Do you feel broken today?
Depression often feels like someone/something is trying to crush you. Why? because, if you have not read this before, it comes from a spirit of heaviness. There, literally, is something trying to crush you -- an evil spirit. You must fight it or it will defeat you. You must continue to eliminate every legal right/reason the enemy has to come after you in this way. The good news is that you do not have to remain depressed, but you can defeat depression in your life. Until you gain the victory, there are many Bible verses meant to help guide us into the fullness of God's love and provision.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
For those of us who have suffered long stretches of time crouched on the floor or on a bed or couch, curled up praying our heads off, this verse is meant to give us hope in the darkest of times. There were many days where I literally would read from wonderful books from folks like Neil Anderson and Joyce Meyer and then fall out of my chair and drop onto the floor where I would pray and wail and sob begging God to help me get through the latest panic attack or shock wave or crushing.
I had no idea the power of my words or my authority over what the enemy was doing to me. My old-school church teachings were such that I was instructed to beg God like a dog and, maybe, just maybe, He might feel like helping me out. The problem with that unbiblical teaching is that it taught me that God did not really love me and I could not truly count on Him or trust that He would deliver me from my afflictions. Aren't you glad we can read the Bible and discover the truth for ourselves? You have the power in Jesus' name and blood to defeat the enemy's attacks against you. If you are a spirit-filled Christian, you possess the authority and power to come against the works of the devil. You are strong in the Lord and the power of His might!
I love how verse 18 is exquisitely followed by verse 19:
“The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.”
What an awesome promise!
If God was only close to the brokenhearted, that would be good. However, God is not just good. We have said that many times in church, have we not? "God is good all the time. All the time God is good." Do you have many troubles? That's typically when we come to know and experience His power to deliver us. It would be great to have no troubles, but it's great to know He has plans to set us free from them all! Why? Because we are in Jesus and His Spirit is in us -- in other words, He makes us righteous! Don't let the devil ( or anybody) make you think you are a "sinner saved by grace"! You are a new creation in Christ! You have the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!
We cannot truly understand how GOOD He is until we have been through the BAD times in life and we discover Him there. This is not to say we can't know Him unless we experience bad times, but we tend to seek Him more seriously when times are tough over the good times. :)
If you are crushed in spirit today, know for certain that God is going to work all things out for your good even as you are experiencing His daily deliverance.
Remember: the eagle can never fly unless it first breaks through his egg.
Prayer
Lord God of all creation, I come to You broken hearted and crushed in spirit. I want to be transformed by the renewing of my mind. Your Word says I will be delivered from all the devil's siege works against me. I choose to stand on Your promise that I will be delivered. I declare that no weapon formed against me shall stand and depression is a weapon formed against me, so it must fall in Jesus' mighty name. I thank You, Lord, for Your love never fails and Yours mercies are new every single morning. I await Your powerful outstretched and arm mighty right hand that will save me from my enemies; and depression is an enemy. Thank You, Lord for Your loving grace! In Jesus' name, amen.
Eagle in Flight photo courtesy of Getty Images