Property Of God
Member
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2007
- Messages
- 786
by Paul Hayman
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord´
“Igniting soul’s through the proclamation of Jesus Christ”.
I won't even ask you if you have down days. I know the answer, it has to be "yes." None of us escape them entirely. Unhappiness with ourselves, dissatisfaction with our circumstances, discouragement, lack of motivation, disappointment, one or all of the above combine to cause us to be down. You know what I mean, that blah, lifeless condition which is hard to shake, hard to understand, and very frustrating. I remember having one of those down periods not that long ago. It lasted about three days, and I struggled through them feeling very guilty for being down, very unspiritual, very hypocritical, and totally unmotivated. My productivity was close to zero, my face was long, my thoughts were jumbled, my perspective very limited and very poor. I didn't want to talk to anyone and everything I did was an effort. I'd like to be able to tell you that immediately I talked to the Lord and everything was okay, right away. Just one quick scripture verse and prayer and I snapped right out of it. But that wouldn't be the truth.
I surely did talk to the Lord, but it felt like the words bounced off the ceiling. I read my Bible, but no lights flashed. I sat at a computer and tried to write, but the well was dry and I felt I just didn't have anything else to say. Now, I hope it doesn't shock or disappoint you to learn that about me, after all I am normal too. But, just in case you thought I lived in a different world than you do, I can assure you that I don't. In fact, I would be suspicious of anyone who tried to convince me that they never have down days. I'd want to check and see if they have a pulse!
Everybody has down days, but we are so blessed because as believers we have the power to come out of them that others don't have. And there's always a lesson for us to learn through them. One of the great things about being a Christian is that nothing happens to us by accident, and God can use even bleak periods in our lives for positive growth. I’ll share with you what God taught me as a result of those down days. And I want to encourage you, if you're feeling down today, to know that God has provided a way of escape.
As I was searching in my jumbled thoughts to find a reason for the down feelings, God brought to my mind a passage from 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (Note: Not word for Word Text, Scripture.)
From that passage God showed me why He had allowed these down days in my life. First, I needed to be reminded of the fact that I am not strong, I am weak. The Apostle Paul had a physical weakness that was getting him down, and I'm sure Paul thought that he could serve the Lord much better without that physical handicap, and he begged God to remove it. But the Lord said no to that request because He wanted Paul to learn how truly weak he was on his own. As I pondered the implications of that, I realized that I needed to be reminded of my own weakness. I know that one of my tendencies is to be proud and to become very self-sufficient, or at least to think I'm self-sufficient. I finally recognized that this down period was being used by God to help me see my own weakness. As soon as I saw that, I could honestly thank God for the down period. I knew that I needed to feel my own weakness, my own insufficiency, and God was graciously allowing me to do that. God's power is made perfect in weakness.
So, if you're recently experiencing a down period, a good place to start is simply to admit to God how weak you are, and ask Him to perfect His strength in your weakness. He's promised to do that, so take Him up on His offer. When I went through this down period. It was humbling for me to have wasted all that time. I don't have the time to waste, and it made my schedule much more difficult. But we are reminded of our weakness, and when we recognize and admit those weakness, then God's power can be made perfected in us.
A second purpose for my down days was to teach me to delight in insults and in difficulties. In 2 Corinthians 12:10 it says, “That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” I don't know how that Verse strikes you, but I wanted to say to the Apostle Paul, "Who are you kidding? You want me to believe that you delight in all these bad things? I can believe you endure them, but to delight in them, you must be from another planet, Paul."
Wouldn't you know that during this down period I received a very pointed insult, in writing nonetheless. And when I read it, I can assure you I didn't say, "Oh, I delight in this insult." No! It made me angry and it was unfair, as well as potentially harmful. But as I pondered this Scripture and my situation, I realized that I really should be delighted in my insult. You see, I'd been feeling very good about my performance and subtly I was beginning to feel very confident, maybe even a little "cocky." And I didn't even realize it. So God, in His graciousness, allowed me to receive an insult, timed just exactly right, to show me this problem before it got out of hand. I can honestly tell you that I was finally able to rejoice in that insult. Not at first, but as I saw it through God's eyes, then I was able to thank Him for showing me again, really rather painlessly, that it's only when I'm weak that I am strong. It's only when I recognize my need for Him that His power can operate in me.
Yes my friend, we can learn a lot in and through down periods. If you're going through one today, look for the lessons God wants to teach you. Ask Him to help you see them. They're there. And when you look for His lessons, you turn the pain into gain and make a difficult situation a growing situation.
I saw that one reason I needed that down period was to teach me compassion. Just a couple of weeks earlier, after hearing a very convicting sermon, I had asked God to give me a heart that broke over what breaks His heart. And we read in Matthew 9:36 that Jesus' heart was broken when He saw people who were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. How do we learn compassion? By walking in someone else's shoes. We're told that Jesus is touched with the feelings of our weaknesses because He was in all points tempted like we are. That continually comforts me, as I go to Jesus with my problems, knowing that He's walked this path before me and He knows how I feel. That's how we become compassionate people, by putting ourselves in other people's shoes and feeling what they feel.
As I struggled through those lifeless days, I thought to myself, "There are so many people who have these kind of days all the time. Remember how it feels. Remember how difficult it is to pull yourself out of it. Remember how bleak everything looks. Remember, so when others are harassed and helpless, you will be compassionate."
Have you had any down days lately? Maybe you're having some now. If so, let me say first of all that I understand. Yours may take a different form from mine, but the resulting pain is similar. And I can tell you that I feel for you, I care, I understand, because I've been there. And then let me encourage you that God doesn't condemn you if you are His child. He hurts when you hurt, and He knows how you feel. He also can heal you. Just tell Him quite honestly how you feel, and then ask Him to show you exactly why you're going through the down period. What do you need to learn? Is He trying to get your attention about a certain issue? Your lessons may be different from mine, but they're there. Don't give up until you find them. Then, like the Apostle Paul, you too will rejoice in your weakness as you see how His power is made perfect in you.
Are you trying to fight your way out of the blues? Does it seem like doom and gloom have descended upon you, and there's no light at the end of the tunnel? I've shared with you a down period of my own, and the things God taught me through it. God was able to speak to me, even though I was really down, through His Word. But if I hadn't been familiar with the Word of God, if I didn't pour it into my life on a consistent basis, I would not have had that resource to pull me through. We have to be prepared for our down periods. I could go to 2 Corinthians for help because I had stored it up somewhere along the line, and God brought it to my mind. I could hear God speak because basically the lines were open between God and me. We were on close terms, and I wasn't a stranger in His presence. And that's where I found the strength to finally pull out of the down days. Without that resource of strength, I could have wallowed in the blahs much longer and never learned anything from it. If you're down in the dumps, go to God, turn to His Word. Do it against all your feelings. Read the Word and talk to God, even though nothing in you wants to. Do it anyway, and keep doing it. You will discover that eventually the strength you need for recovery will come when you continue to fill your mind with God's Word. And if you're not in a down period right now, prepare for it by staying consistently in touch with God through His Word and prayer. If you're not spiritually fortified, when those down days hit they can wipe you out. You have no reserves of strength to fight back. That's when your emotions and your enemy, satan, join hands to bombard you from all sides, and it can be very difficult to recover. Some never recover, the Bitter root’s grow, problem’s, difficulties multiply if un-attended.
Certainly God can teach us important lessons through our down days, but it is not His will for us to stay there. He wants to deliver us and restore the joy of our Salvation. I pray if you are in a down period, you will soon know the renewal of joy in your life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. God Bless, and may we all bless God.
Love in the Lord
"Igniting passion in the people of God through the proclamation of truth."
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord´
“Igniting soul’s through the proclamation of Jesus Christ”.
I won't even ask you if you have down days. I know the answer, it has to be "yes." None of us escape them entirely. Unhappiness with ourselves, dissatisfaction with our circumstances, discouragement, lack of motivation, disappointment, one or all of the above combine to cause us to be down. You know what I mean, that blah, lifeless condition which is hard to shake, hard to understand, and very frustrating. I remember having one of those down periods not that long ago. It lasted about three days, and I struggled through them feeling very guilty for being down, very unspiritual, very hypocritical, and totally unmotivated. My productivity was close to zero, my face was long, my thoughts were jumbled, my perspective very limited and very poor. I didn't want to talk to anyone and everything I did was an effort. I'd like to be able to tell you that immediately I talked to the Lord and everything was okay, right away. Just one quick scripture verse and prayer and I snapped right out of it. But that wouldn't be the truth.
I surely did talk to the Lord, but it felt like the words bounced off the ceiling. I read my Bible, but no lights flashed. I sat at a computer and tried to write, but the well was dry and I felt I just didn't have anything else to say. Now, I hope it doesn't shock or disappoint you to learn that about me, after all I am normal too. But, just in case you thought I lived in a different world than you do, I can assure you that I don't. In fact, I would be suspicious of anyone who tried to convince me that they never have down days. I'd want to check and see if they have a pulse!
Everybody has down days, but we are so blessed because as believers we have the power to come out of them that others don't have. And there's always a lesson for us to learn through them. One of the great things about being a Christian is that nothing happens to us by accident, and God can use even bleak periods in our lives for positive growth. I’ll share with you what God taught me as a result of those down days. And I want to encourage you, if you're feeling down today, to know that God has provided a way of escape.
As I was searching in my jumbled thoughts to find a reason for the down feelings, God brought to my mind a passage from 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (Note: Not word for Word Text, Scripture.)
From that passage God showed me why He had allowed these down days in my life. First, I needed to be reminded of the fact that I am not strong, I am weak. The Apostle Paul had a physical weakness that was getting him down, and I'm sure Paul thought that he could serve the Lord much better without that physical handicap, and he begged God to remove it. But the Lord said no to that request because He wanted Paul to learn how truly weak he was on his own. As I pondered the implications of that, I realized that I needed to be reminded of my own weakness. I know that one of my tendencies is to be proud and to become very self-sufficient, or at least to think I'm self-sufficient. I finally recognized that this down period was being used by God to help me see my own weakness. As soon as I saw that, I could honestly thank God for the down period. I knew that I needed to feel my own weakness, my own insufficiency, and God was graciously allowing me to do that. God's power is made perfect in weakness.
So, if you're recently experiencing a down period, a good place to start is simply to admit to God how weak you are, and ask Him to perfect His strength in your weakness. He's promised to do that, so take Him up on His offer. When I went through this down period. It was humbling for me to have wasted all that time. I don't have the time to waste, and it made my schedule much more difficult. But we are reminded of our weakness, and when we recognize and admit those weakness, then God's power can be made perfected in us.
A second purpose for my down days was to teach me to delight in insults and in difficulties. In 2 Corinthians 12:10 it says, “That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” I don't know how that Verse strikes you, but I wanted to say to the Apostle Paul, "Who are you kidding? You want me to believe that you delight in all these bad things? I can believe you endure them, but to delight in them, you must be from another planet, Paul."
Wouldn't you know that during this down period I received a very pointed insult, in writing nonetheless. And when I read it, I can assure you I didn't say, "Oh, I delight in this insult." No! It made me angry and it was unfair, as well as potentially harmful. But as I pondered this Scripture and my situation, I realized that I really should be delighted in my insult. You see, I'd been feeling very good about my performance and subtly I was beginning to feel very confident, maybe even a little "cocky." And I didn't even realize it. So God, in His graciousness, allowed me to receive an insult, timed just exactly right, to show me this problem before it got out of hand. I can honestly tell you that I was finally able to rejoice in that insult. Not at first, but as I saw it through God's eyes, then I was able to thank Him for showing me again, really rather painlessly, that it's only when I'm weak that I am strong. It's only when I recognize my need for Him that His power can operate in me.
Yes my friend, we can learn a lot in and through down periods. If you're going through one today, look for the lessons God wants to teach you. Ask Him to help you see them. They're there. And when you look for His lessons, you turn the pain into gain and make a difficult situation a growing situation.
I saw that one reason I needed that down period was to teach me compassion. Just a couple of weeks earlier, after hearing a very convicting sermon, I had asked God to give me a heart that broke over what breaks His heart. And we read in Matthew 9:36 that Jesus' heart was broken when He saw people who were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. How do we learn compassion? By walking in someone else's shoes. We're told that Jesus is touched with the feelings of our weaknesses because He was in all points tempted like we are. That continually comforts me, as I go to Jesus with my problems, knowing that He's walked this path before me and He knows how I feel. That's how we become compassionate people, by putting ourselves in other people's shoes and feeling what they feel.
As I struggled through those lifeless days, I thought to myself, "There are so many people who have these kind of days all the time. Remember how it feels. Remember how difficult it is to pull yourself out of it. Remember how bleak everything looks. Remember, so when others are harassed and helpless, you will be compassionate."
Have you had any down days lately? Maybe you're having some now. If so, let me say first of all that I understand. Yours may take a different form from mine, but the resulting pain is similar. And I can tell you that I feel for you, I care, I understand, because I've been there. And then let me encourage you that God doesn't condemn you if you are His child. He hurts when you hurt, and He knows how you feel. He also can heal you. Just tell Him quite honestly how you feel, and then ask Him to show you exactly why you're going through the down period. What do you need to learn? Is He trying to get your attention about a certain issue? Your lessons may be different from mine, but they're there. Don't give up until you find them. Then, like the Apostle Paul, you too will rejoice in your weakness as you see how His power is made perfect in you.
Are you trying to fight your way out of the blues? Does it seem like doom and gloom have descended upon you, and there's no light at the end of the tunnel? I've shared with you a down period of my own, and the things God taught me through it. God was able to speak to me, even though I was really down, through His Word. But if I hadn't been familiar with the Word of God, if I didn't pour it into my life on a consistent basis, I would not have had that resource to pull me through. We have to be prepared for our down periods. I could go to 2 Corinthians for help because I had stored it up somewhere along the line, and God brought it to my mind. I could hear God speak because basically the lines were open between God and me. We were on close terms, and I wasn't a stranger in His presence. And that's where I found the strength to finally pull out of the down days. Without that resource of strength, I could have wallowed in the blahs much longer and never learned anything from it. If you're down in the dumps, go to God, turn to His Word. Do it against all your feelings. Read the Word and talk to God, even though nothing in you wants to. Do it anyway, and keep doing it. You will discover that eventually the strength you need for recovery will come when you continue to fill your mind with God's Word. And if you're not in a down period right now, prepare for it by staying consistently in touch with God through His Word and prayer. If you're not spiritually fortified, when those down days hit they can wipe you out. You have no reserves of strength to fight back. That's when your emotions and your enemy, satan, join hands to bombard you from all sides, and it can be very difficult to recover. Some never recover, the Bitter root’s grow, problem’s, difficulties multiply if un-attended.
Certainly God can teach us important lessons through our down days, but it is not His will for us to stay there. He wants to deliver us and restore the joy of our Salvation. I pray if you are in a down period, you will soon know the renewal of joy in your life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. God Bless, and may we all bless God.
Love in the Lord
"Igniting passion in the people of God through the proclamation of truth."
