"I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes." Psalme 6:6-7
I'm familiar with sadness. I've lived with it before, as my constant companion. I've struggled with an almost child-like desire to be happy because my friend was happy, to out-do the "up" factor of those around me.
But there are times when . . . I'm just sad. I've spent years praying that God would alleviate this -- problem. Because that's what it is, right? Sadness, depression, despair - they are all bad things. God should deliver me from bad things.
What a selfish attitude I've had. How is it that I deserve a princess life, with flowers and singing birds, and never deserve down times? How is it that I have decided that my life wasn't meant for sadness?
This weekend my family and I have been seeing a lot of monuments and museums. And do you know what I realized? No one ever created a monument based on happiness. There's no museum that was born out of good times. Heroes aren't born, they are built. And as for me? My strengths have been hewn on the moments I have overcome, not on the moments that came easily. My joys are made complete by the knowledge that they don't come lightly. My lifetime is building on a pattern of highs and lows, joys and sorrows, ups and downs.
It's when I'm weak . . . that He's strong. It's when I'm sad . . . that His joy sustains me. It's when I'm lonely . . . that He is my closest friend. It's always when things seem "bad" that His goodness shines through. Look at the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. Jesus blesses the poor in spirit, and why? Because theirs is the kingdom of heaven (verse 3). Ummm . . . I'll take that!!
Don't let yourself fall into the devil's trap that if you struggle, if you're sad or down, that you are a spiritual failure. In reality, you are in the perfect position to allow God's love, life and joy to shine through you!
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