There's a false notion that has crept in to the church that seems to make one think that if you have Jesus, you must never be sad or miserable ever again. Quite the opposite! Jesus Himself wept over Jerusalem and Lazarus' Grave, He sweat blood at the prospect of what was coming during Holy Week; He understands pain all too well. David, a man after God's own heart, was no stranger to struggle. After he was anointed King, Saul was still ruler, and as David's star rose (no pun intended), Saul jealously and viciously tried to kill David.
Many of the Psalms deal with struggle, guilt, disappointment, and pain; it IS okay to feel sadness, guilt, shame, anxiety and depression...BUT (And as a wise sister in the Lord has told me often, when but is used, it negates the sentence before it), when it all comes down to it, give it over to God, and let Him handle the outcome. We may be led to death, or strife, BUT the Lord will handle the outcome. We may face trials, temptations, and persecutions, BUT the Lord has the outcome. We may face anxiety, depression, guilt, and any other emotional swing that seeks to knock us down, BUT the Lord holds the outcome! Let Him handle it; He is far more capable than I, so I surrender all to Him and let Him Hold my life in His righteous and Victorious right hand!
Psalm 59:
Deliver Me from My Enemies
To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
protect me from those who rise up against me;
2 deliver me from those who work evil,
and save me from bloodthirsty men.
3 For behold, they lie in wait for my life;
fierce men stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
Awake, come to meet me, and see!
5 You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah
6 Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
7 There they are, bellowing with their mouths
with swords in their lips—
for "Who," they think, "will hear us?"
8 But you, O Lord, laugh at them;
you hold all the nations in derision.
9 O my Strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are my fortress.
10 My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
11 Kill them not, lest my people forget;
make them totter by your power and bring them down,
O Lord, our shield!
12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13 consume them in wrath;
consume them till they are no more,
that they may know that God rules over Jacob
to the ends of the earth. Selah
14 Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
15 They wander about for food
and growl if they do not get their fill.
16 But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
and a refuge in the day of my distress.
17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love.
