Overcoming Lonesomeness and Despondency"Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD" — Psa. 130:1.
We are sometimes "cast down, but not destroyed" (2 Cor. 4:9). This expression shows that while the Apostle and his companions did not suffer despair, did not feel forsaken, they sometimes felt a heaviness of spirit. This heaviness of spirit, or feeling of loneliness and depression, is natural at times to all mankind under the adverse conditions prevailing in the world. The weight of this casting down may be accentuated to some extent by the condition of the physical health. Those who are weak or in pain physically are apt to feel any mental pressure or trouble. This is all to be fought against in the Christian; for we know that our afflictions and disabilities are something outside and not of the Lord, except in the sense that He permits them for our development, for our future work in the Kingdom. We are therefore to be of good courage. If the Lord permits us to have trouble, we are to exercise fortitude, to patiently endure, and not to allow it to destroy our faith or our happiness or our loyalty of spirit to Him to whom we have vowed allegiance. We are to put up with whatever our Father permits, in sweetness of temper, and to say to ourselves, "This may be a good lesson to me. Perhaps these cast-down feelings, this feeling of desolation, may help me to sympathize more with others." The poet has truly said: Into each life some rain must fall, Some days must be dark and dreary. So let us see to it that we do not allow this feeling of depression to conquer us and to destroy our faith and energy; but rather, looking to the Lord for assisting grace, and claiming His precious promises, we are to rise above the difficulty and press bravely onward—Z '15, 120 (R 5671). Lonesomeness may be defined as a sad or dejected condition as a result of lack of companionship with and separation from other people, and despondency as a condition in which one is much discouraged and disheartened. These undesirable qualities can be overcome by fighting the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12), by using Bible teachings and examples of other Christians, by drawing near to God and Christ and fellowshipping with Them and (when possible) with other believers, by engaging heartily in God-pleasing service, by calling to mind God's precious promises, encouraging Christian Poems and hymns, and by being persistently determined not to give Satan the victory, but to give it to God—BS '80, 60. Parallel passages: Gen. 21:9-21; Ex. 6:9-12; 1 Kings 19:1-14, 18; 2 Kings 6:15-17; Job 3; 4:5; 7:3-6; 17:7, 13-16; 42:10-16; Psa. 6:6; 55:4-6, 16; 66:8, 9; 67:1; 69:1-3, 16; Acts 13:22; Psa. 102:3-7, 11, 12; Jer. 3:14-19; 5:15-22; Jonah 4:2, 3, 8; Isa. 53:3, 6; 63:3; Matt. 26:31, 38, 40; 27:46; Mark 14:27; 15:34; John 16:32; Luke 24:17-21; 2 Cor. 4:9; Matt. 11:28-30; Luke 15:20-24; John 6:37; Rom. 3:25, 26; 4:25; 5:1, 8-11; 6:23; Col. 3:3; Heb. 2:17, 18; 4:14-16; 13:5; Jas. 4:8-10; 1 John 1:3, 7; Gen. 12:2, 3; 22:16-18; Rom. 4:11, 12; Gal. 3:16, 29; Psa. 23:6; 24:3-6; 34:17-19; 37; 46; 91; 145:18, 19; Ezek. 18:21, 22; Matt. 28:20; Luke 18:29, 30; John 14:1-3, 21, 23, 26, 27; 15:25, 26; 17:20-23; 2 Cor. 6:17, 18; 7:1; 2 Tim. 2:19-21; Rev. 3:5, 20. Hymns: 3, 38, 43, 57, 60, 104, 305. Poems of Dawn, 42: Courage! Press On. Tower Reading: Z '95, 20 (R 1759); Z '15, 120 (R 5670). Questions: What experiences have I had recently with lonesomeness and despondency? How have I fought against these undesirable qualities? What helped or hindered? Under what circumstances? With what results? |
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COURAGE! PRESS ON
TIRED! well, what of that?
Didst fancy life was spent on beds of ease,
Fluttering the rose leaves scattered by the breeze?
Come, rouse thee! work while it is called to-day:
Courage! arise! go forth upon thy way.
Lonely! and what of that?
Some must be lonely; 'tis not given to all
To feel a heart responsive rise and fall,
To blend another life within its own:
Work can be done in loneliness. Work on.
Dark! well, what of that?
Didst fondly dream the sun would never set?
Dost fear to lose thy way? Take courage yet!
Learn thou to walk by faith, and not by sight;
Thy steps will guided be, and guided right.
Hard! well, what of that?
Didst fancy life one summer holiday,
With lessons none to learn, and naught but play?
Go—get thee to thy task! Conquer or die!
It must be learned; learn it, then, patiently.
TIRED! well, what of that?
Didst fancy life was spent on beds of ease,
Fluttering the rose leaves scattered by the breeze?
Come, rouse thee! work while it is called to-day:
Courage! arise! go forth upon thy way.
Lonely! and what of that?
Some must be lonely; 'tis not given to all
To feel a heart responsive rise and fall,
To blend another life within its own:
Work can be done in loneliness. Work on.
Dark! well, what of that?
Didst fondly dream the sun would never set?
Dost fear to lose thy way? Take courage yet!
Learn thou to walk by faith, and not by sight;
Thy steps will guided be, and guided right.
Hard! well, what of that?
Didst fancy life one summer holiday,
With lessons none to learn, and naught but play?
Go—get thee to thy task! Conquer or die!
It must be learned; learn it, then, patiently.
