At The Precipice Of Despair

© Polina Kuznetsova | Dreamstime.com

Do you by your words put your listeners or readers at the precipice of despair?

Does the complexity of your life's situation put you at the brink of hopelessness?

The first time I met this man, who I will hereafter refer to as the Old Prophet,  if my hope was not anchored on the  solid rock of ages, he would have dashed it into a million pieces. His words heaved heavy loads of hopelessness and discouragement, which fell like bricks on my heart. I went home and wept bitterly before the Lord. I wrote about this experience in Praise That Breaks The Yoke.

Two year and two months later, I met him again. He was relentless in his quest to create a picture of a hopeless situation. He thought it was my right to be fully informed. He described the complexity of the situation and called them a constellation of risks. He was so explicit and graphic in presenting the picture that if it were not for the peace of God guarding my heart, it would have melted in fear. In the audacity of arrogance he displayed, he wanted my approval for his position.

He saw no hope. He offered no hope. He stripped all hope away.

I wondered what he wanted of me, to jump off the cliff or resign myself to fate?

A Yoruba adage says, one death cannot kill the same person twice! 

I was not going to let it happen again. Something welled up in my heart against him and there was a strong nudging in my spirit to resist him. I knew I had to take charge of the situation. The tone of my voice changed. I felt like I grew taller in my spirit and he was no longer looming over me. I refused to cower before him. God gave me the grace and the strength to challenge him.

I knew at that instant that we were not wrestling against flesh and blood in this matter but against spiritual wickedness in high places. I refused to be pushed over the edge into the pit of despair and fear. "Raise a clarion call" rang aloud and clear in my spirit and I knew what we had to do.

My Heart Is Fixed

After the Old Prophet left us, my husband thanked God for the peace with which He garrisoned our hearts against agitating fears. Our hearts were at peace trusting in the Lord and we were not moved. It was pure joy to stumble on Ps. 108: 1-6 later that night as I flipped through the Bible in search of something to read.

O God, my heart is fixed - steadfast in the confidence of faith. Therefore, I will praise and make melody. I am God's beloved. He will answer  and deliver me. 

(Ps. 57:7, 108:1,6 paraphrased)

I was glad that I knew experientially and beforehand that I will see the goodness of God in the land of the living. It was great to have this awesome promise.

Perchance, you are in a deep and complex situation where the problems are multidimensional and there seems to be no solution in sight. You are overwhelmed by many afflictions and pressed down by loads of care. Your heart is aching. You pine and long for a resolution, for a change in the situation. "When, O Lord?" has become your fervent and ardent cry.

When hopelessness rear its ugly head. Don't give up on hope. Don't give up on God. He will not abandon you. He will never leave you alone in the midst of your trials.

At such times, at the precipice of despair, we need a Friend. We must be very sure our anchor holds on a solid rock and our hearts are fixed on confident assurance that we have a Saviour Who can move the mountain.

Mountains may shake, earth may quake, and storms may swirl furiously, cling to hope. Let your heart be fixed. Let your heart be steadfast and confident. When your faith is established in the Lord and your heart is stayed on God, only then will you be able to sing and praise God in anticipation of what God will do irrespective of the situation. This brings hope. But if only in this world we have a hope, we will be of all men most miserable.

If by the abounding grace of God we are able to maintain a composed frame of mind in the midst of the crisis, we have an even greater reason to be full of praise and thanks. Though the change we long for may seem long in coming but if we pay attention, we will see His mighty hand holding us up. For this again, we can be thankful.

For we know that our God is awesome. He can move the mountain. He is worthy of praise.

While preparing this post, I remembered the card I wrote and pasted on my wardrobe door five years ago. I placed it in the line of my vision when I used to sit at the edge of the bed on my hands. It was Ps. 108:1. I placed it there to remind myself that my heart must remain fixed, steadfast and confident in the Lord despite the billows roaring around me.

The Power of Words

The following day, I met some other members of the Old Prophet's team. When they came in, they sat down. They did not stand over me. They presented the same information, even as graphic as the Old Prophet did. But with each challenge, they offered a possible solution. They offered no guarantee, but they gave hope. They were committed to finding a way around each obstacle facing us to the best of their ability.

Same information. Different presentation. Different attitude. Different result. When they left, they did not leave me in despair. They left me with assurance.

How is your word affecting the lives of people around you? Are your words full of life, hope and encouragement? Or are you manipulating, sowing seeds of discouragement and stripping away hope with your words?

If you cannot give a glimmer of hope, you should not extinguish whatever hope the person had left. Our words should not leave people in despair and without a hope.

I re-committed myself from that day to be an encourager at every instance as the Lord gives me the grace. I will be careful never to allow my words strip anyone of hope. Even when I have to present hard truths or facts, I will do my best to find a way to present it with an assurance of a way out. There will be times when we will be duty-bound to present a grim picture but we must not do so in a way that will put the receiver of that information at the precipice of despair.

This can be as subtle as the comments we make on issues concerning our nations, our families, our workplace (bosses), our churches, etc. The degree of hopelessness that is sometimes transmitted by comments made on the social media can be heartbreaking. Let us be mindful not to extinguish hope with our words but to ignite hope.

Dear friend, if today you find yourself at the brink of despair, hold on, cling to hope, don't give up. God will surely come through for you. Let your heart be fixed trusting in His unfailing love for you.

Have you been at the precipice of despair? How did you come away from there? Share your story in the comment box below and encourage someone today.

I share with you Awesome by Pastor Charles Jenkins.

Unravelled.

Faced with a situation which presented itself like a tightly knotted cord.

For many years we tugged at this knot,

We did all we knew to do to unravel this knot—it would not bulge;

Complex…

          Convoluted…

Many hours spent agonizing in prayers,

It appeared one loop was loosening a little, then in a swift,

It twisted itself into an even tighter knot,

Defying understanding or solution.

No human hand could unravel this knot.

Frustrated,

Tired, almost in despair,

My soul cried out to the Lord:

Is there anything too difficult for You to do, Lord?

Can a heart be so hard, You can not touch and soften?

Is there any issue too knotty for You to unravel?

At that time when it looked so bleak—You visited me;

Early in the morning, at the dawn of a new day,

Your warm breath brushed my temple like the touch of soft down feathers, 

You whispered my name and called me out of a deep dark place.

At that moment, voices resounding like those of a throng of angels floated into my spirit,

A song arose from within my heart,

"How great is Our God."

Yes, how great is Our God.

"Is that a question or an affirmation?"

He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

He holds the universe in the span of His hands- Is 40:12

What is too difficult for Him?

What knotty situation can He not unravel?

He is the God Who caused water to flow from flinty rocks

Whose heart is too hard for Him to touch?

My mind tried to phantom the picture created here;

My imagination failed me.

A span is the distance between the thumb and the pinkie (the little finger).

The farthest reaches of the infinite universe is measurable by the span of God's hand—the space between His finger and His thumb holds the entire universe estimated to be around 28 billion light years in diameter and I am told a light year is 5,878,630,000,000 miles¹.

Ha! the estimated size of the universe is 28,000,000,000 X 5,878,630,000,000 miles wide at it's diameter!

Awesome God! How great is Our God!

This same God hears us when we call out to Him. He harkens to our cry. Nothing escapes His notice. Nothing catches Him unawares.

He measured the waters in the hollow of His hands,

He knows the exact weight of the earth - Is 40:12.

He knows the precise number of hair on our heads - Lk 12:7.

He called the stars by their names and knows the number of them - Ps 147:4

He is the Almighty God

All might and All power belongs to Him

"How Great is Our God."

What challenging situation can defy the might of this great God?

His mighty hands can unravel every tight, complex or convoluted knot.

He has the final say.

Can a hard heart be softened and made sensitive?

Can a deteriorated relationship be restored to vibrancy?

He is the God Who restored the decaying body of Lazarus to life,

He can restore dead relationships to life.

He caused dry bones to live again,

He can restore life to every area of deadness and dryness in any sphere of our lives.

I know You are good.

I know Your plans are perfect.

Even when I don't understand,

I know You Who knows it all, knows it best.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing is too difficult for You.

You can unravel this knot,

I wait in hope.

I wait with patience.

I trust in Your goodness and faithfulness.

You reveal to redeem.

You will not leave Your servants in the dark.

In the glorious light of Your presence,

The eye of our understanding is illuminated.

I hear the shout of victory.

          Faint,

                   Distant,

                             But distinct.

And I know a triumphant possession is coming my way.

I don't know how. I don't know when.

but I have this one guarantee,

this blessed assurance,

this hope which does not disappoint…

…He will unravel this knot in His own way and in His own time.

…He will work it together for our good.

Our God is great. He will take care of all that concerns you.

Will you trust Him with your knotty situation?

1. Our God is Big. Thoughtful Christian Insights

- http://thoughtfulchristianinsights.blogspot.ch/2010/02/our-god-is-big.html



Without a Hope?

You open the newspapers and the images you see assault everything you believe to be decent. You read devastating news that shifts your world from its axis like an earthquake. What do you do? When you switch on the TV and what you hear is the spectrum of destructive human failings. Men so engorged in their depravity that they unleash wanton acts of wickedness on one another. What do you do?

What do you do when what you hear and see makes you wonder how men could become so depraved that they loose their humanity to the extent that another person’s life holds no value? You wonder what cause could justify such calculated destruction of lives.

Or is it the destruction of initiative and creativity that faces you everyday, working in an environment where power is wielded with stifling control. The thought of going to work each morning brings trepidations to your heart. The undercurrent is charged with suspicious and malicious scheming. Discouraged, distressed and aggrieved, there is no one to turn to—none you can trust. Frustration turns to bitterness as the arm of flesh like a reed breaks under you. What do you do?

For you, it was a phone call that brought chaos into your ordered and stable life. A call from the doctor informing you a shocking diagnosis had been made, you sit as if rooted to the chair and gaze into the space yet seeing nothing. Slowly the news sinks in, and tears begin to flow as you sob in agony. What do you do?

Perhaps, you do not even need a doctor to tell you something is gone terribly wrong. You have been testifying of the joy of feeling full of life and strength, and within what seemed to be less than 48 hours, you see symptoms of affliction return with the ferocity of a wounded animal to harass you as if to challenge your right to live and enjoy life to the full.

What do you do?

Throw up your hands over your head and bowed in despair?
Wail and bemoan the situation as one without a glimmer of hope?
Live each day in fear of what will happen next?
Then is their mission not doubly accomplished?

Where do you go when you seek a refuge for your soul? To whom do you turn when you need a friend?

David's men were bitterly grieved when they found their wives, sons and daughters had been taken away—they might even have been killed—they wept until they had no power to weep. They were so grieved that they were ready to stone their leader. David also suffered the same calamity as his men—his wives had been taken away, he was greatly depressed.

But, he did something else –

He encouraged himself in the Lord.

He looked up to God to lift up his wounded spirit.

Then he asked God for direction and guidance as to what to do next (1Sam 30:1-8).

What do you do in time of great distress and calamity? When life serves you lemon so sour it set  your teeth on edge. Like David, you turn to God for comfort. It is only with Him you can make a meaning out of what life has dealt you. It is God who delivers from the hands of wicked and cruel men.

When a man loses hope, he loses a reason to live. Hopelessness brings heaviness to the spirit and causes depression but God strengthens the heart of those who hope in Him – Be strong and take heart all of you who hope in the Lord (Ps 31:24). We can not survive without the hope that Jesus gives.

Living in a world where calmness can easily turn to chaos in a moment, we need the Rock that never fails to depend on. We need to hold on and be anchored to an unchanging God Who provides us with stability and support in the midst of chaos.  It is a joyful experience to discover God as the pillar that can sustain all our weight. He is the pillar that holds our lives. We need the help and support of God for each day and the assurance that He is there for us come what may. We are always secured in the hands of God.

God is seeking to show Himself mighty in your life in each the situations described above. Anchored on the solid rock, you can make lemonade out of the lemons.

Your experience may put you at the right place at the right time to bring comfort to someone else struggling with the same problem.

You are not in that ‘toxic’ environment by accident. Your presence there has been ordered by providence to bring about a change—starting on your knees.

The devastating news may indeed be a call to rally—“if my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray …”

Perhaps this is the birthing place of the new thing God has planned for you. Ultimately, if only in this life we have hope in Christ then we are of all men most miserable.

How do you react to devastating news? Share your story and encourage others.

Praise that breaks the yoke

“Oh that men will praise the Lord, for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! He has broken the gates of brass and cut the bars of iron in asunder.” – Ps 107:15-16.

I found myself singing a song based on this verse a few days ago and I paused to ponder on the verse. Brass and iron are hard metals, that's why you can make gates and bars with them including prison gates, shackles and bars. The verse revealed to me the infinite and mighty power of God to deal with hard and knotty issues in our lives, and the complex situations we are often faced with. Difficult times in our lives can drive us to self pity, despair and sometimes depression. Many people who have experienced knotty and complex situations can testify of the feeling of heaviness and a sense of hopelessness that can accompany despair; which in itself holds the individual bound as with a heavy shackle or yoke.

This verse tells me that God has the power to break the yoke of self-pity and to deliver from despair and depression. When we worship and praise God, and give Him a sacrifice of thanksgiving--burdens are lifted, yokes are broken and the restraining bars of iron are cut asunder. Let me share my experience in this regard.

About a year ago, my doctors suggested to me the option of having a surgical procedure which they deemed the only medical option left to address the respiratory difficulties I suffer from. This is a risky and delicate procedure. It required that I had a medical workup to ensure that I qualify for the procedure, and also that I do not have any underlying condition that could pose additional risk to me both during and after the surgical procedure. During the workup, I had to meet with all the specialists who are likely to be involved in the procedure. Afterwards, I got a preliminary clearance for the procedure. One of the surgeons thereafter became very concerned about my medical history which he deemed complex and he felt that this will not only pose additional risk to the surgery but it is a sufficient reason not to do it at all. He wanted to review the case again more thoroughly before agreeing to the procedure. He was so brusque in presenting the facts that his words fell like a heavy load of bricks on me. I felt suffocated listening to him.  I tried hard to shake it off.

When we left his office to wait to see the other specialists, my husband kept encouraging me and speaking the word of God to me. It was not the first time that we had left a doctor’s office and we had to confess that we know whose report we would believe. We believe in the report of the Lord and His report says “I am healed.” Though all the other specialists we saw were optimistic about the procedure but the report of the older surgeon weighed heavily on my spirit.

When we got home, I went straight to my room and wailed before God. I was very angry with the surgeon and I resented the offhanded way he addressed the issue. While I agreed he had the responsibility to present all the facts but I felt he could have done it without making the situation look so hopeless. I felt overwhelmed by the heaviness in my spirit. All I could do was wail from the depth of my heart. I knew I had to deal with the anger immediately otherwise not only would the seed of offense take root in my heart; also the feeling of despair will overwhelm me. I slept off out of sheer exhaustion.

The following morning, I told my husband I was not coming out of the room until I can open my mouth and give praise to God. I asked him to set up the iPod to play some praise and worship songs to help lift my spirit up. After listening to the songs for a while, I found myself meditating on the lyrics and soon I started to sing along, first quietly and then loudly. Don Moen’s song “I will sing” particularly ministered to me. The more I sang--“I will sing, I will praise even in my darkest times … Lift my hands to honour You because Your word is true, I will sing”--the more the tears flowed. The flood gate just busted open and I started to weep. This time it was not a wail of despair but tears flowing from an overwhelming assurance of God’s love for me and a confident hope that He would not allow me to be tried more that I can bear. The more I sang praise, the lighter my spirit became and the power of that praise kept me from the brink of self pity and despair.

Whether you are at the brink of despair or deep down in the pit of depression, this one assurance I can give you, God loves you and He has the power to break the gates of brass and the bars of iron in your life. As you lift His name high in praise, you will be lifted out of that pit and be set free from the yoke of self pity, despair and depression. Praise breaks the yoke of self pity, despair and depression. Entertaining self pity and despair is destructive. It wastes your energy and drains you emotionally. An attitude of praise will keep you in check. That was what it did for me.

What about you? What has the power of praise broken in your life?

Irene O.

"I will sing" by Don Moen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijh_f7sTdGE&noredirect=1