Dear Daily Message Readers,
READ: 1 Kings 19
1 Kings 19:8 (NIV) "So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God."
"I'm depressed!" yells one of my residents at the top of his lungs.
Sometimes we say this jokingly, but for many people, depression is a real feeling. But it's when we don't say that we are depressed that we really are feeling low for a prolonged periods of time that we have to worry. Depression is something that can affect us all.
Defined as a condition of long-term sadness, depression is marked by feelings of hopelessness and an inability to think things through rationally. Depressed people say things like this to themselves: "I'm just a bad person. I'm a failure. It's hopeless. There is no God."
If this description of depression has described you, you are certainly not alone. You see, some of the most God-fearing people in the Bible and the world have felt this way. Elijah the prophet is an example of this feeling. After being on the mountaintop in his walk with the Lord, he suffered a great letdown. He had won a stunning victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:16-46). In the strength of the Lord he had run seventeen miles non-stop. Yet when he learned that Jezebel, the evil queen, had vowed to kill him, a sudden fear gripped his heart. So he ran for his life. Finally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted, he gave in to his feelings of despair.
The text tells us, however, that God was gentle with Elijah. In fact, he let him rest and fed him, strengthening him for the next leg of the journey. However, Elijah's sadness continued despite these provisions. So the Lord promised to stay with him, gave him a companion and disciple named Elisha, and challenged him with a new task.
Are you feeling hopeless? Does it feel as if God has left you? Do you feel let you down or discouraged? The Old Testament stories of Elijah and Job show us that feelings of aloneness do not mean that God has turned His back on us. Instead, they only block our awareness of His presence. Remember: Those who wait helplessly on the Lord may feel hopeless. But because of God's presence, they never are truly lonely. Faith Lesson: "The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble."--Psalm 9:9
In Christ,
Darin Smith
Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? If not, then learn to how make Jesus your Savior and Lord.
Check out the Daily Message Devotional's new and full-featured website at http://www.dailymessage.org To subscribe to the Daily Message Devotional mailing list, please send a blank email to UICDevotions-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
READ: 1 Kings 19
1 Kings 19:8 (NIV) "So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God."
"I'm depressed!" yells one of my residents at the top of his lungs.
Sometimes we say this jokingly, but for many people, depression is a real feeling. But it's when we don't say that we are depressed that we really are feeling low for a prolonged periods of time that we have to worry. Depression is something that can affect us all.
Defined as a condition of long-term sadness, depression is marked by feelings of hopelessness and an inability to think things through rationally. Depressed people say things like this to themselves: "I'm just a bad person. I'm a failure. It's hopeless. There is no God."
If this description of depression has described you, you are certainly not alone. You see, some of the most God-fearing people in the Bible and the world have felt this way. Elijah the prophet is an example of this feeling. After being on the mountaintop in his walk with the Lord, he suffered a great letdown. He had won a stunning victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:16-46). In the strength of the Lord he had run seventeen miles non-stop. Yet when he learned that Jezebel, the evil queen, had vowed to kill him, a sudden fear gripped his heart. So he ran for his life. Finally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted, he gave in to his feelings of despair.
The text tells us, however, that God was gentle with Elijah. In fact, he let him rest and fed him, strengthening him for the next leg of the journey. However, Elijah's sadness continued despite these provisions. So the Lord promised to stay with him, gave him a companion and disciple named Elisha, and challenged him with a new task.
Are you feeling hopeless? Does it feel as if God has left you? Do you feel let you down or discouraged? The Old Testament stories of Elijah and Job show us that feelings of aloneness do not mean that God has turned His back on us. Instead, they only block our awareness of His presence. Remember: Those who wait helplessly on the Lord may feel hopeless. But because of God's presence, they never are truly lonely. Faith Lesson: "The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble."--Psalm 9:9
In Christ,
Darin Smith
Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? If not, then learn to how make Jesus your Savior and Lord.
Check out the Daily Message Devotional's new and full-featured website at http://www.dailymessage.org To subscribe to the Daily Message Devotional mailing list, please send a blank email to UICDevotions-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.