therapy or long term counselling to deal with this stuff. What we need is to have an encounter with Jesus. That is the beginning. Then we are to live as worshipers regardless of circumstance. Our lives need to be transformed by Christ and as He lives in us, we need to humble ourselves and worship even in the hardest times.
I think of the words to the old Hymn "It is well with my soul". We need that attitude and action. Life is going to hand us a bunch of garbage over and over again. This is the reality of the mess humanity has made for itself. I believe that we need to worship and celebrate our Lord in the midst of it all. There is no other way, there is no magic pill or course to take. When we focus on our sorrow and despair we have tried to re-take control of our lives and instantly become self-centered. Re-surrender to Jesus and allow His Holy Spirit to run the show, celebrate that He can and will carry you through it all.
Let us press on together.
Preacherman
