Psalm 4:1 KJV 1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. 2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. 3 But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him. 4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah…. read more
In Psalm 4 we find someone putting their trust in God during a time of distress and danger that could result in depression.
In John chapter 11 are two sisters in a time of great distress. Their brother had gotten sick, they sent for Jesus but He waited to come and in the meantime their brother died. When Jesus arrived their brother had been dead 4 days and the sisters were upset that Jesus did not come in time to heal their brother. When we are in times of distress we also want God to stop, start, or fix the reason for our distress, NOW. But, the thing is, when Jesus came He didn’t heal their brother, Jesus raised him from the dead. The sisters and everyone there witnessed the power of Christ which made their resurrection from death a reality no one could take from them.
He was in danger because he was surrounded by his enemies. They were looking for ways to destroy him even if it meant lying about him. They wanted him taken down. This person doesn’t look at his enemy though, he looks at God and remembers how God has answered him and helped him in the past. He trusts that God does not change ever and will always be there for him caring for him. We also have people who come against us at every turn and will do whatever it takes to destroy how others see us. But we look to the cross of Christ and lean on Him because He loves us to a degree we can not understand. We can however experience for ourself the love of Christ Jesus that surpasses all knowledge.
1 Peter 5:6-7 says we are to cast our cares on God because He cares for us. This is our way of humbling ourself before God and opens up the way for God to faithfully care for us.
Distress, danger, and depression all can lead to losing sleep. When it seems we are stuck in a place we don’t want to be and can not find a way out we have to fight the tendency to give into the stress, focus on the danger, and become depressed. Now we are tired because we can not sleep. God says He places joy in our hearts. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 what brings joy into our hearts. Galatians 5 tells us joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is much easier to sleep when we have joy in our heart. No, we may not live in a war zone per se but we all have our private wars that we fight daily and they steal from us. God says it doesn’t have to be that way. Trust Me, Lean on Me, get to know Me, and give Me your cares so I can show you how much I care for you.
The love of God was shown in the most grand and breathtaking way when He sent His Son, Jesus the Christ, to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus died for us while we were God’s enemy. I know when I can not sleep because of things going on in life, it brings me great peace of mind to focus on a love so great. When we live in the shelter of God we remain in the shadow of His protection. In other words, to know we live in God and God lives in us we find stability and strength to stay calm and rest.
