Sometimes, our suffering is self-inflicted. It's not always something someone else said or did; sometimes it's what WE said or did - whether to another person or to ourselves. I recommend reading the entire chapter, but I just want to point out a few verses here.
Verses 1-2:
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.
This is something I really struggle with - even on my good days. Honestly, I'm a coward. I get too scared to share about Jesus. I want to, I really, REALLY want to, but I just get so scared that I seriously freeze up and then beat myself up and cry bitterly over it afterwards. The only sharing about Jesus I really do is in my blog. I guess that's a start right? God is good to us, and he loves us more than we could ever imagine! How could we not share about his goodness?
Verses 10-16:
Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery. They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High. That is why he broke them with hard labor; they fell, and no one was there to help them.
"LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains. Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. For he broke down their prison gates of bronze; he cut apart their bars of iron.
Verses 17-21:
Some were fools; they rebelled and suffered for their sins. They couldn't stand the thought of food, and they were knocking on death's door.
"LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death. Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
Sometimes (maybe even usually) our suffering is self-inflicted. I don't know about you, but when I really get into these bouts of darkness, I completely shut down. I isolate myself and wallow in my pain. It's difficult to get out of bed, and sometimes even to eat. I just want to curl up in the fetal position and cry, but sometimes the tears won't come. lately, I've cried so much that the tears just won't fall anymore. I battle with myself. I'm so tempted to give into punishing myself, but I keep telling myself not to because I don't want to dishonor God, as well as hurt the people who care about me.
In these moments, I cry out for God to help me. I want to escape from these emotions and the pain; but when learning to grieve again, I have to allow myself to feel them. I have to allow myself to feel them and then learn to move on from them. You can only be in your self-pity for so long until enough is enough! In those dark times though - whether they are self-inflicted or from other causes, we need to cling to Christ and cry out to him "LORD, help!" He will rescue us! He may not take us out of them immediately, but he WILL get us through them. As much as I hurt right now, I know he is with me. He will get me through this.
No comments:
Post a Comment