A Garment of Praise for the Spirit of Heaviness

This is one of those days where it is hard to know what to blog about.

I could tell you that this is the 4th rainy day in a row. Not exactly significant.

I could write about the events of last week, which was pretty crazy. It was one of those weeks which inspires the motto "Expect the Unexpected."  Think ministering to people hospitalized and having surgeries (in different hospitals in different cities but on the same day), being out every evening with a meeting or ministry obligation, church bus issues, a missionary family staying with us for 2 nights, a memorial service and meal afterwards at our church, and a really fast all-in-one-day trip to Maryland. We made the trip to see two of our grandchildren performing in a 50th anniversary spring concert and celebration of their Christian School, which happens to be the same Christian school I attended for 2 years when I was in high school. Our granddaughter's elementary choir sang and our grandson's kindergarten class sang dressed up like eagles (the school's mascot). I'll post some pictures so you can see how cute they were, and another one of me with their younger sister:

 

We left home for Maryland at 6 a.m., spent the afternoon and evening with them, and arrived back home at 2 a.m. - and had to get up in a few hours for a teen activity and a nursing home service my husband was conducting. Definitely crazy. Especially since we are not exactly young anymore.

But none of those things are really what is on my heart to blog about. I have to admit to a heaviness of spirit today, and the past couple of days, over the state of affairs in our country. I normally do not write about political things in this blog. There are plenty of other blogs where you can read about politics and the presidential campaigns and race. I must concede, however, that things are looking pretty dim for Christians concerning the Presidential election. It seems like all hope of having a president who is a Christian who leads with any standards of righteousness is gone. In fact, things are probably going to get a lot worse then they already are. We as a country are getting what we deserve - our country abandoned God and threw Him out of our schools, our homes, and our society long ago.

Not only is the national political scene disheartening, but the rise of shootings, violence, terrorist attacks, and crime in general is just plain scary. Two Sunday mornings ago while we were in Sunday School there was a shooting at a grocery store only 2 miles from our church. A young man who was a customer in the store was killed, leaving a pregnant wife and a toddler. This is a store I often shop at. Hardly a day goes by that you don't hear about a shooting or attack of some kind at a mall, a school, theatre, or home. Several churches have been the scene of shootings in recent weeks. When you add other recent events such as  the "bathroom bill" and all that will mean, and it is no wonder we are overcome by a spirit of heaviness and hopelessness.

In light of all these things, what does a Christian do? The only answer is to meditate on our God, and Who He is. My thoughts are drawn to a verse in Isaiah 61:3 that talks about having "the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness."  A garment is something that you have to purposefully put on, and it covers our humanity. God's prescription for a spirit of heaviness is to think upon Him. Specifically, we can dwell on His attributes and praise Him for them.

I have been meditating on God being a God of truth. Truth is something that seems to be rare these days. You can use your Bible and a concordance and look up verses on God being a God of truth. These are some of my favorites:

• Psalm 33:4 - "For the Word of the Lord is right, all His works are done in truth."
• Psalm 100:5 - The Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting and His truth endures to all generations."
• Psalm 117:2 - "For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord endures forever."

Other characteristics of God that are good to meditate on and praise Him for are His faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23), His goodness, and His sovereignty. I love Isaiah chapters 40-46 which tell us over and over again that the Lord is God, that there is none other, and that He is in control.

These are the things that we need to think on right now. Praising God for Who He is will put things into the right perceptive and lessen that spirit of heaviness. God is good!

Till next time,
Kathi