Cheer Up!

Ps.63:5 “You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy.”

The mystery about life is that there would always be something missing. Yes, Jesus says our joy will be full and it will. However, when that joy is full, there is always a higher level. There will always be something missing and guess what? It is a lesson that it is only God that can satisfy us. It is a huge lesson, that since we were children, God has been trying to teach us. Elkanah was telling Hannah, that it is only God that can satisfy us. It is easier for us to see what we do not have than for us to see what we do have.

1 Sam.1:17 (TLB) “Eli said, ‘Cheer up!  May the Lord of Israel grant you your petition, whatever it is!’” (emphasis added). Eli did not bother asking for Hannah’s prayer points. Eli did not even know what her prayer point was, “…whatever it is“. We all need these two sets of people to open up to. For you to be cheerful, you need to let someone know you are hurting. You need to open up to someone. The first type of person you need to open up to, it can be a person or a group of people, is the ‘Elkanah’, they provide relational support. The second is ‘the Eli’, they provide spiritual support.

For you to be free and come out from depression, you need to open up to the ‘Elkanah‘ and ‘the Eli’. We all need relational support (Elkanah) and spiritual support (Eli). When you let someone know you are hurting, one thing you need to realise is, they might not say what you want to hear. The truth is many times we know what we want to hear. But they may just say what you need to hear. Elkanah did not say what Hannah wanted to hear. If Hannah was not spiritual, even Eli did not say what she wanted to hear. But thank God she was spiritual.

In addition to admitting how you feel, finding a safe place, turning your attention to God, and letting someone know how you feel. To cheer up when you are depressed, the fifth thing is, you must believe that the Lord will help you. After you have admitted that you are hurting, you have found a safe place, you have turned your attention to God, and opened up to the required people. You must believe that God will help you. Ps.34:5 “Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.” (emphasis added). This is one of my favourite psalms.

As you look to God, you will be radiant with joy in the Name of Jesus. 

Prayer: The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving, in Jesus Name. Amen (Ps.28:7)