Listening to the right voice….

 Listening to the right voice…..

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. 

Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.

Psalm 40:2-3

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

Psalm 30:11-12

Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands give me delight. 

Your statutes are always righteous; give me understanding that I may live. 

I call with all my heart; answer me, Lord, and I will obey your decrees. 

I call out to you; save me and I will keep your statutes. 

I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. 

My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises. 

Those who devise wicked schemes are near, but they are far from your law. 

Yet you are near,  Lord, and all your commands are true. 

Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever. 

Look on my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law. Defend my cause and redeem me; preserve my life according to your promise. 

Your compassion, Lord, is great; preserve my life according to your laws. Many are the foes who persecute me, but I have not turned from your statutes.

Psalm 119:143-148,150-154,156-157

I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me. Save me, Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues. 

I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? 

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 

The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand; The Lord will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. 

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us, for we have endured no end of contempt. 

We have endured no end of ridicule from the arrogant, of contempt from the proud. 

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. 

Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.

Psalm 120:1-2,121:1-2,5,7-8,123:3-4,124:8,126:5-6 

There are down days for many of us…times when all we want to do is crawl under a rock ….times of weeping, wailing, discontent, pity-parties, times we feel overwhelmed, drowning….they may come during times of stress, after/during long rough roads, times of pure exhaustion/pain or in memories of poor childhoods/marriages, abuse, emotional distress…times of overwhelming fears, or even times when we compare ourselves with other’s “perfect” lives….the “why me?” sessions….

There are seasons of tears, mourning, Solomon speaks of them in Ecclesiastes 3….but the “stuckness” of the negative, the depression that hits rock bottom goes further…the miry clay that clings and pulls down, suffocating the days is deeper…

David must have experienced these days, he writes of them frequently in the Psalms…he asks/cries for help…and he turns to his Comforter over and over again….

I so appreciate that we too have that same Comforter…thank YOU…..

26 But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you. 27 Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]

John 14:26-27 AMP

You who are my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me.

Jeremiah 8:18 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 

If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 

And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7