Devotionals

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"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones."-Proverbs 17:22.


Depression and dejection can be debilitating. They affect the young and old alike. I have seen teenagers go through a broken relationship and many times it's not a pretty sight. I also know adults who have gone through ugly divorces; this can result in long-term devastation. Then I know a number of people who dread going to work every single day. For some the problem is the pay, for others it's the boss or colleagues, for others the hours, for some it's all of these, etc. How disheartening it must be to go to a place daily that on the one hand you hate, but on the other hand you feel you can't do without. Down at the grassroots level where we confide in and lean on each other for support we find that none of us are exempt from having experiences that can cause us to live life down in the dumps at times.

But no matter how serious or how relatively trivial things are that get the best of us, we always have two general ways in which we can respond. We can become dispirited or we can refuse giving in to that emotion. I say refuse because it is natural for us to become overwhelmed in our spirit due to burdensome circumstances. The only way that emotion will not prevail is that we resist it.

It might seem justifiable to us to have a pity party when things overwhelm us. The truth is, when we allow bad experiences to keep us down, it breaks our spirit and causes death on the inside. Our bones become more dry and brittle. When we resist this emotion, on the other hand, and take on a more upbeat response a healing process takes place.

This is not a call to denial. When we hurt we hurt. Remaining in the dumps or in a rage, however, only makes matters worse. With the help of God Almighty, we can cause our heart to be merry, and this will do us good like medicine.


Dear Lord, I know that You are with me whenever trouble comes. There is no personal storm that You can't bring me out. May this positive attitude prevail during every dark time in my life. Amen.

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