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Today: Psalms 40:1-8; Luke 8:40-56; Luke 9:1-9; Numbers 31:25-54; Numbers 28; Numbers 32
Psalms 40
“I waited patiently for the LORD; And He reached down to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud; And He set my feet on a rock, making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.” Psalms 40:1-3
There David goes, describing my life again in Psalms 40…
During the years that I struggled with depression, I often felt that I was stuck inside a dark pit, a “pit of destruction.” When I finally got to the end of myself, to the end of all of my own faulty solutions, and I cried out to God, He “reached down to me” and “brought me up out of the pit.”
As I learned to spend time with Him in prayer and worship, He healed me from depression. The more I learned to put my “trust in the LORD,” the more “blessed” my life became. My healing was not in psychiatrists or pills (the “proud,” and “those who become involved in falsehood” v.4) but in the LORD alone. He taught me how to think in victorious ways; He put “a new song in my mouth” instead of the old destructive depressed thought patterns. This new way of thinking — focusing on God and trusting Him — has been my healing from depression for over 20 years now.
When I was depressed, I was a slave to my negative feelings. Emotions are unstable, shifting sands — they were a treacherous foundation for my life. But God taught me to rise above my emotions and place my trust in Him and His promises instead. Now that my foundation is God, my feet stand on the “rock” of His Word and my “footsteps [are] firm.” God has “opened my ears” to hear His voice and now His “law is within my heart.”
The wonders which He has accomplished in my life are “too numerous to count” (v.7) and in my deep gratitude, I “delight to do [His] will.” (v.8)
Praise God, for His awesome healing power!!
Luke 8 – Healing of the Bleeding Woman
Luke 8 is just packed with miracles! Both of Jesus’ miracles at the end of Luke 8 resonate with me personally…
A woman who had “suffered from a chronic flow of flood for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone” pushed through the crowd to reach Jesus. She touched “the fringe of His cloak” and “immediately her bleeding stopped.” (v.44) Immediately she was healed. She felt the power of Jesus enter into her body and she knew she had been healed.
Jesus felt it too. He stopped and asked, “Who is the one who touched Me?” (v.45) When the disciples protest that many people are crowding and pressing in on Him, Jesus responds, “I was aware that power had left me.” (v.46)
Think about this for a moment. Think about the awesome power of the Holy Spirit. It was, and is, much more than a nice little tingly feeling you get when you sing a pretty worship song. The power of the Holy Spirit can heal, transform, and bring deadness to LIFE.
My own chronic affliction was depression… emotional bleeding. I suffered from depression for 20 years, from a young teenager until my early thirties. I saw many counselors and psychiatrists, took anti-depressants, and other prescription drugs for years. None of those things could heal me.
But when I reached out and touched Jesus, when I pushed through the clamoring crowd offering false solutions, and reached toward Him in faith, His Holy Spirit power filled my body. I felt it. I could feel His power healing my mind. He told me, “Go in peace” and He filled my mind with His glorious PEACE. And what is the opposite of depression but a mind at PEACE?
Jairus’ Daughter
The last miracle in Luke 8 is the most amazing of all. Jesus brought Jairus’ little daughter back to life from the dead. I too have been raised from by dead by Jesus. When I was 30 years old, still embroiled within the clutches of raging depression, I tried to kill myself with a handful of sleeping pills.
As I lay on my couch waiting to die, four angels appeared in my little apartment and implored me to call for help. Under their urgent instructions, I was able to crawl across my floor and dial 911 before falling unconscious.
I did die and my spirit left my body. I could see my lifeless body lying below me. But because I had called for help, medics were able to miraculously bring me back to life in the ER.
Jesus took Jairus’ daughter’s hand and “spoke forcefully, saying, ‘Child, arise!’ And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately.” (v.54)
In my case, I heard an earth-shattering BOOM (was it Jesus’ voice saying “Child, arise!”???) and my spirit blasted back into my body. Jesus sent angels to help me and then called my spirit back into my body and brought me back to life.
Hallelujah! Thank You, Jesus for Your Holy Spirit power!!
