Walk Whole

God’s people are hurting. Our hearts are in need of healing. Many are feeling overwhelmed with feelings of depression, loneliness and sorrow. We need comfort. The question is, where do we find it? If you’re like me, you may have spent years putting your hope in the things of this world for relief. Actually, I spent decades looking in all the wrong places. It wasn’t until I faced the fact that I wasn’t getting any better that I decided to try something new. What was that? How can we find true healing?

1. Make God the foundation of your hope. This might sound obvious to some, but it wasn’t to me. I put my hope in earthly things: medicine, psychologists, exercise, doctors, human reasoning, positive thinking. The list went on and on. These things may have helped me cope at times, but they never brought true or lasting healing. Psalm 62 says, “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.” The question is, Do you believe God can heal your heart? The same God who formed man out of the dust…do you believe He can set you free? For many years, I didn’t. I do now. I’ve experienced it. If God can do it for me, He can do it for you.
2. Choose to believe that God has already done His part. Jesus came to the earth, not just to save us spiritually. He also came to heal our hearts. Isaiah 61 says, “The spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” In Luke chapter 4, Jesus read this passage in the synagogue. Then He said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus has already fulfilled His promise to make a way for our broken hearts to be healed. He has already made a way for us to put on the garment of praise instead of despair.
3. Be willing to do your part. Our part is to resist depression. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” We resist the spirit of heaviness (despair) by “putting on the garment of praise.” In practical terms, this means we turn on worship music. We enter into worship as we sing along. You might say, “I’ve tried that. It didn’t work for me.” Here’s the deal. It’s like a wrestling match. The one who exerts the most pressure for the longest time wins. I had to resist heaviness until it yielded. The enemy resists backing off, hoping we’ll come into agreement with the lie that we can’t have what God provided for us. When you resist heaviness through worship, it may lift quickly, or it may take a while. We do not need to surrender to a defeated foe. When I was breaking free, it took so long that I questioned, “Can this be right? Why is this taking so long?” Thankfully, I had been forewarned that many turn back unnecessarily. I didn’t want to do that. Little by little, depression’s grip on my life broke off. Victory is yours if you refuse to yield to a defeated foe. May the joy of the LORD be your strength today. Arlene