Downcast

Why, my soul, are you downcast?
 Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
 for I will yet praise him,
 my Savior and my God.

Psalm 42:5

I have a friend who is struggling with overwhelming sadness...it is governing my friend's life to the point of interfering with daily living and appetite.  Death of a loved one kicked my friend and getting up seems an impossibility at this point.  I feel there's nothing I can do to help...so I pray.

I've been there many times...in situations where there seems no way out; in financial difficulty; in dealing with personal sins; in the death of my Dad; in watching my mother die over a period of 18 years, bit by bit as she struggled with Alzheimer-like symptoms due to a series of small stokes--wishing God would just take her and wondering what use she was to Him anymore.  I waded through menopausal symptoms that swept over me day by day until I felt that I should commit myself...or worse.  Through these times I knew I should trust God completely and I cried out to Him incessantly and it seemed He had barred himself from me.  Through the patience of my husband and family, I was able to emerge from each situation without losing my faith in the Great Healer..but it wasn't an easy process.  Time does heal but it still hurts a lot.  Through these times God had something for me to learn and I just had to find out what.  Usually at the end of each "Sad Journey" He rewarded me with opportunities for service which I did willingly.  No, I'm far from the perfect little Christian but I can say with confidence that God never left me.  He just allowed me to see the pain so I could relate to others who were in greater pain than I.

As for my friend, I continue to pray for healing.

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