Introduction.
A person suffering depression or as I prefer to call it a broken-life is descending on a downward
spiral that sinks the person deeper and deeper into a state of sadness and
misery. We noted that because David was a believer he was never totally
overwhelmed as he descended the downward spiral of a broken life. David had a
divided mind, on the one side there was the confusion that comes with a broken
life and on the other side there was voice of faith calling on him to fix his
hope in the Lord. Full recovery is David's goal. A full recovery will result in
David praising the Lord with his soul, mind, heart and strength. David gives us
an insight into how he recovered from his broken life. He struggled with his
heart, mind and soul to draw near to the Lord. This morning we will look at the
starting point of the fight and the spiritual exercises he engaged in seeking
to strengthen his mind and soul.
1. Starting the fight to recover from a broken
life.
‘When you are smiling
the whole world smiles with you' the words of this song seem so true when
you are enjoying life. When you are surrounded by smiles and feel you are loved
by everyone, you feel you are on top of
the world, but when you go through a time of testing and hardship you feel
as if everyone either opposes you or are totally indifferent towards you. When
a believer passes through times of difficulty the world puts them under a
spotlight to scrutinise every aspect of their lives. When believers suffer from
depression they are put under a spotlight, and are severely criticised by
others about everything they do or do not do. The world delights in criticising
believers with broken-lives by mocking their faith in God. According to the
world, if you know, love and serve God, then as he is watching over you, you
should not have struggles, hardships and difficulties. The devil and the sin that
continues to dwell in believers locks onto this criticism and uses it to tempt
you to think God has abandoned you. In Psalm 42:3 David says that his
enemies keep asking him, ‘Where is your
God?' When this question is asked
David has a choice, he can draw an answer from the Scriptures or he can look
for an answer from within himself. Believers suffering broken-lives often look
for answers within themselves rather than in the Bible.
What is the Biblical answer to the question, where is your God? All believers ought
to know that the Scripture promises that God will always be with them. When David
wrote, ‘Yea, though I walk through the
valley of ?the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil; for You are with
me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me' he was thinking of times of
grave danger. The Bible makes it very clear God dwells permanently in those
saved by his great grace. Where is your
God? My God is with me, he will never leave me nor forsake me. As a
believer you should know that God's presence with you is not as a spectator,
but as your Father, Saviour, and Comforter to strengthen, help, guide and keep
you. The God who is with you loves you and counts you as very precious. The
Biblical answer to the question, ‘Where
is your God' is full of assurance, comfort, security and hope. Whenever you
are asked ‘where is your God' Your
response ought to be ‘What does the Bible
tell me?' What the Bible says is objective truth spoken by God. As a
believer you must know that God promises to be with you all the time.
David knew the Biblical answer but nevertheless he allows
the question to keep nagging away until he allows the feelings of his heart to
speak. It is very possible that as David listen to the taunts of his enemies
his mind and heart recalled how precious the presence of God was to him when he
fought against the giant Goliath. If only he had the same sense of confidence
and assurance now, he could boldly face his enemies. In his mind David knew God
was with him, but in his heart he felt very differently. Listen to Psalm 42:9b-10, "Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the
oppression of the enemy??" As with a breaking of my bones, My enemies reproach
me, While they say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" It is important to note the context in which
David asks God, ‘Why have You forgotten
me?' The remainder of verses
9 and 10 deal with the feelings generated by his situation and
circumstance. His enemies are persecuting him; his body is full of aches and
pains, his heart is heavy with the reproach of his enemies, and his ears are
ringing with the taunts of his enemies asking ‘where is your God?' David
is struggling to listen to the Scriptures while everything within him is
screaming at him to listen to his feelings. His body and his feelings are in
total sympathy with his enemies in asking ‘Where
is your God?' David is under pressure to yield to temptation and question
God's presence, love and purpose. When Jesus was tempted he used the Word of
God to counter every suggestion Satan offered. The first words Jesus utters
after each temptation are, ‘It is
written.' Jesus put the authority of the Word above his feelings. God's
Word must rule over us in every situation. We must believe the truth of the
Scriptures rather than the lies of our feelings. Christians fighting against
depression need to constantly remind themselves that the Word of God is the
highest authority and that they must do what the word commands.
The believer with the broken-life is pulled to and fro.
While his mind tells him to follow God's Word, his feelings are telling him to
follow his heart. It is very similar to the struggle Paul refers to in Romans
7 which describes the unbelievers struggle with keeping the Law of God.
Listen to verses 14-19, ? ‘For we know
that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am
doing, I do not understand. ??For what I will to do, that I do not practice;
but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with
the law that it is good. But
now, it is no longer I who do
it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that ??in me (that is, in my flesh)
nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not
find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I
will not to do, that I
practice.'? David knows
what he should do (fellowship with God) but his feelings are strongly
influencing him to make time with the Lord appear unattractive, not appropriate
at this time as other matters are more important. A believer who suffers from
depression has a continual fight; they know they must draw near to God, but
their feelings of sadness, perplexity, confusion, isolation and numbness tells
them they can't. It is terrible when a part of you tells you that you must, and
another part tells you that you can't. When you take time for devotions your
feelings tell you that it was a waste of time. When you skip your devotions you
feel guilty.
- Psalm 42:2 is an important verse as it allows us to discern that
David's spiritual life was not as it ought to have been. In Psalm,
42 verses 1 and 2‘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?' It is important
to take note that it's not the longing of his heart, but his soul. What
is the difference between the heart and the soul in this passage? In some ways
we would have expected David to talk about his heart or mind rather than his
soul. We are physical and spiritual beings. Our inner-most-being (spirit) is
spoken of as heart, mind, soul and will. It is really not possible to
departmentalise the four aspects of our inner-most-being as they are
interrelated, entwined and function as a unit. We can speak loosely or in
general of the heart as the place of feelings, emotions and passions, while the
mind is the place of thoughts, knowledge, understanding and reason. The will is
the fulcrum which moves us to action, and it can be moved by the arm of the
mind or the heart. The soul in general is the dynamic of life and personality. When
the Holy Spirit creates faith which converts you from being an unbeliever into
being a believer, that faith essentially resides in the soul. Generally
speaking we can say that the soul in man is the home of the conscience which provides
all men with an innate knowledge of God. It is the soul that prompts the heart,
mind and will to submit to God's word and motivates them to do spiritual
things. It is interesting to note the ways the terms heart and soul are used
in the book of Deuteronomy, listen to
Deuteronomy 4:29 ‘But from there you will seek
the Lord your God, and you will
find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with
all your soul.'
Deuteronomy 6:5 ‘Hear, O Israel: ?The Lord our God, the Lord is one! ?You shall love
the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.'
Deuteronomy 11:18, ?
"?Therefore ??you shall ?lay up these words of mine in your
heart and in your ??soul, and ??bind them as a sign on your hand, and they
shall be as frontlets between your eyes."
Deuteronomy 26:16 "This day the Lord your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be
careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul."
It is with your soul and heart
that you are to seek, love and obey the
Lord. The heart and the soul are to be storehouses for the word of God. The
heart and soul are to march in step in seeking to glorify and enjoy God. In Psalm
42 and 43 all indications are that David's heart is out of step with his
soul.
David's soul longs for fellowship
with God, but his heart is too preoccupied with itself and the misery it feels
to seek the Lord. David's mind prompted by the longing of the soul, remembers that
he used to go with the Lord's people to worship and celebrate the goodness of
the Lord. He remembers that he used to do these things with praise on his lips
and joy in his heart. David's spiritual life is in very poor shape compared to
what it was in the past. When your heart and soul are out of step you are not
experiencing good spiritual health. David says he stopped going to worship. Did
he stop going because he was prohibited by circumstances or was his absence
from worship a symptom of his spiritual poor health? We know from experience
that believers stop attending worship and celebrating with the Lord's people
some time after their spiritual health has declined. Believers in poor
spiritual health rarely tell others they are struggling; in fact they often
deceive their brothers and sisters in Christ by simply going through the
motions at worship services and prayer meetings. They are present physically
because of the prompting of the soul, but the heart and the mind are occupied
with other things. Believers suffering from depression usually operate on their
feelings and only do what they feel like doing. The feelings that accompany
depression are very unlikely to be conducive to prayer and reflection on the
Word of God. If Christians who suffer from the brokenness of depression
continue in God's Word they often direct their reading to the Psalms not so
much to draw near to the Lord, but to comfort their depressed state by
sympathising with the writings of a fellow-sufferer. There is a strange, but
unhelpful comfort in commiserating with others who are depressed.
- David in Psalm 23 declares that because the LORD is his Shepherd he shall not want. He shall
not want because the Good Shepherd ‘restores
my soul; he leads me in the paths of righteousness.' David's soul longed
for fellowship with the LORD which could
only happened if his soul was restored. The beginning of the fight to recovery
starts when the soul cries out for fellowship with God, and the mind fully
supports this desire because the memory of joy and praise from the heart, mind
and soul are cherished memories. The soul and mind know that the feelings of
the heart are still rebelling and refusing to submit and co-operate. The soul
and mind are joined together in seeking to implement fellowship with God, it
something that must happen, but the feelings of the heart are in full campaign
mode promoting the "can't do"
message. The will does not know what to do and is being cajoled by all parties.
While there is no enjoyment of life at this point, hope is being restored by
the fact that the fight has begun. The soul and the mind have united in the
fight against the feelings of the heart.
2.
Strengthening the soul and the mind to fight for recovery from a broken-life.
- In Psalm 42:6 David says, ‘O my God, my soul is cast down within me:
therefore I will remember You. ...' This is a prayer to God asking the Lord
to restore his soul. It is important to note that David prays and takes the
action of remembering God. David does not pray and sit back and wait for the
Lord to do something. When you are sick you pray for healing and also take your
medicine. When you are unemployed you pray and keep looking for a job. When you
are confused you pray and seek answers. When you are depressed you pray and
give your mind and soul to the work of remembering the Lord. The spiritual
exercise of remembering the Lord is designed to do three very important and
vital things:
- It fills your mind with thoughts concerning the Lord's greatness, glory and
majesty. It fills your mind with awe as you think of God's sovereign rule over
all things. Think about the power of God in creation, his faithfulness in
delivering his people out of the land of slavery, and his patience with his
servants. Consider the great love and grace of God in sending the Lord Jesus to
save his people from their sins. Contemplate God's commitment to you in the new
covenant sealed by the blood of Jesus. Think of the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit and his work in you assuring you of salvation and helping you in your
prayers. Thinking on God is an aspect the Lord uses to restore the soul. The
soul rejoices in the lofty thoughts about God. What could be better for a soul
that is cast down than encouragements to rejoice in the Lord?
- The spiritual exercise of remembering the Lord changes the focus. The focus of the mind and the soul are upon the Lord and not upon self. Remembering the Lord breaks the mind's focus on the sad and unhappy state you are in. This must not
be seen as a method of distraction, but restoring the proper focus and
stimulating the soul and the heart.
- The spiritual exercise of remembering the
Lord stirs and stimulates the feelings of the heart for the Lord. Can you think
about the greatness and goodness of the Lord without having your heart burn
within you? Your love for the Lord is responsive; you love him because he first
loved you. When you remember God's grace towards you in Christ your feelings
respond. When you reflect on God's covenant commitment to his people it moves
your feelings. This breaks the tyranny of the feelings that you are alone,
unloved and worthless. The spiritual exercise of remembering the Lord starts to
quell the nagging question of ‘Where is
your God?' This moves the heart to hold
onto the Biblical answer to this mischievous question. The heart begins to
doubt its feelings that say ‘God has
forgotten me.' This exercise gives strength to the soul and the mind and
challenges the feelings of the heart.
- To strengthen his mind and
soul David remembers the Lord; ‘from the
land of the Jordan,
and from the heights of Hermon, from the Hill Mizar.' What is David doing
here? When he refers to the Jordan
Valley and Mizar one of
the foothills of Mt Hermon he is associating a place with the experience he had
with the Lord in those locations. Jacob in fleeing from Esau stopped for the
night and had that amazing dream of the ladder going up to heaven and in that
dream God assured Jacob that he was with him. Jacob after this experience
called the place Bethel. I am absolutely certain that every time Jacob
passed through Bethel
or heard the name, his mind took him back to relive that experience. David
could not think of the Jordan
Valley or the hill of
Mizar with out recalling his experiences of God's grace, mercy and goodness.
Thinking of these places stimulated his mind and soul and strengthened them
against the rebellion of the heart.
- Having remembered the Lord and his closeness to God in the Jordan Valley
and on the hill Mizar David saw the great danger his soul was in. Listen to the
graphic language he uses in verse 7, ‘Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves
and billows have gone over me.' The picture is that of a wild and tempestuous
storm at sea involving a waterspout or a cloudburst. Henry March captures the
sense of this verse beautifully in a poem.
Deep to deep incessant calling,
Tossed by furious tempests' roll
Endless waves and billows falling,
Overwhelm my fainting soul,
Yet I see a Power presiding, Mid the
tumult of the storm,
Ever ruling, ever guiding, loves
intentions to perform,
Yes, mid sorrows most distressing, Faith contemplates thy design,
Humbly bowing and confessing, All the billows, THINE.
David saw that God was in total control they were his waterfalls and his waves and his billows.
The mind and the soul would be strengthened by the fact of God's sovereignty
and the terrible feelings of fear and insecurity in the heart would either be
challenged or exposed as false fears.
Conclusion.
The fight to recovery starts in prayer and by deliberately
remembering the Lord and his grace and goodness towards you. This exercise
strengthens the soul and the mind to fight the out of control feelings of the
heart. May God give us grace and wisdom to remember the Lord everyday of our
lives.