It’s been a funny old week in the news so far: a doctor is found guilty of causing the death of a celebrity, the Italian Prime Minister has resigned surprisingly not over scandal, the students are revolting (again) and a pilot dies in a seemingly freak accident. All this and it is only Wednesday. Added to this, the weather has turned decidedly dull and cold.
It would be easy to be bewildered and depressed when we consider the state of our world and the society in which we live. And yet, as Christians, God has made available to us boundless joy through His Holy Spirit: ‘All my springs of joy are in you’. So how can we use this joy to fend off depression?
Well our joy is rooted in hope. It is the hope of our salvation, it is the hope of our resurrection and it is the hope promised by Jesus that He will never leave us or forsake us. No matter what is going on around us, we can remind ourselves that we are safe within His hands from where nobody can pluck us out. We are safe, we are protected and we are loved.
Hope is not a vague, half-hearted emotion, but is rooted in the truth of God’s word. In order to be filled with joy we need to choose to believe the truth and let the hope expressed in it fill us to overwhelming so that our joy may be complete.
If you are feeling down or depressed today turn again to God’s word and remind yourself of all that He has done for you in Christ Jesus and let that knowledge fill you with joy.
God bless
Richard