Relying on the Word of God to Overcome Despair
Reading what David wrote in Psalm 143, it’s pretty easy for men and women standing for marriage restoration to understand and relate to his despair. But we need to take time to read it line by line and seriously consider what each verse means, especially David’s wisdom concerning overcoming despair as found in the following verses:
5 I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.
When we reflect on the glory of God, all of the awesome stories of deliverance and blessings found in the Old Testament, and the absolute wonder of all of God’s creation, along with our personal testimonies and those of others, it is totally awe inspiring and uplifting! That’s why it is vitally important to keep our focus on God’s omnipotence and the power and promise of His Word instead of our problems.
6 I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
God wants us to acknowledge our absolute helplessness and to surrender our lives to Him, desperately longing for what ONLY He can give.
7 Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
There are many Bible verses confirming that God uses and even orchestrates difficult situations in our lives to make us totally dependent on Him or to bring us back into His will for our lives, and that He will be moved to compassion and mercy toward us when we so desperately acknowledge our need of Him.
8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
We can always count on God to respond and acknowledge us when we are in despair, and we put our trust in His UNFAILING love And give our deepest concerns to Him, and rely totally on His leadership and guidance. And He will never fail us or disappoint us!
9 Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD, for I hide myself in you.
When we trust God and do things HIS way, He will ALWAYS rescue us!
10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.
When we ask and surrender to Him, the Lord is faithful to teach us to do His will, for which He gives us the Holy Spirit to help make us more consistent in our walk and faith. So we just need to ask God to give us a more steadfast heart when we despair and falter.
11 For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.
We are always saved and delivered for the praise and glory of God, and when we seek to live in His righteousness, according to what His word teaches, God hears and answers our prayers. That’s why we MUST know what His Word, the Bible, tells us. We have to know what it means to live in His righteousness and we have to know what brings praise and glory to His name, as well as what does not. God is never going to answer prayers that do not bring praise, glory and honor to Jesus Christ and when we’re living in accordance with His Word and will, and love Him above everything else, He absolutely WILL fulfill EVERY promise found in His Word!
12 In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant.
When we give our lives to the Lord by truly making Him the Lord of our lives, and live in accordance with His Word and will, the gates of Hell can NOT prevail against us, or our marriages and families, because we are His church; we are His bride, and He died for us! He died to give us victory over Satan and every weapon fashioned against us and our families, and to give us hope and confidence in every word and promise we find in His love letter to us; the Bible! Is it even remotely possible that our spouses could send us a love letter and we wouldn’t read every word of it; NO matter how long it was? Of course not! It’s totally ridiculous to even suggest something so absurd! So I pray we will all remember that the next time we say we love the Lord and the next time we open our Bibles!
Based on my experience in marriage restoration ministry, I am convinced beyond ANY doubt that there’s a very definite and discernable link between the amount of time we spend reading and studying the Word of God and the way His hand moves in the restoration of our marriages; probably because it’s just not possible to have the faith and steadfastness needed to stand for marriage restoration without getting serious about reading and understanding God’s Word. Even though that’s backed up and proven by the private website archives and countless pages of testimonies confirming it; it’s up to each of us to determine how committed we are to the restoration of our marriages and if we’re willing to do something as life transforming and yet as simple as reading and STUDYING our Bibles!
We know that reading and studying the Bible is VITALLY important for all Christians, but that’s especially so when we need a supernatural move of God’s hand in our lives; such as in the restoration of our marriages. And since the Lord provides so much encouragement and instruction in the Proverbs and Psalms, it really is a great blessing to read through them every month, which can be done by reading one chapter of Proverbs and five chapters of the Psalms a day. And the easiest way to plan to do that is to read the Proverb that coincides with the day of the month; like Proverbs 14 for today. Then read the Psalm that coincides with the date; Psalm 14 today. And then read four more chapters from the Psalms in increments of 30; such as Psalm 44, 74, 104 and 134 for today. And since Psalm 119 is so long, it’s probably easier to read that with Proverbs 31 in the months with 31 days. And using online Bibles, such as BibleGateway.com, makes it a lot easier to read a different version each month, which also helps provide even more insight and interest. In addition to that, it’s very important to have a planned reading schedule of a set number of chapters each day to take us through the ENTIRE Bible. Many Christians think reading the Old Testament is too difficult or boring, but the modern versions make it a lot easier to read and understand the Old Testament, and that really helps build up our faith and trust in the Lord. It also teaches us so much about the character and nature of God, which is why it’s so important to seriously read and STUDY the Bible. I personally believe it’s best to read the Old and New Testament in order rather than skipping around as a lot of people do, so I suggest starting in Genesis and Matthew and reading a set number of chapters from each of them every day in addition to the Proverbs and Psalms, and going straight through the Old and the New Testament in order. It was Jesus Himself who reminded us that man does not live on bread alone, but by EVERY word that comes from the mouth of God ( 1. Deuteronomy 8:3 and Matthew 4:4). And we can better understand why that is when we read 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which tells us that All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. And there’s no doubt that standing for the restoration of our marriages and families is a “good work” and that we need to be equipped for it, and the only way to do that is to know and understand EVERY WORD THAT COMES FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD! And when we do that, we will have the faith needed to overcome any kind of despair, because as Romans 10:17 says So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. And when we hear and understand the Word of God, we can’t help being blessed and encouraged!