“All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.”
Before I quote the following, I will have to admit that I used to sometimes watch “Hee Haw.” There, I have confessed. The first part of Proverbs 15:15 reminds me of a song that they sang on Hee Haw: “Gloom, despair and agony on me, deep, dark depression, excessive misery. If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all. Gloom despair and agony on me.” Be honest, have you ever felt like this. The Message interpreted the verse like this: “A miserable heart means a miserable life; a cheerful heart fills the day with a song.” I think that we can choose whether we will be among the afflicted, the miserable, or among those with merry hearts, having a continual feast. I know that there is such a thing as clinical depression that needs treatment, but a lot of our depression is because of our own negativity. There are just days, however, that we can’t seem to dig out of the pit of misery. I don’t know what really causes those days, but they come. I think Martin Luther’s wife had the right idea. One day Luther, the sixteenth century reformer, was miserable, his faith lagging, and his wife said to him, “Martin, when did God die?” To which the great reformer responded with something like, “Who said God is dead?” His wife said, “He must be dead, because of the way you are acting.” It is on those miserable days that we forget that God is alive and well, and acting on our behalf. We can give Satan credit for this, because he wants us down and defeated. He knows that when we are miserable, we are not effective witnesses for Jesus Christ. He wants to keep us down by accusing us and making us feel guilty. He wants to keep us down by making us look at God through the wrong end of the binoculars. When we look into the wrong end of binoculars, things seem farther away than they are. During these days of misery, we need to remember that God is always close by. After all, Jesus promised us that He would never leave us nor forsake us. He has even given us His Holy Spirit in order for us to have His presence all of the time. Do we not believe this promise or do we just sometimes forget it? We can also give some credit for our misery to the events in the world around us. It looks like the forces of evil are winning the day. “The rich get richer and poor get poorer.” The “ne’er do wells” seem to prosper and have no trouble at all. Those who are living sinful lives seem to have no bother at all. To begin with, all of this is not necessarily true. They do not always prosper and they are not always happy. But even if they did, it should not make us miserable. The question is often asked in the Bible: “Why do the wicked prosper?” The answer is always that they do not really prosper. It is only when we are right with the God of the Bible that we prosper. By that I mean true prosperity – the joy and fulfillment that only Jesus can give. We need to remember that when we are having one of those miserable days; it does not have to be. We have a choice as to whether we will be miserable or “have a party.” That is why we pray. This brings to mind a scripture that I have quoted many times, Philippians 4:6-7: “Be careful for nothing (do not be anxious) but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.” It can’t hurt you to try Paul’s method of overcoming misery and anxiety. Bro. Joe
1 Comment
Margaret M Jones
9/25/2015 09:36:03 am
I have struggled with this since Jimmy passed away. But God speaks to my heart, blesses me, encourages me. I thought about King David, rising from his bed of grief after his son died, and going about the business of living.
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