Refreshed

Just thought I would share an experience I had this week. I was having a pretty rough few days spiritually speaking. There was a heaviness in my heart that I couldn't explain. I wasn't really sad about anything, wasn't particularly worried about anything or anyone, just had a sense of gloominess that covered my whole outlook. So, what I normally do when this happens is I sit down and begin to read the Scriptures. Usually I read Psalm 119, and by the time I finish the 176 verses I'm more like my usual self.  But before I had a chance to do this I got a text from our pastor, asking if I could preach this next Sunday morning and lead our prayer time the same Sunday night. Of course I said yes but in my mind I was a bit troubled, because I didn't feel I had any word from the Lord and my frame of mind and gloomy heart just didn't feel up to it.
But I {being the trooper that I am} began to pray and wait for some sense of direction in which to get started. So I already had a Wednesday night to get ready for, now a sermon for Sunday service, and a devotion around which our prayer group could rally and seek the heart of God. All the while this nagging heaviness of heart was dragging on me. But a very uplifting thing happened. As I began my preparations I realized the power of being purposefully and deeply immersed in the Scriptures. Each day as I studied, my heart was more and more lightened, and cheered.  It seemed that since my mind was focused on God, the Scriptures, and me praying, I was carried out of that gloomy slump and brought once more into the clear air of God's light. It was as if I had take a spiritual tonic, that gave me much needed energy to go forward and help get on track again. I needed the assignment of preaching and teaching for this week to get me out of that slump and back into a much better attitude of faith and joy. I'm not sure what that heaviness was, maybe just a bad mood, stress, perhaps even some sort of spiritual warfare and assault from the enemy. But whatever it's source, it was the word of God and His Presence that restored my joy and lifted my out of the gloom.
So I would encourage you next time you have a similar experience, to not retreat into solitude, not to wallow in what is sometimes called,"stinkin thinkin." Rather draw near to God, ask a friend to pray with you and for you, and above all, get into the Scriptures and prayerfully read them as though God were sitting right next to you. We all have times when heaviness comes upon us. But we do not have to be dominated by those feelings. It may take some time, it took me a few days, but as we immerse ourselves in the things of God we find that He has a way of lifting us above whatever gloom there may be.
So now, it's Friday evening and I'm all set for this Sunday, and with the power of God's Spirit, I trust we will have a great day as we worship, hear from Him and just spend some time giving thanks for all that He is.