Not long ago my wife and I went to see Bill Gaither (http://www.gaither.com) and his friends in concert. It was good! The last song they sang was “Because He Lives”… and while they sang suddenly a phrase of the song “stood out” to me as never before: “and life is worth the living just because He lives.” Boy, is that true! But, it’s ever so hard to even remotely believe much less do when you are experiencing the deepest darkest crevasses of depression.
Chances are if you are reading this blog you might be in that deep dark hole of the blackest black; that hole that clutches you and surrounds with nothing but dread, fear, anxiety and hopelessness. You might just might be struggling with even living today much less believing that life is worth living! And the love of those who love you causes not even the faintest emotion within you. You feel lifeless, numb to anything but dread. Feeling as though someone has pushed you down into the cesspool of life and you can’t breathe. And those around you keep saying, “get up, pull-up your boot straps!”
I know, I’ve been there. I’ve been at that point where I was curled up in the fetal position hiding in the closet with the lights out rocking back and forth with nothing else other that hot tears flowing down my cheeks. I know, I’ve been there. I was sure I couldn’t go on. Just to keep breathing was all I could do. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t believe. I couldn’t hope. I was stuck… stuck in dread…stuck in fear. No matter how hard I tried to “believe again” it didn’t help. I just need the faith of mustard seed of hope and I didn’t even have that. The days were dark and the nights were even darker and longer. There were no “boot-straps to pull-up”.
Life? Live? Keep going on? Yes! Why? Because He lives! Because He loves you. Because He is there with you. Because He feels your pain. Because He forgives you. Because He is in the business of working something good out of something so bad. Because even walking through this “valley of the shadow of death” is worth walking through. See, when you are going through hell don’t stop!
Today all you may be able to do is breathe. And if that is all you can do then just do that. If today you can just keep putting one foot in front of the other in spite of everything- just do that. Just do what you can do today. Take your medicine. Take a walk. Call a friend. Cry out to God. Watch these videos I’ve posted here. Today, just let Him love you. And as you take “just a step” day by day it will get better. Day by day “living life” will return. Day by day the darkness will subside. Day by day hope will return. And day by day life will be worth the living just because He lives!
He knows you. He loves you. He’s with you. And He is for you!
Pastor Brad Hoefs
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