It is OKAY to not be OKAY.
“We were never designed for the sedentary, indoor, socially isolated, fast-food
laden, sleep deprived, frenzied pace of modern life.”—Stephen Ilardi-The
Depression Cure
Lamentations 3:17-20 NIV I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what
prosperity is. So I say, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from
the Lord.” I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I
well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
2 Corinthians 1:8 NIV We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,
about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great
pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself.
I Kings 19:1-4 NLT When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had
done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. So Jezebel sent this
message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time
tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.” Elijah was afraid and fled
for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.
Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a
solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he
said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”
FAULTY THINKING
Philippians 4:8-9 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your
thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and
admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep
putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard
from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
ISOLATION
Ecclesiastes 4:12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two
can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord
is not easily broken.
Led by FEELINGS
John 8:32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
COMPARISON
Galatians 1:10 Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God.
If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.
Kings 19:5-9 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was
sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” He looked around
and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water!
So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord came again
and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be
too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough
strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of
God. There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. But the Lord said to him,
“What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Some practical things for us to learn today about God is saying:
1. Get healthy PHYSICALLY.
2. Pour my HEART out to God.
Matthew 11:28-29 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and
carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me
teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your
souls.
3. Experience the POWER and PRESENCE of God.
Psalm 46:10a “Be still, and know that I am God!
4. Let God give me a NEW PURPOSE and DIRECTION for my life.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we
are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and
momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them
all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is
seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
