He is much different
Proverbs 12:25 Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad. 26 The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.
I ain’t no different from you; I wonder a lot on how much I should share of my personal life for many reasons, but I also believe in filtering my life through my faith, how I deal with the highs and lows in relation to my core beliefs. Many preachers do not share for many reasons, I think it makes them appear lofty, and sadly anyone we elevate other than Christ will fall. This year for me has been elevated greatly in my struggles with anxiety and depression; I see and know of many that would say the same thing when honest. My heath physically and mentally have been slipping, one effecting the other, a battle over who begins the struggle many times. My body is aging and reaping what I have sown working and playing hard for 52 years. My mind is the battlefield of good and evil, the good in me looses the war many times to the sin in me, and that is the engine that drives the battles of anxiety and depression. If it were not for my faith, were not for the love of my family, my story could easily be a very sad one.
There is great simplicity in the Proverb that Solomon wrote above. Some that battle anxiety don’t battle depression, and the same vice-versa. Many do ride the high of anxiety, and then followed by a relative dive into depression, that is the roller-coaster I write of much. So what is the “good word” he speaks of? It easily is seemingly answered in the following verse. It comes from the people you surround yourself with. If you run with the dredges of society, they will only tear you down, never lift you up. Those who you surround yourself with, even early in life, determine the path of your life and your journey on it. When we look deeper at the passage, you can see why I go to the Bible for the “good word.” It is how I battle my demons, with the armor of God. It is where I go when I don’t know where to go, where I humble myself and plea for help. So many times any struggles we may face are a way God gets our attention, shows us our need for him, uses the evil for good in a way we cannot understand. Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
I learned yesterday of a high school friend who had died unexpectedly. It of course causes us to reflect more about life when it is someone our age, someone we have known for years, someone we have made memories with, God uses these things to get our attention too. If there is anything I can ever share with you, I am an open book. I have lived the sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll lifestyle, worshipped idols, and seen Gods grace and mercy on incredible scales. If you want to know more about me, let me tell you about Jesus. He is much different from me and you.
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