Tag: Devotional

  • When Depression Sinks Me

    I look normal, a little larger than life (in more than one way), but otherwise I look like everyone else. Yet, I have an invisible disability.

    I am a traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivor and struggle with many issues, including treatment-resistant, chronic, clinical depression. I also fatigue easily and can become overwhelmed under certain forms of stress, particularly when I’m not well rested. The fatigue problem is contributed to by the fact that my TBI impacts sleep.

    Mostly, with the help of medication, a team of doctors and lifestyle management, it stays under control. Yet at times, it can still sneak in, and the depression will sink me for anything from a few hours to months.

    There isn’t much I can do to make the problem lessen once it hits. I can remove myself from people and stress, rest, and that’s about it.

    When I’m resting, I turn to the LORD. Some favorite passages of Scripture have carried me through.

    But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Isaiah 43:1-7 ESV

    At other times, 

    No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39 ESV

    I can also turn to other places, including promises for overcomers in Revelation and many of the Psalms.

    Where do you turn? Tell me in the comments.

    May you turn to Him no matter what you face and be blessed .

    Kevin.

    SUMMARY

    I live with an invisible disability that can sink me into depression for hours or months. When it hits, I rest and turn to the LORD through the Scriptures that carry me.

    TAKEAWAY

    When something sneaks in and sinks you, and there isn’t much you can do about it, you can still rest and turn to the LORD.

    God has called you by name and you are His. When you pass through the waters and walk through the fire, He is with you.

    Nothing in all creation can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus, so turn to Him no matter what you face.

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  • The Paraclete

    The Helper Who Softens Life’s Falls

    If you have read Gleanings for any length of time, you know that I have tried parachuting a couple of times. The last time I tried, I collided with a gopher hole on landing and broke one of my legs. I haven’t done it since, but I still get an adrenaline rush when I see skydivers.

    The concept of a parachute is older than you probably think, dating back to Leonardo da Vinci, who seemed to have borrowed the idea from someone else. He had sketches of a rigid-frame device.

    According to the Saturday Evening Post,

    “The first “modern” soft parachute, as well as the name for it, came from the work of Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard. Blanchard was obsessed with air travel. Not only did he invent the first soft, silk parachute, but he was also the first person to cross the English Channel by air … in a hot-air balloon. He was also the first person to successfully use his soft parachute during an emergency. According to him, at least: He claims that he used a parachute to escape an exploding hot air balloon, but no one else was around to verify it… Blanchard is credited with coining the word parachute in 1784, and his supposed emergency use of it was in 1793.”

    The word para – originates in Latin and means to prevent. The word chute stems from a French word meaning to fall. A parachute prevents or softens a fall.

    A similar word in Greek is also para, but it means to come alongside.

    The Greek combines para (alongside) and the word kaleó (to call) – paraclete. The paraclete is the one who comes alongside to comfort, help, advocate and more.

    Like a parachute helps control the falling skydiver, the paraclete is given to help us. Jesus promises we will have this helper.

     “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you John 14:15-17 ESV

    The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete. He indwells believers to advocate for us, comfort us, guide us, teach us, intercede on our behalf, and so much more.

    If you are tired, overwhelmed, lonely or in distress, you don’t stand alone. The promised Paraclete lives within you to help carry you through, soften life’s falls, and protect you. 

    What a blessing.

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete, the Helper Jesus promised, who comes alongside us. If we are tired, overwhelmed, lonely or in distress, we don’t stand alone.

    TAKEAWAY

    Like a parachute helps control a falling skydiver, the Paraclete is given to help you.

    The Holy Spirit is the Helper Jesus promised. He indwells believers to advocate for you, comfort you, guide you, teach you, and intercede on your behalf.

    If you are tired, overwhelmed, lonely or in distress, you don’t stand alone. The Paraclete lives within you to help carry you through, soften life’s falls, and protect you.

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