depression

See The Colors

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines…yet I will rejoice in the Lord.” Habakkuk 3:17-18

Gina lost her husband to a three year battle with cancer. Michael lost his wife just 17 days after being diagnosed with a brain tumor. Through the horror of these two incredibly painful experiences, God brought Michael and Gina Spehn together. They captured their story in a book called, “The Color Of Rain”. When I met this amazing couple I remember them telling me how easy it is for us to get caught up in the gray skies and seemingly gray color of rain. When tragedy hits our lives, all we see are shades of gray. Yet, if we allow the clouds to part ever so slightly and the sun to touch those rain drops, you will soon see 

Every Color Of The Rainbow.

Yes there are days when it is hard to spot the miracles in the circumstances of our lives. Those times when it would be so easy to crawl back into bed and pull the covers of depression over our face. Or, we can choose faith. Habakkuk makes such a choice. “Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Through the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls – Yet I will rejoice in the Lord.” There is a rainbow of color lingering in the midst of your tragedy.

Come As You Are

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“Come boldly to the throne of grace” Hebrews 4:16

Perhaps you can relate to a conversation I’ve had with myself more than I care to admit: “Wow, I really messed up. I can’t believe I messed up. Come on Jim, that was a rookie mistake if I ever saw one! I expect more from you. Get it together turn it around already. Haven’t you learned anything?”

Sound All Too Familiar?

No matter how young or how old we are, we seem intent on beating ourselves up over our miscues in life. For everything from outright sin to simply having hurt a neighbor, friend or loved one, we wallow endlessly in an internal self-defeating conversation. Then we come to Hebrews 4:16 which says, “Come boldly to the throne of grace that we might obtain mercy!” Amazingly that’s actually possible because of the preceding verse “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin”. In other words, Jesus knows what we are going through as human beings every minute of every day. He knows our mistakes, our temptation, our pain, our sorrow, our suffering, and yes our joy. The great hope we have is that because Jesus knows us so well, and knows what we are like even at our worst, yet He still chose to go to the cross to forgive each and every one of us. Let today be your liberation day from a never ending cycle of internal self-defeating conversations. Bring your screw ups to Jesus, no matter how big or how small. Complete restoration is only a prayer away.      

Lego’s

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine (Jesus), and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24

Sit me down on the floor with a big box a Lego’s next to a four year old and I’ll be happy as a clam for hours. Invariably the tall tower comes first in the middle of the living room carpet, with a tall stack of colorful legos reaching skyward. Yet with each successive block, and the softness of the carpet, that tower begins to sway and eventually comes crashing to the ground. Next, a new approach of a few blocks spread around the base before the tower goes skyward. This always results in a bit more height but not by much before we yell “timber” and everything comes crashing down around us. True success is not achieved until all the blocks are picked up and moved onto the front entry tile floor, and the surrounding base is widened, with successive layers leading upwards like a staircase. Only then can a respectable tower be built! Even a four year old soon learns that,

A Strong Base Builds Skyscrapers

Yet many times this same lesson never makes its way into the foundations of our personal lives. We wonder why we struggle, and fret, and fear in life when in Matthew 7:24 Jesus tells us, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Ready for a firm foundation in your life? Try Jesus, the master builder.

Eyesight

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” John 14:9

I love one line of scripture in the Old Testament book of Exodus 33:11 where Moses goes alone to meet with God. Verse 11 says that “the Lord speaks to Moses as one would speak to a friend”. To have such intimacy with the Creator of the heavens and the earth is truly priceless. Yet, in that moment, Moses craves more. He actually wants to look upon the face of his Creator and not just hear His voice and feel His presence. In that moment, God responds to Moses, saying, “no man can look upon me and live”. For Man, with his sinful nature, is not able to look upon Pure Holiness. And yet, we find that this answer is not enough for God. God Himself wanted more. God wanted to have a relationship with us, His children, on an entirely new level of closeness. His perfect response was to send His Son Jesus. Jesus, the bridge to atone and forever repair the separation between God and man. Jesus, who said in John 14:9,

“If You Have Seen Me, You Have Seen The Father”

And yet, we find that for God, and for Jesus, seeing them could go to an even closer level. Jesus promised to give us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us. And the very moment He makes that promise Jesus follows it by saying, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.” In other words you-are-never-alone! Jesus will never, ever, let you down. Relationship, like you never thought possible, is only a prayer away.

You Are Celebrated

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“For He (God) looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens” Job 28:24

Have you ever felt invisible? That no one was listening? No one to share your victories, or your heartache? That no one cares? The Broadway musical hit “Chicago” has a song called “Mr Cellophane” that describes the feeling well. The words say, “Mr. Cellophane, shoulda been my name, ’cause you can look right through me, walk right by me, and never know I’m there.” The reality could not be farther from the truth.

You Are Seen, You Are Heard, You Are Celebrated!

There’s a party in heaven every time an individual reaches out to Jesus. In that moment God’s incredible attention is completely focused on what you have to say. Don’t believe the lie that you are made of cellophane. You are a Child of the most high King! Hold your head high today and give God praise!

A Joyful Heart

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

The single greatest weapon of faith is called Joy. No matter what, or who, you are dealing with, never, ever, lose your joy. Joy is the amazing breeding ground of peace. There is a reason Jesus spent so much time talking about having peace, having joy, and eliminating worry and fear and doubt. He knows that with Peace, Joy and Hope,

You Become Unstoppable

There are some days when you just do not feel joy in your life. You know those days, when everything seems to get to you, and you soon feel a haze of gloom. Soon even the littlest problem becomes Mt. Everest, and the smallest criticism has seemingly crushed your world. On those days, especially on those days, discover Joy. For me, on those days, I say the name of “Jesus”. “Jesus, you’ve got this”. “Jesus, what have I to fear for you are with me”. “Jesus, you are all I need”. With Jesus, your gloom and doom emotions don’t stand a chance.

Green Pastures

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

““He makes me to lie down in green pastures,” Psalm 23:2

There’s a phenomenon called a mirage that so many who walk in the desert have witnessed. In the heat and cold of desert climates light rays actually bend to create an image that is not really there. A mountain can look like a castle, or a rock formation can look like an oasis of trees. So, what do we do when the green pastures that the 23rd Psalm talks about appear to be a mirage in our lives? God, our Good Shepherd, puts us in a pasture that doesn’t appear to be green at all. Those times when life is in turmoil, or relationships are on the rocks, or finances are in peril. And yet, in those times, the Lord says, “lie down,

Trust Me, I’ve Got This!” 

As you read the 23rd Psalm realize that green pastures are a promise, not a proposal! I can say that because the very first verse of the 23rd Psalm says, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” In other words, God is all you need, no matter what life throws at you. Put another way, it doesn’t matter what the landscape looks like to you because God is way ahead of you. If He says the pasture is green, it’s green, or will turn green soon enough! Trust Him! Romans 8:28 says, “All things work together for good to those who love God.” Green pastures are never a mirage when you put your trust in Him. 

Dream Beyond

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“God said, Let there be light, and there was light” Genesis 1:3

Every few years I have to revisit a great little film called, “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” staring the late Gene Wilder. One of my favorite lines in the film is Gene saying, “We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams”. Truer words have never been spoken, for we are the dreamers of great dreams. Some pursue their dreams more than others, and some abandon theirs by the side of life’s road when the load of disappointment becomes too great to bear. But none the less, great and small, we have a great capacity to dream. The reason we dream is because,

We Are God’s Children, And God Is The Ultimate Dreamer

For who, other than God, could look at a blank canvas and envision all that we see; the heavens, the waters, the landscape, the animals, and yes, you and I. When scripture tells us that God created us in His image, that also includes giving us the capacity to dream great dreams. The question for you today is, what would you do tomorrow if you knew for a fact that you would succeed? God has the power to craft your dreams into reality. Why not join forces with the Creator of the universe today and dream beyond what you think is possible. God is simply waiting for you to call upon Him.

Abide

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us.” Romans 8:26

We live in two divergent worlds, our physical reality and our spiritual. Jesus called out these two worlds when he said, “My peace I give to you, not as the world gives.” He understood as well as anyone our pain, our struggle, our hurt, our trials, our everything. Sometimes we feel like we pray until there are just no more words to say. At that point the words simply won’t come anymore and we feel a little lost. What’s the point, we tell ourselves. Why pray when the words have seemingly all been said and I’ve not yet seen the results. Sometime we’ve prayed on something for years and yet still wait on the results. Where do I go from here?

When The Words Won’t Come, Simply Abide

Abide means to accept that God is there, no matter what. When words won’t come, all you need to say is, “God I trust You. I’m Yours no matter what.” Paul reminds us in Romans 8 that when our words won’t come in prayer, God is still there, and in fact, will intercede for us. I love the photograph today because it reminds me that God is there, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He’s there for us even when we have no idea what to pray, or how to pray, and even when we feel like we’ve lost faith. In fact, His Holy Spirit will intercede on our behalf and pray for us. There is an old Hymn that says, “I’m Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, safe and secure from all alarms.” Sometimes, you just need to lean into and abide with God.

Shall We Dance?

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“David danced before the Lord with all his might.” 2 Samuel 6:14

Anyone who ever saw Kevin Bacon in the film “Footloose” already knows this scripture verse. Kevin’s character used it during a city council meeting as a means to try and relax the laws against dancing within the city limits so his high school could hold senior prom. Here’s the truth of it, we don’t leap and dance before the Lord enough in life! King David did it, why don’t we? I’ve been to Superbowls and World Series and have seen more passion and excitement for sports teams than I have for God in church worship services.

God Created Joy, Laughter, and Dance For a Reason!

With all that God has given to us, why not send a little joy filled passion back in His direction. Put on your dancing shoes, and as Kevin Bacon famously said, “Let’s Dance!”