October 28th
“As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.” Psalm 42:1-2,11 NKJV
I ran across these verses one morning when I was struggling with depression and a headache. Many of you can probably relate to having “one of those days.” These verses expressed exactly what I was feeling. Spiritually, I felt dry and really longed for God’s living water. I tried to “realign” my soul to God. I prayed and read the Bible, yet the heaviness still hung around. I asked my wife to pray for me and that helped greatly. As I showered, I spoke praises to the Lord, even though I still felt heavy. Gradually the heaviness lifted and I was able to go about my day’s work.
Why the valleys come in our spiritual walk is sometimes a mystery. We do know that we have an enemy who is prowling around looking for who he may devour. Jesus plainly told his disciples, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NIV). When troubles come, we can use prayer and speaking the Word as our first line of defense. If this fails to stem the attack, we need to get help from other Christian brothers and sisters in the battle. Too often pride keeps us from confiding in another believer and/or asking for prayer. Sometimes we may not want to share because we doubt that the person really cares about us. We can’t afford to let such barriers isolate us from the rest of the body of Christ. Had I not humbled myself by asking my wife to pray for me in the above incident, the depression may have continued on for days.
The Christian walk is not meant to be walked alone. God gives us brothers and sisters in the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12) to encourage us and be our armor bearers in spiritual warfare. We also have the responsibility of helping them when they are under attack. When we’re connected in the body of Christ, we’ll be less likely to be wounded in battle or worse, taken out of action.
Questions for further thought:
What are some of the positive things that can happen to us as a result of being around other committed believers? (1 Corinthians 16:17-18, 2 Corinthians 7:13, Hebrews 10:24-25)
What are some of the obstacles that the devil uses to keep the body of Christ from functioning as one? (Luke 9:46, John 3:25, Acts 15:2, 1 Timothy 6:4, 2 Timothy 2:23, Proverbs 18:19)
When we confess our sins and pray for one another, what results can we expect? (James 5:15-16, 1 John 1:9)
Prayer:
“Lord God, thank you for including me in the body of Christ.. Please help me to recognize the times when I need to ask for help from my brothers and sisters in Christ. If I have allowed the enemy to isolate me from the body of Christ, please help me clear away the obstacles and return to the body. If I’ve harbored bitterness, resentment or any other form of unforgiveness toward other Christians, I forgive the people involved right now: _____________ (list). Please forgive me for holding that unforgiveness and help me to find a church to connect with. Please show me how I can help others in need. Thank you, Father! In Jesus’ mighty name I pray, Amen.”