For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast. Proverbs 15:15 NLT
Proverbs is a book full on wisdom, and a book that is also full of contrasts. We see this most often in this book between the fool and the wise person. And in the verse above, we hear a huge contrast between how a man or woman responds to life in this world.
How do you respond to the “troubles” that we all experience in this broken world? Did you wake up this morning dreading the day ahead? Have you been experiencing a season when this is happening frequently?
I listened to a sermon recently entitled “Hope for the Despondent Heart”. I wanted to share some of that Pastor’s thoughts and the Scriptures he shared, in full expectation that those will help you and me in times when we are in that place of despondency.
Lord, help! You know we can get to the place where it seems every day brings trouble, and we can feel hopeless. Give us ears to hear what You have to say to us, Lord, and then hearts that are bent to obey and trust You in the next steps You are asking us to take. Thank You Lord!
So Much in One Word
Here is one definition of the word, despondent: feeling or showing profound hopelessness, discouragement, or in very low spirits, feeling you cannot overcome. The truth is that we have all been there – to that place where we feel hopeless, discouraged, in low spirits, or feeling you cannot overcome. The Psalms express these emotions so well:
O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out to You by day. I come to You at night. Now hear my prayer; listen to my cry. For my life is full of troubles, and death draws near. I am as good as dead, like a strong man with no strength left. Psalm 88:1-4
I cry out to God; yes, I shout. Oh, that God would listen to me! When I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord. All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul was not comforted. I think of God, and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for His help. Psalm 77:1-3
So, if we can all identify with being in a place of despondency, then what is God’s remedy for us? How does the Lord help us to move from seeing “every day bringing trouble” to a place where “life is a continual feast”? Is that even possible?
Here is the Pastor’s main point and the thing the Lord is saying to you and me today: If you are “in Christ”, you have more reason to be filled with hope today than anyone else on the planet. Take a moment to read that statement again.
Let the truth of that statement sink in. Not just in your mind, but let it resonate and reverberate in your heart and soul. In Christ, God has given us everything we need in this life. In addition, He promises to never leave or forsake us in our everyday lives. If you truly believed that you had everything you need AND remembered the Lord is with you, how much could those truths help lift us out of the pit of despondency?
A Path Forward Out of the Pit
Given all that has been shared so far, you might still be wondering how a person gets from “every day brings trouble” to “life is a continual feast”. It is important to realize that getting to see life as a continual feast is a process. There is no one thing anyone can do to make that happen. Moving forward, it will mean choosing to make decisions, not based on my circumstances, or even based on my emotions, but rather based on God’s Word and promises in the Bible. We must allow our faith and trust in the Lord and His promises to help lead our decisions, as well as the perspective of our life.
Specifically, the Pastor shared three things to help us begin that process. First, remember we have an enemy in Satan who lies and seeks to deceive us constantly. We must ask the Spirit to help us recognize his lies and replace those with what is true about God and about us. And we must ask others to pray for us to be equipped and fight this unseen spiritual war.
Second, never forget Jesus’ words in John 14:1: “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me.” Jesus is telling us that one of the primary ways we fight despondency is by trusting and believing in Him and what He has said – no leaning on our wisdom or understanding, but rather choosing to believe what He has said in the Bible.
Thirdly, we become more intentional on what the Pastor calls “remembering the Lord”. We do this by bringing to mind verses like Psalm 103:2: “Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things He does for me.” We must never forget all the Lord has done in our lives – the greatest being the salvation He provided through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The One who chose us to be part of His adopted family will be with us in the pit of despondency. And He will stay with us as He works to transform us to see all of our life as a continual feast.
In addition to those three important helps, the final thing the Pastor shared was what he called “7 Reasons for Hope Today”. These 7 truths about God can be part of His provision for you and me as we take steps to move out of the pit of despondency.
He is trustworthy. (Isaiah 26:4, Hebrews 10:23)
He is near. (Isaiah 41:10, Ephesians 2:11-13, Psalm 139:7-11)
He hears you. (Psalm 34:17, Psalm 116:1-2, Philippians 4:4-7)
He sees you. (Psalm 34:15, Psalm 139:7-8,11-12)
He has overcome the world. (John 16:33, 1 John 5:4)
He will deliver you. (Psalm 34:19, Galatians 5:1, Revelation 21:3-5)
He is still working. (John 5:17, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 2:12-13)
As powerful as those truths are, please don’t just read them. Take time to work through them using the 7-day plan provided below. I pray that, as you work through those reasons for hope over these next days, you will feel the Lord’s presence with you and cooperate with Him in moving you to seeing life as a continual feast.
PRAYER: Thank You, Lord, for seeing me in the pit of despondency and coming near to help. I know You are faithful and trustworthy. Thank You that you see me. And thank You that You hear my cries to You and draw near to me. Please help me to live each day remembering that in Christ I have everything I need for this life. Help me to walk increasingly in faith and trust in You and Your promises. I believe You will help me grow in seeing life as a continual feast. Thank You, Lord!
HOMEWORK: Below is a link to a Seven-Day Bible Plan that will walk you through Bible verses on this topic. Please work through this plan one day at a time over the next 7-10 days. Then go back and work through the 7 days a second time. Consider sharing what you are learning with other Christ-followers you know!
Link to PDF Document: Click Here for Link to Seven-Day Bible Plan
ADDITIONAL: I also highly encourage you to listen to the full sermon the Pastor shared. There was more he spoke about that I did not share in this written post. See link to the sermon below in the listing of Sources.
Post written by Abiding Marriage, August 2024. Main content of this post was a sermon by Marshall West, Associate Pastor at The Summit Church in North Little Rock, AR. Link below.
Sources:
Hope for the Despondent Heart – Sermon by Marshall West. Link to watch or listen: https://thesummitchurch-ar.subspla.sh/v7qy39j
Photo by Roadtrip for Raj on Unsplash
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