It’s been awhile since I’ve shared my God-talks on here, but today He showed me something so profound and so freeing, I couldn’t 𝓃ℴ𝓉 share. 💗
In order to do so, I honestly feel like the woman at the well…who went around declaring “This man is the Savior! He showed me everything I have done wrong!” (I have always marveled at that…how she wasn’t embarrassed by all the wrong things, not because she was proud of them but because she was delighted by the one who saw her sins and called her by her true identity, and out of those sins.)
So- sharing this moment I had with Jesus this morning will be revealing of a weakness I sometimes struggle with, but I don’t even care because His wisdom is THAT good! ☀️
So yesterday I was in a funk.
I don’t even know why, honestly, these have always seemed to creep up on me out of nowhere and the harder I try to get out of them the deeper I tend to sink.
Normally, when in one of these funks, I will turn on some praise music or read my Bible, spend some solo time with Jesus, and find He lifts me right out. Trusting Him for my salvation (not just eternal, but saving me from anything- whether a situation or a “simple” funk, is so much more effective than trying.)
But yesterday, I just didn’t feel like it. Right after Easter, which made the guilty feelings I had about this more intense.
Finally, I told Him that I wanted out of this bout of whatever it was…and I 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉ℯ𝒹 to want to be in His presence, but I can’t do either without His help.
Not long after that, a friend from church texted saying that God had put me on her heart, and asking if I was ok. Admitting to her that I was feeling frustrated, and didn’t know why, freed me from keeping that in. Her reaching out, and praying for me, did something to move God to action on my behalf.
After that I was able to read a chapter of a book I’ve been working on, and “coincidentally” that chapter was on praise and getting unstuck. It also offered an answer for another question the enemy had been guilting my heart with:
“Why…even though I’ve been walking with Jesus a long time, and I’m the closest to Him I’ve ever been…does it seem that I can tunnel into whatever this is, so quickly?”
The answer is, that when you’re on fire for God…(imagine you are a campfire)… if your flame is teeny tiny it might not burn through a log very quickly, but if you’re 𝒜ℬℒ𝒜𝒵ℰ, in order to 𝓀ℯℯ𝓅 that fire roaring and not feel burnt out, you have to throw MORE logs on. The bigger the fire, the MORE logs you need to keep adding!
Yet we humans have so much working against us, to keep us from doing this.
We have “common sense” that tells us there are things to be done, and the things we need to do should come before the things we want to do. Especially in seasons where more things are being added on our plates to do. (But when spending time with Jesus is what we want to do, we have to re-learn that it’s ok to do that 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉.)
Then we have guilt, for not naturally sensing that HE is what we need…and going to other things to stoke our fires. Or, just letting the fire die down and losing our glow.
But Jesus says no guilt is needed. And neither is grind. We can simply come back to Him and ℋℰ will stoke the fire again!
It is our job, however, to add logs to the fire.
Time with Him.
Praise sessions!
Time with friends who love Him, talking about Him and the great things He is doing!
I had scheduled a friend visit for yesterday before I even knew I needed it, and after that visit and sharing all the cool things God is doing around us and hearing all He is doing in her life, I felt whatever was on me break off completely. I went home and was back to my normal self, turning on praise music and singing with it while I made dinner- without stress or any depression-like symptoms pulling me down.
I know this won’t be the last funk I’ll experience. But I do try to learn from God in each episode so I can get back to being peaceful and joyful quicker and quicker. So this morning I was seeking Him to show me what trap it was that I had fallen into that had me there in the first place, and some keys I could use next time to get me out again.
I spent some time journaling with Him, and before long ONE simple, precise statement bubbled up out of my soul. I know it was Him, because I am much wordier. This was it:
“The opposite of self-pity is God-praise. And it’s the antidote too!” 🙌🏻 ✝️ 🙌🏻
The opposite of self-pity isn’t self-help, or self-pride, or the praise of people! It’s GOD-PRAISE! 💜💜💜
Honestly I didn’t even know self-pity had almost always been the entry-point for the enemy into my mind. He’s subtle, sneaky like that, starting with just a discontented thought or two and tunneling me down from there.
But God has been giving me pieces of wisdom in this season, 𝓀ℯ𝓎𝓈 that are unlocking chains that have been on my soul.
His words have an authority with them.
They go beyond head knowledge to the very core of our being.
Part of me hasn’t wanted to attempt to write them or share them, because I understand that just read with the eyes, processed with the brain, they may not have the impact they’ve had on me. But some things are too impactful not to share.
So my prayer is that if anyone else is reading this and struggles with bouts of depression, funks… and, as He revealed gently to me…moments of self-pity, like I do, He will take this sentence beyond your eyes and brain and straight into the place of pain in your soul, to bring His healing to you too. ❤️🩹
The beauty is, now that I have a name for this feeling, and the key 🔐 to unlock it, I am 𝒻𝓇ℯℯ!
The enemy might try to lock us up again, but our Jesus has taught us the way out!
HE IS the way (out!)
God-praise opens prisons!
God-praise breaks off self-pity!
God-praise breaks off depression— whether deep or “just a bout” of feeling low and less than joy-full.
God-praise rewrites
security over insecurity,
settledness over aimlessness,
plenty over lack,
fellowship over loneliness,
feeling seen and valued, over unseen/expendable.
He loves us and He always goes after the one to bring us back to His side, even the times we haven’t strayed very far yet at all. He doesn’t want 𝒶𝓃𝓎 gap between us.
He is our shepherd, & in Him we have 𝒶𝓁𝓁 we need.
He alone is 𝓌ℴ𝓇𝓉𝒽𝓎 of all of our praise!
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