A lament turned to praise

There are days where darkness looms close over the soul, plunging me into the depths. The fog of anxiety clings to my every thought and feeling, my shrinking field of vision offering little hope. The lies of worthlessness take on a foreboding presence, nearly physical in their  abuse of my being. My heart quavers underneath the weight of doubt and despair. Speculative fears seep into every crack of my psyche. The tiniest foothold that Satan can find in the trembling spirit becomes a beachhead of oppression. A tyranny of unrest leads to an exhausting vigilance and hostility towards unspoken fears. A choking, suffocating sense of loneliness leaves me gasping to be seen, to be heard, to be known.

And yet...

Tiny pinpricks of light, cast from the love of my Savior reach into the depths to bring hope. A redemptive resurgence of grace springs up within a heart desperate for living water. The sweet coolness of that first drink offers promise of a flood of joy that will wash over a parched spiritual landscape. An embrace in the gentle and loving arms of my Messiah stills fears as I feel his power and experience his holy longing for protecting me. He is that first deep breath taken after being held under the waters of despair.

The callousness of the broken world remains but the soft caress of God's fresh mercies renews strength. The fresh breeze of new life in Christ brings with it the aroma of a land in full bloom, the sheer magnitude of the flowering goodness of God creates hopeful anticipation of our heavenly home's bounty. Spiritual taste buds and eyes, previously deadened by depression in their sensing, taste and see again the miracles of redemption. 

Oh my soul, He is really that good! The hope he offers is unassailable. The joy found in him shakes the dark foundations of the world, bringing the works of the enemy crumbling to the ground. 

And the love, oh the love! It's ecstasies' surpass the most exultant moments of human glory. The nearness, the tenderness, the overwhelming sense of being someone's beloved all move beyond that which you might experience anywhere else. His eyes, piercing into the deepest recesses of your soul, examining the marrow and most inwards parts, look on you with delight. His love is unfathomably deep, unceasingly pleasant, and altogether incomparable. When he considers you, he laughs with joy with a tear-filled twinkle in his eyes. 

Will you take his offer of hope? Will you cling to him, sheltering under his wings? Oh that you would never cease to breathe in the clear, sharp, pure air of the glorious gospel of grace.