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Worshiping Your Way Out of Despair

An article recently published in the Gathering Chattanooga's Roadsigns.
    Have you ever just been so frustrated or that you just want to hide in the corner and cry? Maybe not even to that extreme, maybe it’s where you just aren’t feeling God; you need a break. You aren’t alone because I am willing to bet that everyone has had these experiences. We are about to take a look at a man who was, “after God’s own heart,” and had this experience.
 
     David was a man who wrote everything down. His thoughts and feelings of good times and bad can be found in the book of Psalm. Psalm 77 is an example of one of those bad times. Psalm 77:3, "When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints.” He is at the point where he feels God may have given up on him. We see more of this in verses 7-10,
 
“Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”
 
     Now he is doubting God’s faithfulness. He is in complete and total despair; the devil is using this feeling he has to lead him away from what he had earlier proclaimed in Psalm 52:1,
 
“Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
The steadfast love of God endures all day.”
 
     How then do we get out of this despair? This feeling of hopelessness? Let’s see what David did:
 
11 "I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph.”
 
     David combats this with worship. He “remember(s) the deeds of the Lord.” He calls upon God’s faithfulness in the past to change his attitude in the present. That’s how we get out of these times; we remind ourselves of all God has done. Do you think David just did this because he felt like it? No, look what the verse says, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord,” he made himself remember. Then what happens? He starts to build and build as he remembers what the Lord did. As you read this, you can start to see the change in attitude, it gets stronger and stronger until he reaches the climax in verse 20: “You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron." He got out of his despair by making himself worship.
    
     Why do we need to? We already saw how the devil attacked David in his thinking when he was down, but let’s look at 2 Timothy 4:1-2, "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: (2) preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” “In season and out of season.” We always need to be ready. We are called to preach the Word to all the nations and how can we do that if we are not, ourselves, spending time with God?
     
     In conclusion, we are going to find ourselves in those times of despair; we need to get out of them. How? By worshiping God and acknowledging all the great things He has done in the past. Why? Because Satan attacks when we are not constantly spending time with God and we can’t tell others of the Good News if we are not currently experiencing it ourselves. God Bless.
 
 
 
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Risen

     One of the series included in my blog is going to be book and movie reviews. These reviews are created with parents and maturing Christian teens in mind.
 
     Yesterday, my family and I went to see the movie Risen in theaters. In case you weren’t aware, Risen is about a Roman soldier who is tasked with the job of hunting down the missing body of Christ, which the Romans are sure was stolen from the tomb by His disciples. The movie is a great action film and gives you a really good look at what the resurrection looked like to a non-believer. It actually picks right up where the Passion leaves off. Before this, I had never actually thought of what the Romans would have done to ensure peace after Jesus was raised from the dead.
 
     Not only is it a great action and adrenaline-pumping movie, but it also holds quite accurate with Scripture. I think they did a great job with aligning it to Truth apart from a few minor details, such as the linen cloths not being folded up. There were a few gory scenes especially in the beginning which is why it is rated PG-13. My parents said, however, that it is not as gory as the Passion (a movie that I refuse to watch simply for that reason). It had a good and intriguing l story to it that I hope and believe will draw even non-believers to it.
 
     In conclusion, Risen is a movie that I would definitely recommend. It gives a good look at the resurrection that you might not have thought of before. It is accurate and in alignment with what Scripture says which is always a plus. I would suggest parental guidance for kids the age of about 10 and under simply because of certain scenes such as the breaking of the criminals’ legs. We had my eight-year-old brother with us but needed to cover his eyes at certain points. All-in-all, I would say that it is a good, family-friendly(ish), thought-provoking movie. Go check it out and let me know your thoughts and opinions on it.  Thanks.
 
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Watching our Words

    The interview I had with my dad (David Price) gave me a great look into the mind of someone who has had some experience when it comes to living out what it looks like to be a gentleman. The discussion revolved around how important it is for a gentleman (or anyone else for that matter) to watch their words even while joking. I include the part of 'even when joking’ because I think that is such a big part of it. We often forget how easily our words can hurt someone. I came at this topic with Ephesians 4:29 and Ephesians 5:4 in mind. Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only what is fit for building up, as it fits that occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” ONLY what is fit for building up. In other words, the only words that should come out of our mouths are words to encourage and strengthen and equip. This obviously doesn’t only apply to young gentlemen in training but to ALL people.
 
    What about when it comes to joking? As guys especially, we tease and joke with one another and, as my dad pointed out, it can actually bring people closer, but there are many times when it doesn’t. How many times can you think of when what you thought was a joke ended up becoming the start of a fight? Or maybe when you took seriously something someone else said in a joking manner and it ended up putting a gap there? It probably happens more times than you think. My dad made the observation that, “in every relationship we engage in, our words have the potential to build up and make that a strong, lasting relationship or it has the ability to end it quickly.” As we just discussed, ‘joking’ can easily have a negative affect and tear it down. In my follow up, I asked him when joking was appropriate and this was his response, “When I use my words to joke and jest, I’m using my words in a dangerous way...If my intention is to build you up, I’m probably not going to spend too much time joking with you.”
 
    Even when we aren’t joking we can easily hurt someone. My dad explains one of the most common reasons for this: “We live in a world where we say what we think and sometimes we don’t care what they think, but that’s the way broken relationships happen, so I think it’s very important how we watch our words.” The key is that sometimes we are flippant, which was a point my father had previously pointed out, and it all ties together. Generally speaking, bad things happen when we just say what we think. 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us what we should do: "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” The first part is talking about defending the attacks of Satan’s followers, but what does the second part (“and take every thought captive to obey Christ”) mean for us? It quite literally means what it says but the Reformation Study Bible tells us what this looks like: "If every thought, then the whole person—our every idea, motive, desire, and decision—belongs to Christ.” Every part of us is going to belong to Christ and reflect Christ because what we do is based on our thoughts. Naturally, this would imply the tongue would be controlled by Christ, too. The tongue is such an important thing to control because, as James tells us, "If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a mature man who is also able to control his own body” (James 3:2 HCSB). I HIGHLY recommend James 3 as it goes into great detail explaining how dangerous the tongue is. If Paul is saying we need to take every thought captive, which means our whole body should be controlled by Christ, and James is saying if someone can control their whole tongue they can control their whole body, what should we do? I would suggest praying to God that He helps us control our tongue and what we say.
 
     What is the consequence if we don’t? Jesus answers this in Mathew 12:36, " I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.” Every. Careless. Word. This is not just important for a gentleman, but for everyone. We need to not only watch how much we joke, but also how we speak to people in our everyday lives. As my dad said, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can break a heart.”
 
     I really enjoyed interviewing my father (David Price) and I will be interviewing more people as this series (Becoming a Gentleman in the 21st Century) continues. Hopefully, my interviewing skills will improve as I go along and you will understand why when you listen to it. However, it is not to focus on me, but my dad’s answers, so keep that in mind. You can check out the full 12-minute interview below along with links to my dad’s blog and The Gathering website.
Thank You.