Today’s Scripture Reading: Proverbs 17:1 through 19:29
A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.
Proverbs 17:22
The human spirit can endure a sick body,
but who can bear a crushed spirit?
Proverbs 18:14
Have you ever had a broken or crushed spirit?
These two scriptures tell us a lot about what our Heavenly Father thinks about the hard times of our lives.
God knows…
- It’s hard
- It sucks the life out of you
- It’s worse than being physically ill
- You can’t bear it on your own
It’s interesting, the Lord didn’t tell us to pray, read our Bibles, or go to church during these tough times, even though they’re a crucial part of getting through the hard places in life; what He did was give us a prescription, a medicine He said was good.
How amazing is this, the only medicine mentioned in all the Old Testament is a cheerful heart!
How can we have a cheerful heart when our spirit is broken and crushed?
Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and my God!
Psalm 42: 5-6
I think a cheerful heart is a hopeful heart.
The times in my life when I have been the most depressed were times when I had lost hope for the future.
How can we have hope for the future in today’s crazy world?
What do we do when we can’t see past tomorrow, much less next week, or next year?
- Put our hope in Jesus Christ–settle this once and for all
- Evaluate our level of brokeness–are you having a bad day or is this something serious?
- Seek spiritual counseling and/or psychological counseling–don’t try to handle this alone
- Find something or someone to make you laugh–don’t run away from people
- Seek the joy in the day (nature and music are a couple of my favorites-God meets me in these places )
- Believe tomorrow will be a better day
Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for my friends on this journey. I feel there is someone reading this post who has a broken heart. Holy Spirit, meet them today. Relieve the pressure. Give them the tools to bring hope into their lives. Thank you for hearing my prayer! In Jesus Name. Amen and amen!
Have you taken your medicine today?
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Proverbs 20:1 through 22:16
