Why so downcast oh my soul…Put your Hope and Trust in God
It came, like the fading of light ever so slightly as a summer in the far north, when days are long, opposite the swift coming of the dark in the midst of winter, it came, gradually and yet I could do nothing to slow it, nothing to stop it, and so it came….
It came, like the drying of an ever flowing spring that did bubble and gurgle even in the hottest of days when the ground cracked open but still it swelled from the deep aquifers that fed it…but now it waned, the water slowing to a trickle and then it stopped, and yet I could do nothing to slow the dryness, nothing to stop it, and so it came….
It came, like the flying of a cold virus attached to the wetness of a sneeze that no one can stop, that no one can prevent from flying on the stale moving air of a vented elevator, and yet I could do nothing to slow it, nothing to stop it, and so it came…..
It came, like the falling of a droplet of dust that gathers moisture in the cloud and grows heavy and falls, with millions of its kind toward the earth on a rainy day and adds to the dampness of a basement… and yet I could do nothing to slow it, nothing to stop it, and so it came….
It came, like the rolling of a fog that comes in on an autumn morning settling in low places, ne’er to leave until the morning sun finally burns away the misty gloom, it came and I could do nothing to slow it, nothing to stop it, and so it came.
It came, sapping my strength, stealing my joy, turning my smile, breaking my heart, ripping my spirit, and yes streaking toward the very core of my being, my soul, and yet I could do nothing to slow it, nothing to stop it, and so it came…
The dark,
The dry,
The disease,
The dampness,
The misty gloom,
Depression….the killer of wills and man’s soul.
I prayed, that God would bring back the light, lifting the darkness from me. I prayed that God would slow it, that God would stop it, that God would send it back from whence it came, I prayed.
I prayed, that God would flood me with the river of life; that the Holy Spirit would restore the ever flowing spring of living water; that God would well up in me. That God would send the drought back from whence it came. I prayed.
I prayed, that God would destroy the virus, the disease that was tearing at my very being, I prayed that God would push back the enemy that my health would be restored and that He would send back the disease from whence it came. I prayed.
I prayed, that God would dry up the dampness, the mold, the mildew, the dark dankness that filled my spirit; that ripped at my heart, I prayed that God would send back the dampness from whence it came. I prayed.
I prayed, that God would burn away the foggy days, the misty gloom, that brought my spirit low. I prayed that God would send His Holy Spirit to bring back the cheer, the joy and send the gloom back to whence it came. I prayed.
I prayed, that God would restore my strength, bring back my joy, turning my frown into a smile, softening my heart, lifting my spirit, and yes edifying the very core of my being, my soul, and as I cried out to Him… then… then…He came…!
God’s light broke out in the depressive darkness…God’s living water flowed into the middle of the desert of depression and life arose…Jesus Christ’ stripes healed my disease of depression…His Holy Spirit restored my spirit in the midst of the dampness of depression…His Word lifted the gloom of depression…and yes, His love flooded my soul with such mercy and grace that my soul was fully restored! And to this day not only does my soul withstand the enemy’s attempts to destroy, but now I can comfort others in the way that God, His son, Jesus, and His Holy Spirit has comforted me….has brought me His JOY…and because I am His (ANI LO…Hebrew) I will be joyful always!
ron hampton, September 2019 – SDG
