Archive for the ‘ Discouragement ’ Category
For You are the God of my refuge.
Psalm 43:2, HCSB
Why have You rejected me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?
It can feel like God is distant, especially when evil thrives, but we can take comfort in knowing that God has not only not rejected us but promised to be with us always when we are in Christ.
Why am I so depressed?
Psalm 42:11, HCSB
Why this turmoil within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him,
my Savior and my God.
It can feel like God is distant when life is hard or evil seems to be winning, but our hope is in Christ who has promised to be with us always and is worthy of all praise.
My adversaries taunt me,
Psalm 42:10, HCSB
as if crushing my bones,
while all day long they say to me,
“Where is your God?”
It can feel like God is distant, especially when others mock our faith, yet we know that God is with us by the Holy Spirit and His promise to always be with us.
I will say to God, my rock,
Psalm 42:9, HCSB
“Why have You forgotten me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?”
It can feel like God is distant, especially when life is difficult and people mock our faith, but we know that He is always with us by the Holy Spirit and understands mocking and suffering. We can rest in His faithfulness.
I am deeply depressed;
Psalm 42:6, HCSB
therefore I remember You from the land of Jordan
and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
God should be our greatest desire, and when life gets in the way we should cry out to God from the places of safety, like Church, and in the midst of trials, just like David did when running from his son who tried to steal the throne.
Why am I so depressed?
Psalm 42:5, HCSB
Why this turmoil within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him,
my Savior and my God.
God should be our greatest desire, and sometimes we focus on something else or He is calling us to think of others with His love and will by allowing sadness, depression, and anxiety. Prayer and praise to our Savior will restore our desire.
My tears have been my food day and night,
Psalm 42:3, HCSB
while all day long people say to me,
“Where is your God?”
God should be our greatest desire, and this is a help when times are hard and people reject the gospel and mock us. We trust His faithfulness and await His return.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.
Romans 8:18, HCSB
With faith in Christ alone are we declared righteous, and the world will try to suppress God’s righteousness. Yet, we have the blessed hope that Christ is making all things new and will make the struggles now appear insignificant, like the pain of childbirth and holding the newborn.
Learn to do what is good. Seek justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow’s cause.
Isaiah 1:17, HCSB
God’s heart is for the oppressed. All are oppressed by sin, but some face more challenges. The Holy Spirit should move us in the love of Christ to seek justice in all things.
I preached again!
Once again I was in Paulden Christian Fellowship. Pastor Paul started the Letter to the Galatians, so as I cover the preaching and teaching while he recovers from surgery I picked up with the second half of chapter 2.
Unlike usual, I do not have a copy of notes below, but I have provided the PowerPoint.
a simple man of God 