Seize the Moment – Day 1143
Pray through Your Depression! (Part 2)
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, May 4.
Have you ever experienced your emotions like a storm? If you have ever been on a ship during a storm at open sea then you know how you can be tossed to and fro by the winds, at the mercy of the pounding waves. Today’s devotion is part 2 of how to pray through depression because Psalm 43 is most often paired with Psalm 42, with many scholars believing they were originally one psalm. The refrain of Psalm 42, found in verses 5 and 11, concludes the pair in Psalm 43:5, “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.”
We are desperate apart from God – without hope and cast adrift by our circumstances and the waves of tumultuous emotions that slam against us. Like a ship buffeting against the wind, we must realize that there is a way forward during the storm of spiritual depression. The psalmist names this powerful force of stability in Psalm 43:4, “Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and upon the lyre I shall praise You, O God, my God.”
God is my exceeding joy! What a triumphant proclamation of praise that you are invited to declare about God no matter the circumstances of your life. During the return of the exiles from Babylon, while they were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem with great opposition coming up against them, Nehemiah declared, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 43, meditating upon the joy of the Lord – “In Your presence is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11). Praise God through your storm!
God bless you!
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YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.