Mind Meld of A Different Kind

PSALM 6
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight-stringed instrument.

O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger

or discipline me in your rage.

Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak.

Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.

I am sick at heart.

How long, O Lord, until you restore me?

Return, O Lord, and rescue me.

Save me because of your unfailing love.

For the dead do not remember you.

Who can praise you from the grave?

I am worn out from sobbing.

All night I flood my bed with weeping,

drenching it with my tears.

My vision is blurred by grief;

my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.

Go away, all you who do evil,

for the Lord has heard my weeping.

The Lord has heard my plea;

the Lord will answer my prayer.

May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified.

May they suddenly turn back in shame.

Risky Transparency
Thank God for an emotional king who dared put his depression to pen! On this occasion his depression is so dark that his body aches while his heart breaks. He knows his life is about over. Doom and gloom envelop David with so thick a shroud that it seems endless.

I’ve been to this place. And because God’s Spirit inspired this great, though flawed, leader to record his visits to this pit, I have never been there alone. In fact, I imagine David to have whispered several truths to me as we sat down there together.

He’s told me to count on visiting this place from time to time, but that life is much more than the pits. From David I’m learning (for many of us it’s a life-long process!) not to define life by the dark days, but the brilliant ones.

This king has also insisted that, just because people like us get dragged into this pit, does not mean that God has not called us to lead his people. Effective leaders come in all shapes and sizes, including emotional varieties.

This man after God’s heart reminded me that God looks at our hearts not the chemistry and DNA that predisposes some of us to such lows. (No, David didn’t know the science that influences human emotions, but he knew the reality beneath the specific scientific facts.) God isn’t looking for happy people. He’s looking for those who love him with their heart, soul, mind, and strength, whether they are up or down on any given day.

God of Love, thank you for seeking authenticity in me rather than some show of emotional strength. Again today, I give you my whole heart. I offer my body (and its chemistry). I consecrate my life to you. Up or down, I am yours – always. - Mike Leamon

Saved by His love
Often when I am feeling down and depressed I begin to fall into the “woe is me” mentality. At times this becomes so overwhelming I can even start to cry at the desperate situation I find myself in. Sometimes life is actually as hard as I think it is, often it is not. Regardless of how real my depression is, I soon begin to think I should be rescued from my situation because I am worth rescuing.

I have something better to contribute to society, to others, to the church than what my current situation will allow me to contribute. Save me God because it is not fair, and I want to serve you better. How can I serve God to my fullest potential when I am sick, afflicted, depressed, despised, abused, or anything else less than the ideal for my life?

Save me God because I deserve to be saved. I have served you faithfully and I don’t deserve this affliction. This type of thinking is absolutely wrong. None of us deserve saving. God in his unfailing love saves us because of his mercy, because of his love, not because we deserve anything. The Psalmist was afflicted and depressed but he recognizes deliverance is solely prompted by God’s unfailing love.

When we find ourselves in the middle of tough times remember we deserve nothing less. But thanks be to God for his unfailing love reaching down and picking us up.

God of unfailing love, I rest in the realization of your love for me regardless of how bitter life becomes. I long for your embrace and depend upon your mercy to see me through the tough times in life. - Dan Jones