God carries you through

Isaiah 46:4 (NLT)
4 I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.

In Isaiah 46 God reminds the people of Israel that other countries bow to statues that are idols - their gods. These idols are carried from place to place in carts. These gods cannot protect the people nor can the people protect their gods for they are man-made. The true God reminds His people that He is with them throughout their lifetime. God says He made them, He will care for them, and He will carry them along and save them. This is something the gods of the others cannot do.

 

 

Concerning God's help, John Ortberg writes in God Is Closer Than You Think (Zondervan, 2005), pp. 161-162 the following:

God does come, and he may come in unexpected ways. Lewis Smedes was a teacher of mine in seminary, one of the best writers and preachers I have ever known. Even though he was brilliant and accomplished and devoted to God, he suffered from a sense of inadequacy that at times grew into deep depression. At one point in his life, he stopped preaching because he felt unqualified.

God came to him through two avenues. One was a three-week experience of utter solitude, where he heard God promise to hold him up so vividly that, as he put it, he felt lifted from a black pit straight up into joy. The other avenue he describes this way: I had not been neurotically depressed since that day, though I must be honest and tell you that God also comes to me each morning and offers me a 20 milligram capsule of Prozac. He clears the garbage that accumulates in the canals of my brain overnight and gives me a chance to a fresh morning start. I swallow every capsule with gratitude to God.

I love the picture that Lewis paints. I used to think that taking Prozac would be a sign of weak faith in God. But what if Prozac might be, not a substitute for God, but his gift? What if refusing might be spurning his hand because of pride? Maybe God is present in wise doctors and medication that makes synapses and neurotransmitters work right. Maybe weakness is really refusing—out of our own blindness and stubbornness—the help that God is offering.

 

 

 

There are some Christians who believe life is always easy and there are never any bumps in the road. I once heard a preacher say that if this was true, maybe you aren’t getting in Satan’s way by doing enough of God’s work.  For when we are hard at work for God and Christ Satan wants to stop us by any means he can. There were times the Apostle Paul wrote from prison where you could hear the discouragement in his words, but he still continued to life up Christ and encouraged others.

Mental Illness is real and there are people who suffer from one problem or another. We live in an imperfect, broken world and Lewis Smedes is right, God works through others to help us in our moments of despair. For the Body of Christ works together supporting other members of the body. I know some wonderful Christian doctors and they have been true blessings in my life. If you are dealing with depression, anxiety or other issues don’t be afraid to reach out for help – for God is always with you.