have exhausted your energy and your spirit is deflated, and all you want to do is curl up in
bed and pretend that life outside the room doesn't exist? I have days like this, and if your
honest, you'll admit to having a few of them yourself. What do you do when the blues hit you?
To be honest, its hard to fight those feelings of depression isn't it. Perhaps your dealing with
family problems, financial difficulties, health issues; maybe you feel deserted by friends
or maybe there is a looming change coming in your life that your anxious about. All these
things can lead to an overwhelming feeling of dejection.
King David faced these feelings. He was pursued by Saul who was trying to kill him. His
own son had turned on him, his good friend had betrayed him, and he was on the run for
his life.
Psalms 109:22 "For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me."
So what did David do?
Psalms 61:1 - 4 "Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the
earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that
is higher than I. For Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the
enemy, I will abide in Thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of Thy wings,
Selah."
David fled to the Rock, the shelter, the strong tower, the covert of God's wings. There is
no protection like the protection that God gives His children. I'm sure that you've seen
pictures of baby chicks hiding under the wings of their mother during a storm. What a
precious picture of God's protection of His children.
It's when we think we can do things on our own, when we stray from the Rock, the shelter,
the strong tower, the cover of God's wings, that we find ourselves floundering in the
sea of doubt, fear and hopelessness.
Our own unconfessed sin can also plunge us into the depths of despair. Ones guilty
conscious can play havoc with our heart. David also dealt with this.
Psalms 31:9 & 10 "Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble; mine eye
is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly. For my life is spent with grief,
and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my
bones are consumed."
Just as David, we can gain the victory over sin in our lives. We must acknowledge it,
repent of it and then forsake it.
Psalms 32:5 "I acknowledge my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid.
I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and Thou forgavest the
iniquity of my sin. Selah."
So what do you do when your spirit is lower than your socks? You focus on the Lord,
you count your blessings, you sing, you read God's Word, you pray! You run to the
Rock, the shelter, the strong tower, the covert of God's wings, and rejoice in the God
of your salvation!
Ephesians 5:19 & 20 "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing and making melody in your heart unto the Lord; Giving thanks
always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
We cannot depend on others for our happiness or to make us feel better when we are
blue. If you have friends that are there for you to help you in the hard times, that's great;
however we need to be able to find our solace in the Lord. He should be our strength
in times of distress, don't try to do things in your own strength. A day lived in your own
strength is a day of failure, and of time wasted. David knew this, and he lived his life
accordingly.
Psalms 54:4 "Behold, God is mine helper:"
Psalms 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee:"
Psalms 56:3 "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee."
Psalms 42:5 "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted
in me? Hope thou in God:"
David was a "man after God's own heart" because he knew the secret of his strength...
it was in the Lord his God.
How do we calm ourselves when the winds of adversity blow hard against us? Do we
turn to alcohol or drugs? Perhaps we are adept at burying the problems and pretending
they don't exist. Some escape reality by digging in and watching tv or reading a book.
These are all the wrong ways to deal (or not deal) with problems. Only when we turn
them over to God and let Him sort things out, will we have relief from the storms that
swirl around us.
Where are you hiding today? I hope that it's in the covert of God's wings.
Psalms 57:1 "Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul
trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until
these calamities be overpast."
Under His wings I am safely abiding,
Though the night deepens and tempests are wild;
Still I can trust Him, I know He will keep me,
He has redeemed me and I am His child.
Under His wings, what a refuge in sorrow!
How the heart yearningly turns to His rest!
Often when earth has no balm for my healing,
There I find comfort and there I am blest.
Under His wings, O what precious enjoyment!
There will I hide till life's trials are o'er;
Sheltered, protected, no evil can harm me,
Resting in Jesus, I'm safe evermore.
Under His wings, under His wings,
Who from His love can sever?
Under His wings my soul shall abide,
Safely abide forever.
William O. Cushing
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