Well That's Depressing

Have you ever heard of King David? If you have been in church for any time at all, the chances are high that the answer is yes. King David was a musician, a composer, a giant-slayer, a man after God's heart, and at times an emotional wreck. This guy was all over the place. In his defense, he did live a large portion of his life running from an angry king who tried to murder him multiple times, have a really messed up group of people to try and lead, and have a son whose rebellion brought death to many people in the kingdom; not to mention the grief he brought on himself when he slept with another man's wife, got her pregnant, murdered her husband, and then lost that child. When I look at some of the circumstances surrounding David's life, I can't help but think "well that's depressing." David had a lot going on, and while I'm sure there were perks to being a king, he had a lot of tragedy to deal with. David was brutally honest with the condition of his soul as he was writing Psalms. Here is one of my favorites:

Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you singling the blues? Fix my eyes on God-- soon I'll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He is my God.

David was honest about the feelings he was having. He acknowledged that his soul was down in the dumps, that he was singing the blues. Have you ever felt that way? Just simply down in the dumps? Stuck in a rut? Sad? Hopeless? Depressed? I know that I've been there myself. It is what David does here in this psalm, however, that shows us how we are supposed to deal with our souls when we are feeling down in the dumps.

David realigns his focus from his feelings to the goodness of God, and then he tells his emotions what to do. That's where we struggle sometimes. It's for sure where I struggle. Instead of speaking to our emotions and demanding that they fix their eyes on God, we allow our emotions to speak to us and we find ourselves obeying our feelings. We feel sad, so we mope. We feel depressed, so we isolate ourselves. We feel hopeless, so we give up on purpose. We look at our lives and think, "Well that's depressing," and then we stay there. But we shouldn't.

Here are 3 things to do when your soul is down in the dumps:

1. Stop naval gazing. The quickest way to beat the blues is to get your focus off of yourself and on to serving those around you. If you're not thinking about you, how could you be sad about your own circumstances? As you reach out to serve others, you'll find mending in your own soul.

2. Remember what God has done. If you're breathing, he's given you life. If you're reading this, he's given you sight. If you exist at all, he has given his life for you. That should be enough to keep you going.

3. Preach the Gospel to yourself. If you can remind yourself that Christ has come, paid the price for you, redeemed you, and given you the promise of eternity, you can make it through another day. One day you are going to stand face to face with Jesus. You're going to see his face. You're going to gaze into his eyes. You're going to hear his laugh, and oh my goodness, what a beautiful laugh that is going to be. Live with eternity in mind, because in no way is that depressing.

Amazing Grace Givers

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."

I excitedly shared this verse found in 2 Corinthians 9:8 with a room full of Kids Ministry volunteers this past Sunday in our pre-service meeting. I energetically reminded them that God was giving us all that we needed to serve well that morning and make an impact on the Kingdom. I encouraged them that God's grace was making up for all of our shortcomings, and that we would make it through the day victoriously. I had read it the a few nights before, and something about it truly resonated inside of me. I had a wow moment with Jesus where I couldn't help but be in awe at the offer he was extending me. He makes all grace abound to ME so that I have more than enough to do every good thing he is asking of ME. I love being on this side of God's favor. It's so great to be the grace-getter.

The other side of grace is the one that I'm still learning. Being the grace-giver just isn't as fun to me yet. Thankfully, I have some awesome grace-givers in my life to how me the ropes. The first one would have to be my fiancé. If someone knows how to be gracious, its this guy. He graciously sacrifices time and energy to serve me. He freely believes the best about me before I've proven myself to him. The second grace giver(s) would have to be my parents. Talk about some unmerited, undeserved favor. These people are full of grace. Another grace giver in my life is my boss. Y'all. I have been SICK in this season of life including this week and he has been so gracious to position me to recover and rest. I am surrounded by gracious people. Here are some characteristics of amazing grace givers:

1. Amazing grace givers believe the best. If you want to be an amazing grace giver, you have to learn what it means to extend the benefit of the doubt. The quickest way to quench grace is to be a suspicious person, full of criticism and doubt. Maybe the other person doesn't deserve it, but hello, thats why it's called grace.

2. Amazing grace givers live in humility. It's easier to be gracious when you realize the grace that has been extended to you. It's easier to extend grace when you realize that you need it just as bad. Last time I checked, the world wasn't created to bend over backwards in order to serve me. In fact...

3. Amazing grace givers are servant-hearted. When we live our lives willing to be poured out for others, grace just flows out naturally as well. Start looking for people to extend help to throughout the day. Bless them with grace.

4. Amazing grace givers don't get easily offended. One of the biggest enemies of grace is offense. Offended people often close their hearts in self-pity. Closed hearts = no grace flow.

5. Amazing grace givers don't run out of grace. When we are extending grace from the source of grace, we can never run out. I'm thankful God's grace gives second, third, and sixtieth chances. I'm thankful God doesn't hold out on me. I want to give grace like that.

So, next time you hear Amazing Grace, stop and ask yourself if you are a source of that amazing grace. It's part of the reason you are here... to introduce God's grace to the world.