Wednesday, April 25, 2018
1 John 3:20-21 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.
CONFIDENCE IN OUR CHRISTIAN FAITH-LIFE, OR ... DEALING WITH DEPRESSION (2)
"I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells…" (Romans 7:18). It's because of the drag of the flesh, the old, corrupt sinful nature, that our hearts may seek to condemn us. Satan, the old evil foe, leads the conscientious soul to think or believe that he or she is not a Christian, or else is the biggest hypocrite on earth.
But see what the Scripture says. God knows what is in man. He knows our hearts. That means He also knows the struggle that goes on within the hearts of His believing children. And please realize: the fact that God knows all is not said to frighten His children, but to comfort and console the troubled, penitent, believing heart.
A pastor, who himself admitted to struggling with depression, wrote: "There is nothing to replace the simple gospel for problems like this. The sufferer needs repeated assurance that, no matter how he feels, God's love is a constant. And the reality of that love is most clearly seen in Jesus and His suffering and death. Continue to read gospel passages, even inserting the name of the sufferer where the passage has the word 'world': 'God so loved _____ that He gave His only begotten Son…' (John 3:16)."
Dear Christian, when the devil holds your sin before you, accusing and causing you to question your faith, rather than looking inside, look outside your own heart. Look to God -- the gracious, merciful, forgiving God in Christ Jesus -- Him whom we love because He first loved us.
In God, my faithful God, I trust when dark my road;
Great woes may overtake me, Yet He will not forsake me.
My troubles He can alter; His hand lets nothing falter.
My sins fill me with care, Yet I will not despair.
I build on Christ, who loves me; From this rock nothing moves me.
To Him I will surrender, To Him, my soul's defender.
(Lutheran Service Book, 745:1-2)
