I am happy to have Carolyn Dale Newell as my guest this week at A Walk to the Well. You may remember Carolyn from her July 16th blog: “How to Recognize the Attack on our Minds.” This week Carolyn will talk with us on “Living on Empty.”
“Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!” Psalm 30:10
Have you ever felt pain so relentless you questioned whether you would survive? Has sorrow cut to the depths of your heart? Have your burdens crushed you under their weight?
Depression has paid me several visits throughout the years. So much so, that I have considered suicide several times, but God never allowed me to actually attempt it.
When we fall into depression’s dark pit, we may feel like we are living on empty. We can’t speak to those thoughts and tell them to vanish. Try as hard as I could, it took more than speaking Scripture over my life to break depression’s grip.
Friend, are you there today? I have good news! When we are living on empty, we still have the anointing power of the Holy Spirit. God never leaves us, nor forsakes us, and neither does His power.
I hear you, dear friend, as you shake you head whispering, “I don’t feel powerful.” Neither did the widow who lost everything in 2 Kings 4. She explained to Elijah that she had nothing left. The debt collector would settle her debt at the expense of her two sons. They would have to serve as bondservants for seven years before her debt could be canceled according to their laws.
Elijah made her look at what she had instead of what she didn’t have. One tiny bottle of oil remained. Elijah instructed her to borrow vessels from all her neighbors. Afterward, the widow and her boys poured the oil into the vessels. Surprisingly, the jar of oil never ran dry until she had filled every available vessel. All she started with was one jar of oil but she ended up with enough oil to pay her debts and have a good retirement plan.
God did not just hand her a blank check. No, He made her part of the solution. When she placed her gaze from what she lacked to what she possessed, she gained a new perspective. And so will we.
Depression makes us like the widow. We are living on empty, Sweet Sister, and what we often fail to realize is that we still have a valuable source of power. The Holy Spirit’s anointing. He is the Comforter residing within us.
Depression is a difficult battle ~
It warps our thinking. We forget the anointing abides. Child of God, the Comforter lives within you. The power of God rests on you. You have been tricked into thinking you are powerless, even worthless, but that lie comes from the enemy, the father of lies.
You can start on the road to victory by looking at what is instead of what isn’t. While we live on empty we must look to God. Then, and only then, will our lives become full again because we stopped the source of lies. Our weeping will turn to joy because we trust God.
Side note: This devotion was adapted from the author’s newest book, “Eyes of Faith,” in which Carolyn shows readers how they can win the daily battle between their feelings and their faith.
Carolyn Dale Newell, author of In the Storm; Incense Rising: 60 Days to Powerful Prayer; Incense Rising Bible Study; and her newest book, Eyes of Faith, is also a speaker at retreats and conferences. Carolyn knows what it is like to live with blindness, and yet, she considers her disability as gift from God.
Email: cnewell@centurylink.net
Website: www.amountainoffaith.com