1 Samuel 30:6b
November 2, 2008 Dear Friends - Hitting a spiritual wall takes on many forms … for some, it’s as simple as neglecting to spend time with God and in His Word on a daily basis. For many, though, it consists of lives that are wracked with fear, guilt, depression, and anger. So today, let me ask you: has the discipline of God, the distress that God has brought into your life because of sin or spiritual neglect, made you more obedient or less obedient to him? Are you more submissive to his will or less submissive? Has stress made you bitter towards God, or better in serving him? Are you more likely to run with him in agreement or from him in disobedience? The following statement may seem like a bitter pill, but it’s actually a better pill … the only reason God allows His children to despair is so we can learn not to trust in ourselves, but in Him alone. That’s it… Your Brother in the Journey - Mark Hitting a spiritual wall takes on many forms … for some, it’s as simple as neglecting to spend time with God and in His Word on a daily basis. For many, though, it consists of lives that are wracked with fear, guilt, depression, and anger. So today, let me ask you: has the discipline of God, the distress that God has brought into your life because of sin or spiritual neglect, made you more obedient or less obedient to him? Are you more submissive to his will or less submissive? Has stress made you bitter towards God, or better in serving him? Are you more likely to run with him in agreement or from him in disobedience? The following statement may seem like a bitter pill, but it’s actually a better pill … the only reason God allows His children to despair is so we can learn not to trust in ourselves, but in Him alone. That’s it…. * What hitting a spiritual wall looks like….read 1 Samuel 16:13; 18:12-16; and 27:1 and ask yourself, “what is horribly wrong with this picture?!?” Key in on the phrase in 27:1, “but David thought to himself…” It’s vital to note that during David’s 16 months living with the Philistines (which, by itself, was dangerously disobedient to God’s direction), not one Psalm is recorded. During every other phase of his life he was offering up praise, poem, song and laments. Not here…God is out of sight, out of mind! What It Takes to Break Through Spiritual Walls …
Q: Is depression sin? Cite biblical evidence pro or con. Q: Does God’s sovereignty eliminate the need for human effort? Where is the biblical balance? Bottom Line: God’s grace means that he doesn’t deal with us according to our sins, but according to His great mercy shown to us in Christ. Listen, it’s in those moments when life tumbles in around us that we discover what we truly believe … and the watching world discovers what we believe as well. The world has no answer for a Christian whose faith shines in the darkness of personal tragedy…remember that. |
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