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Petoskey
United Methodist Church
November 27, 2007
By Joanne Snedden For some the depression is clinical and requires the professional diagnosis and management of medical physicians. We are so blessed that medical research has discovered medications and treatments that can help persons live again with joy in their lives. I thank God for those who have the courage to seek and follow professional help as needed. As human beings, most of us really like to live in the proverbial rose garden. Confusion sometimes follows when we run into the ‘forks in the road,’ the ‘bumps’ or the ‘road blocks.’ It is then that we need to remember that God never promised us a rose garden, but he did promise some other very, very profound guidelines. On these promises we can live with hope! Consider these: God did promise that he would never leave us or forsake us. Heb. 13:5 These are but a few of the scriptures that have helped me to feel ‘held in the palm of his hand’ even when my heart was breaking. It was in reading Psalm 22 this morning that I felt God calling me to share these thoughts about working through discouragement. I was reminded of how David cried out to God with feelings of being forgotten and those same words were used by Jesus as he hung on the cross. So if David and Jesus had times of discouragement then why would I feel that I should live my life free of such emotions? It surely is a part of our human journey. What was it that they used to rise above these negative emotions? A strong part of that was their total devotion to their Heavenly Father and trusting in Him and His Word. Surely Charles Swindoll understood this when he wrote this little paragraph that spoke volumes on "Attitude." Read these words: "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts; it is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice very day ~ we cannot change our past… We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way... We cannot change the inevitable ~ The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that ‘Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% what I do with it!" And so it is with you…We are in charge of our attitudes." As we live with grief (loss of a loved one, loss of health, loss of independence, etc.) we cannot go around the experience, we have to go straight through it and it is usually a long and difficult (often lonely) moment in time. Drawing from my own experience, I know it was my God that brought me through to find the joy in life again. It was His scriptures with words of admonishments, facts of life, and assurances that walked me through time after time. It was His divine plan to use the faithfulness of family and friends who did not forsake me when I was not fun to live with, but encouraged me to look for a better day. There were things I read like: "JOY = Jesus ~ Others ~ You" or "Healing happens when we focus up and out, rather than in." or singing such inspirational songs of affirmation like, "Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this place" or "His Name is Wonderful" and the list goes on. V. Bowker wrote, "The enemy of our souls is determined to keep us downcast and burdened, because he knows what happens when we look up." I will finish with this prayer in my Sunday devotions: "My trust is in You, my Lord, for You never fail me. Remind me of that when I feel depressed or discouraged. Then help me to share it with someone else who feels forsaken. Amen and Amen.
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