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.