Accept the Gift

For to me, to live is Christ.   Philippians 1:21

To be Christian is to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God.  The living Christ, however strange it may sound, actually lives inside the Believer.  Circumstances, can and will at times, overwhelm we Christians threatening to rob us of the joy of simply being Christian. 

Today's devotional from Grace for each Moment says, "Accept the gift of Himself in your life and allow Him to live through you."  Whatever our circumstance we can stop, reflect on the goodness of God, accepting the gift of Jesus in our lives.  The key is acceptance.  Accept the gift.  Daily accept His gift.  Each moment accept His gift.  When we know Jesus nothing can separate us from His gift.  The gift is Jesus Himself.  Praise God!

To God be the Glory!  Amen.

Even Color is More Beautiful

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.         Romans 8:28

When I'm not depressed my world appears to be inundated with color.  Blues are bluer, greens are greener, white is dazzling, and red is striking, every color is more beautiful filling the earth with rainbow hues that I simply am not aware of when I fall under the darkness of depression.

But there is definitely something to be said for depression.  There are lessons to be learned from depression that can't be learned any other time.  I learn what my greatest fears are and from whence come my anxieties.  I learn to wait on the Lord knowing all good things come in His time not mine.  I learn to appreciate beauty.  This is not to say depression is enjoyable.  It most definitely is never that.  However, learning that God works ALL things for good for those of us who love Him in some strange way validates my depressed mood.

Knowing God works for my good helps me to realize the depression will lift.  The sun will come out.  Color will once again be spectacular and all my senses will be utilized in a way they are not when I'm depressed.  Learning to wait on God.  Perhaps that is one of the most valuable lessons I have learned while depressed.  The other lesson most valuable to me is understanding that faith is not a feeling.  Faith is knowing that God is who He says He is and that His promises are sure regardless of how I feel. 

God can take my faith when it is smaller than a grain of salt and give me hope that I can draw another breath.  God willing, I will live beyond this depression to see His goodness.  As the psalmist says, "Yet I am confident I will see the Lord's goodness while I am here in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13).

To God be the Glory!  Amen. 

In Christ Despair Becomes Hope

Oftentimes those in the grip of depression fail to see any hope that can move them beyond their despair.  Yet hope is the one thing that buffers depression offering substance for an otherwise dismal outlook.  In Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI he describes the despair of Judas after his betrayal of Christ in this manner:  

Now he sees only himself and his darkness; he no longer sees the light of Jesus, which can illumine and overcome the darkness. He shows us the wrong type of remorse: the type that is unable to hope, that sees only its own darkness, the type that is destructive and in no way authentic. Genuine remorse is marked by the certainty of hope born of faith in the superior power of the light that was made flesh in Jesus.

Christians in the throes of depression are often remorseful for no apparent reason succumbing to  false guilt that truly brings destruction into their lives.  We must seek the light of Jesus never giving up hope knowing that faith in Him is our victory.  Faith is not a feeling.  Faith is hope in action.  Let faith, hope, and love defeat depression even as Christ defeated death.

To God Be the Glory!  Amen. 

When the Sun Comes Out

From A Collection of Joy by Helen Steiner Ricer

Patience

Most of the battles of life are won
By looking beyond the clouds to the sun
And having the patience to wait for the day
When the sun comes out and the clouds float away.

The darkness of depression is dispelled by the light of the Son, Jesus Christ.  Having the patience to wait for His healing touch can be a lesson learned for those who battle the darkness of depression.  To paraphrase Rice, we must look beyond the clouds of darkness, "to the Son."  He has promised to never leave nor forsake His own.  The clouds of depression may obscure His presence for a moment.  We must trust in Him, knowing, not feeling, that the day will come when the "Son will come out and the clouds float away."

To God be the Glory! Amen.

High and Lifted Up

When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross.  Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow...and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.                                                                  
                                                                         Ephesians 2:7-11 NIV

High and lifted up 
He took my sins away.
but not in exaltation
'twas grief that ruled the day.

Hanging from the cross
high and lifted up
humiliated, bruised, defeated
'twas evil that did erupt.

High and lifted up
He died on the cross that day
hope seemed lost forever
as low in the grave He lay.

Death could not keep Him
in the deep, darkness of the earth
in power He arose from the dead
promising believers spiritual birth.

High and lifted up
He will return here one fine day
Gathering His children to Him
'Tis joy will conquer that day!

 

Thoughts Regarding Hope

From No Man Is An Island by Thomas Merton

Nothing created is of any ultimate use without hope (16).

If He (God) is good, and if my intelligence is His gift, then, I must show my trust in His goodness by making use of my intelligence.  I must let faith elevate, heal, and transform the light of my mind (16).

Better than hoping for anything from the Lord, besides His love, let us place all our hope in His love itself (17).

All desires but one can fail.  The only desire that is infallibly fulfilled is the desire to be loved by God (17).

All Hearts Go Home for Christmas

We have a small heart-shaped wooden plaque that reads, "All hearts go home for Christmas." Those six little words have long resonated within me as I've wondered--- where do the people, the hearts, go who have no home at Christmas? Where is home for them?

Created in the image of God, God himself has placed within our hearts a home, a home with hearth fires burning and a taste of sweet goodness. For no matter where we are in the world, our place or situation, God always extends the warmth of His love as He patiently keeps the home fire burning.

I believe St. Augustine got it right when he said, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."

May this be the Christmas our hearts find our home in our Savior, Christ the Lord.