How To Turn Doom and Gloom Into Hope And Victory

 
This was the view from the Green Creek Road on the North Fork last week, I was surprised to see how little snow there was on the peak.

I awoke this morning with a heavy heart, and so I reached for my Bible for some comfort...and of course I got it.  

"But Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.

I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill.  Se'lah."   (Psalm 3:3-4)

We live in a troubled world, and life is often a painful business.  To relieve the pain we are tempted to turn to mind numbing things...alcohol, drugs, food, television, books...anything that we can find to escape (for a while) the pain.  Some of those things are not bad in and of themselves, but they can be if you are using them to hide from whatever is causing you the agony. 

Don't hide.  God wants us to find our comfort in Him.  And his comfort is not the temporary kind, He is not a fair weather friend.  So I challenge you (and challenge myself), the next time you are in need of comfort and are tempting to hide out for a while from the pain, turn to your Bible first.  Read until you find a passage that quiets your disturbed heart.  Do that, and you can face your pain head on because you find that you no longer have to carry it alone.  In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says:

"Come to Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 

Don't try to hide or escape from your burdens, go to God FIRST.  Pick up that Bible, then get on your knees.  You'll find you won't have numbed your mind for a while, like you would have if you went somewhere else for comfort and escape, but you will find rest...and an inner peace knowing that God is working on solutions to what ails you. 

And with God dealing with your problem, instead of you hiding from it or avoiding it because it hurts...you will find that in His time you will see answers instead of despair.  You will have hope that leads to victory.  

 And, as Forrest Gump would say, 'that's all I have to say about that', folks! DLB