Mud + Water: Arise

When I first wake up, I stretch my legs to feel two warm kitty bodies on either side of me. The sunlight pours in and for a moment, there is joy. But as my eyes adjust to the empty room, I already feel late. The lists come and words of names to call and emails to write and things to do flood my mind and I pull the covers up close over my eyes, wanting to sleep again. It takes real effort to get out of this bed, unless my loving husband happens to still be home and pull me out of that place of safe and comfort. After the anxiety of the day hits me in waves, I immediately have to fight guilt. Why am I feeling this way? I'm not nearly as cluttered or busy with everyday life as most people, I have no reason to fight. 

But reason or not, I must fight it. Every day, I have to remember this is the day the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it. This usually comes in the form of a text message from Aaron, or a song that rings through the apartment as I get ready. I have to leap up, throw the curtains back, eat, drink, stretch, and pray to Him. I hope you enjoy this devotional from My Utmost for His Highest it is incredibly encouraging and reminds us that we are not alone in our anxieties. Let this penetrate deep today, because we must help each other fight.

Taking the Initiative Against Depression - February 17

 Arise and Eat. {I Kings 19:5}

The Angel in this passage did not give Elijah a vision, or explain the Scriptures to him, or do anything remarkable. He simply told Elijah to do a very ordinary thing, that is, to get up and eat. If we were never depressed, we would not be alive - only material things don't suffer depression. If human beings were not capable of depression, we would have no capacity for happiness and exaltation. There are things in life that are designed to depress us; for example, things that are associated with death. Whenever you examine yourself, always take into account your capacity for depression.

When the Spirit of God comes to us, He does not give us glorious visions, but He tells us to do the most ordinary things imaginable. Depression tends to turn us away from the everyday things of God's creation. But whenever God steps in, His inspiration is to do the most natural, simple things - things we would never have imagined God was in, but as we do them we find Him there. The inspiration that comes to us in this way is an initiative against depression. But we must take the first step and do it in the inspiration of God. If, however, we do something simply to overcome our depression, we will only deepen it. But when the Spirit of God leads us instinctively to do something, the moment we do it the depression is gone. As soon as we arise and obey, we enter a higher pane of life.