We began our journey into our latest topic two nights ago by asking if it is dangerous for us to be real with our life.  Can believers honestly be open about what is taking place at any time along with how it affects us?   I do not know if we are reaching any conclusions but maybe that is an indication of our answer.  Words can be multiplied to hammer home the point that tough times happen to us.  Knowledge of that truth is not what keeps us from being healthy.  Sometimes it seems to me that we can even spend so much energy talking about how hard it is that we lose sight of our eternal reality.  There is yet another danger to this scenario.  Our mind or heart becomes so wrapped up in difficulty that we become blind to Gods greater blessings.  It may be well with our soul but the rest of us hurts greatly. 

Being depressed really is not a sin.  Now it is possible that to remain in that condition becomes more about our carnal quest to control our lives so it becomes sinful.  Grief in its various forms is part of our daily reality as we live.  Feeling sad is acceptable when it is within the terms of the purpose of God.  Some folks end up adding guilt to grief which is a deadly combination.  Remember the experience of David who would write of his moodiness while penning the Psalms.  He is brutally honest about his emotions but he also has the ability to look beyond them to God's best.  It was never about simply escaping the situation as much as it was about growing in grace even in the presence of grief.  He understood walking in the darkest of valleys but he would not lose his hold on God being with him.  Sadness is less about where you are than it is about where God wants to take you.

Paul will write in 2 Corinthians of a despair that almost overwhelmed his life.  I say this so you realize that even the greatest of God's saints faced awful turmoil.  One of the things that made his world bearable was the presence of friends who came to encourage him.  I also think David knew this gift as he was surrounded by people who listened to his heartache.  Both of these amazing believers would deal with their sadness through the comfort of those around them.  Let me restate my original point from Sunday night.  We must be able to be real with others about how we feel in order to be healthy.  Isolation was never God's intention for humanity.  Relationships are at the core of how we are wired.  But once we have moved past being alone then we must be able to trust others with something different than the schedule of any given day.  Insulating our heart from further damage may actually cause more problems than it solves.  Risk goes hand in hand with relationships.  We often discover that our fears are unfounded as people gather around us.

All of this obviously includes a heart open to God's activity even when it feels painful.   One aspect of this is doing all that you can to remain open to hear God.  Intentionally blocking out other noise comes into play here.  Easy does not come into play with this but it matters.  Praying may sound like a grocery list of complaints but keep at it.  Just listen to yourself when you are talking to God.  Get to the root of what hurts for your benefit.  We are often guilty of saying to God those things we think we should say.  Learn to let it all out since God already knows more than you do about the moment.  You are not going to take Him by surprise with your words.  He can more than handle anything you have to say.  The real questions is what will you do when you get to the core issues that trouble you?  One can hope you will allow God to reshape your character along with any answers He may bring.  Scripture tells us to throw all of our troubles on God because He cares about us.  We may find His answers satisfy much more than our human efforts. 

Bro. Trey