Depression, The Cure

Psalm 40, 1) I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2) He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3) He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. 4) Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. 5) Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.  6) Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.7) Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll. 8) I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” 9) I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O Lord. 10) I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly. 11) Do not withhold your mercy from me, O Lord; may your love and your truth always protect me.12) For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. 13) Be pleased, O Lord, to save me; O Lord, come quickly to help me. 14) May all who seek to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. 15) May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” be appalled at their own shame. 16) But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, “The Lord be exalted!” 17) Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.

The last blog (The Depression Pit, Your No Alone) compares Davids depression in Psalm 38 to our modern times and how we still feel some of the same problems. In Psalm 39, David starts to turn his gaze upwards. In Psalm 40 David realizes his cure and salvation lies in God and His Grace and Mercy. Psalm 40 reminds us of many of Gods promises. David gives us the Cure, defined in verse 2 ( He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand),  for our problems in this Psalm and when you finish reading it, apply these principles to your life when your struggling and see if God doesn't cure you. 

David makes it clear that to receive Gods blessings we must trust in Him and make Him our refuge and not turn to any false gods (vs 4) or the proud. This verse clearly establishes we cannot fox our issues on our own. The solution is to turn to the Lord and give Him the opportunity to work in our lives. I have done nothing but screw up my life trying to fix it all on my own. Everything I tried failed. Why? Because I didn't trust in our Father to repair my relationships and life's struggles. I will never fail to not only give it to Him, but to praise Him for all that He does in my life these days. God can renew your relationships, remove your dependencies and heal your bodies if you simply trust in Him and turn your life over to His reign. 

Prayer is where David turns and in verse 6, he reminds us that God no longer wants the sacrifice of old, but He gives us the ability to hear our Fathers wishes and we must obey what He tells us. Many times in my past I ignored the path God presented me with, usually for what seemed to be a shorter or more fruitful path. I soon discovered that these directions I took was laden with pitfalls and traps set by the enemy to ensnare me. To remove me from Gods grace and presence, It worked. My life collapsed and until then I had not a clue the destructive path I had chose, and the lives I involved. Only in the aftermath of the collapse of my situation did I discover all that I hurt. God has redeemed me, however there are many who still either do not believe this redemption or refuses to accept it, as the offense to them they feel cannot be repaired. While I still struggle with this from time to time, God reminds me of His Love and renews my focus so I stay on track.

So like David in verses 9-10, I share with anyone who will listen the blessings God has bestowed on me. I glorify Him (vs 16) in everything I do. Without God I would not and could not manage a day to day existence anymore. I look to Him for every decision and ask His council in all that I do. In verse 10 David proclaims Gods faithfulness and salvation. He also shares Gods steadfast Love and truth with the great assembly. In verse 17 he also reminds us God has a plan for our lives and all we have to do is listen and let Him guide us. Lets face it, if you are like me, you already know we just keep messing things up. So why not let God take control? What do you have to lose? He will make your life more fulfilling and purposeful. If you believe He will restore relationships, guide you to that perfect job, remove any dependencies and heal your sickness. These are His promises and all you must do is.......TRUST and BELIEVE. 

So lets recap, David reminds us that God can pull is from any pit, bless our lives, allows us to hear His voice, Love, forgive and guide us and all we must do is trust, obey and praise Him. That definitely sounds as if we are getting the better end of the deal. Think about it, we get grace, forgiveness, guidance, purpose and Agape Love and what does he get? A bunch of broken, lost, undesirable sinners who He then molds into His image for each of us. Now I can't do anything but praise and thank our Father for these blessings that I truly do not deserve. I am humbled and amazed at all He does for me. 

Let's Pray: Father God, we thank You for all the many blessings that You continue to rain down on us. Father Your grace and mercy is immeasurable and all I can do is praise You Father. I only hope to have a small measure of Grace and Mercy you show, Father. Father help those who are suffering follow the plan David has laid out in Psalm 40, so that the suffering can find and lean on You Father. We come to you a mess Father and ask You to give us order and purpose in our lives Father. We thank You for all that You do and we praise You. We ask for Your forgiveness God and allow us to serve You, Your Kingdom and others Father in Your name. We come to You and ask all this in Jesus name....AMEN.