BEING DOWNCAST

I Was Just Thinking About – Being Downcast

There are times when anyone can feel overwhelmed by the events of life and the tasks that need to be performed. Some people are characterized within a range from being melancholy to being depressed. The Scriptures address this in a more general way by the life experiences of different individuals. In the Old Testament, David (and other Psalmists) stand out as being very transparent in terms of their immediate feelings. The term used often is: 

• Psalm 42:5,11-“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” 
• Psalm 43:2,5 -“Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?”

Why does one become downcast? Usually, it is the sense that one is insufficient to cope with a particular situation or to do a task that needs to be done. In can be a result of introspection and a sense of one’s own self-worth. Or, it can be the enormity of the challenge being faced. In other cases, it is a by-product of earlier experiences within a dysfunctional home or family. Some are reared in a home or educational system where they have been viewed and told that they will never amount to anything. That is a scar that may fade in time but that is never fully eradicated. 

How did the Psalmist view his solution to his sense and feeling of being inadequate? He reminded himself in the above verses: “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” 

In the New Testament, there is the example given by the Apostle Paul in:

• II Corinthians 2:14-16, “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.  For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,  to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?”

His focus was on the love, mercy and grace of God for all of one’s life evaluations and choices.

Prayerfully – Consider these things with me!