Psalm 143:4 (NLT) – “I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear.”
Have you ever had a time when you felt like you were losing all hope … and paralyzed with fear? I will admit it … I have had times like that in my life. King David felt that way as well. He goes on to say in Psalm 143:6-7 (NLT) – “I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. 7 Come quickly, LORD, and answer me, for my depression deepens. Don’t turn away from me, or I will die.” Now before you start trying to guess if I am depressed today … I will relieve your heart … I am doing GREAT! Like many of you, … I am “riding the wave” of a spiritual high from our great weekend together (Chili Cookoff, Bible Alive class, Sunday worship, vespers, choir, etc.) So, this Psalm is radically different than how I am feeling this morning! (Whew!) What caught my eye was that David outlines the way he is going to crawl out of this depressive state. Listen to what he writes: Psalm 143:8-11 (NLT) – “Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. 9 Rescue me from my enemies, LORD; I run to you to hide me. 10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing. 11 For the glory of your name, O LORD, preserve my life. Because of your faithfulness, bring me out of this distress.” I helped you out a little by emphasizing what I thought were impressive requests he makes to God!
And THAT … my brothers and sisters … is a great way to crawl out of a depressive state of hopelessness and paralyzing fear! If this is how you are feeling today, then I implore you to “run” to God … pray these verses … and begin to crawl out of your depression.
Love ya! – Pastor Jim
