July 24, 2014 On a Downward Slide Malachi 2:10-17 I USED TO SUFFER FROM ANXIETY. THE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS. THE TOSSING AND TURNING. THE LOOKING AT THE CLOCK. HOPING I HAD MORE TIME TO SLEEP. THE IMPENDING DEADLINES. SHOULD I GET UP? WILL I GET BACK TO SLEEP? UGH, I AM SO EXHAUSTED ... IF THIS LASTED LONG ENOUGH - DAYS, OR WEEKS, ID GET PRETTY DEPRESSED. THE LAST TIME I WAS IN A BAD PLACE LIKE THIS WAS BACK IN EARLY 2012. I HAD STOPPED WORKING AND MY HEALTH WAS DECLINING. I WAS HAVING UNEXPLAINED SHORTNESS OF BREATH. AS A RESULT I COULDNT EAT PROPERLY. I LOST A TON OF WEIGHT - LIKE 45 POUNDS. I WAS WEAK PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY. I FELT LIKE I WAS LOSING CONTROL AND I COULDNT EXPLAIN WHY. I FELT AS IF I WAS IN THE DEEPEST OF DEEP HOLES. I HAD RECURRING DREAMS AND VISIONS THAT I WAS REACHING UP, AND TRYING TO CLIMB OUT OF THE HOLE, BUT TRY AS I MIGHT, I LACKED THE STRENGTH TO CLIMB OUT. THE SIDES WERE WET AND SLIPPERY. I COULD SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY BUT THERE WAS NO WAY OUT. BAD THOUGHTS FILLED MY HEAD. I WAS A GONER FOR SURE. NO ONE WOULD FIND ME. I WAS SCARED. THEN I MET A PERSON THAT GOD PUT INTO MY LIFE. SHE HAD BEEN WORKING WITH ME TO HELP MY PHYSICAL AILMENTS. ONE DAY DURING THIS TERRIBLE TIME SHE SENSED THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH ME. I WASNT MY CHEERY SELF. I TOLD HER ABOUT THE HOLE I WAS IN AND THAT I FELT LIKE I WAS GETTING DEEPER AND DEEPER - FEELING LIKE THERE WAS NO WAY OUT. IN A ONE HOUR SESSION WE WORKED ON A VISUALIZATION AND MEDITATION TECHNIQUE. SHE WANTED ME TO ENVISION MYSELF IN THE HOLE AND THAT SOMEONE - A FRIEND - WAS SHOVELING DIRT INTO THE HOLE. AND AS THE DIRT FILLED THE HOLE, RATHER THAN GETTING BURIED ALIVE, SHE TOLD ME TO STEP UP ON THE MOUND THAT WAS FORMING. THIS CONTINUED FOR THE HOUR, SHOVEL, SHOVEL. STEP, STEP. SHOVEL, SHOVEL. STEP, STEP. BY THE TIME THE HOUR WAS OVER, I HAD CLIMBED OUT OF THE HOLE AND WAS ON SOLID GROUND. THE HOLE WAS FILLED AND THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD WAS LIFTED OFF MY SHOULDERS. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME I FELT HAPPY. THE COLD DAMP FEELING OF THIS DARK AND ENDLESS HOLE WAS FILLED WITH THE WARMTH OF SUNSHINE AND I SMILED A WARM AND HAPPY SMILE. I HAD HOPE THAT I WOULD BE OK. Depression can send us on a downward slide. God wants his people to hang on to hope. When you face problems, look first at yourself. If you changed your attitude or behavior, would the problem be solved? Read Judah has been unfaithful, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. The men of Judah have defiled the LORDs beloved sanctuary by marrying women who worship idols. May the LORD cut off from the nation of Israel every last man who has done this and yet brings an offering to the LORD of Heavens Armies. Here is another thing you do. You cover the LORDs altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings and doesnt accept them with pleasure. You cry out, Why doesnt the LORD accept my worship? Ill tell you why! Because the LORD witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows. Didnt the LORD make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. For I hate divorce! says the LORD, the God of Israel. To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty, says the LORD of Heavens Armies. So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife. (Malachi 2:11-16) Reflect Malachi preached after Haggai, Zechariah, and Nehemiah—about 430 B.C. The Temple had been rebuilt for almost a century, and the people were losing their enthusiasm for worship. Apathy and disillusionment had set in because the exciting messianic prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah had not been fulfilled. Many of the sins that had brought the downfall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. were still being practiced in Judah. This complacency gradually led to blatant sin, such as marriage to those who worshiped idols. Ezra and Nehemiah also had confronted this problem years earlier (Ezra 9–10; Nehemiah 13:23-31). Divorce was common, occurring for no reason other than a desire for change. People acted as if they could do anything without being punished. And they wondered why God refused to accept their offerings and bless them (Malachi 2:13)! Respond Depression can send us on a downward slide. God wants his people to hang on to hope. When you face problems, look first at yourself. If you changed your attitude or behavior, would the problem be solved?
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 10:58:16 +0000
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