EUPHEMISTICALLY CORRECT

The dreary, dead-of-winter months can really drag us down, especially those prone to feeling wrung out. I have one of those “happy lights” (mimicking healthy sunlight) by my desk. I also seek out positive ways to relate to everyday spiritual challenges. That's why a few years ago I decided to read Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' book, Spiritual Depression (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965). Trained as a doctor, he'd seen his share of depressed patients. But as a Bible scholar, he also dispensed scriptural wisdom about circumstances and people who get us “down.”

In his chapter titled “Fear of the Future,” Lloyd-Jones referred to 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (KJV). Timothy, who was the apostle Paul's young protege pastor, needed a reminder that God was sufficient in every way as he pastored some challenging church plants. The same truth applies to us in whatever spiritual challenges we face. Lloyd-Jones remarked of Paul's words for God's enabling:

Though you and I may be timorous and nervous, the Spirit that God has given us is the Spirit of control, the Spirit of discipline, the Spirit of judgment. (p. 104)

He illustrated this point with a story from English history in the mid-to-late 1600s. At that time, the commoners were at odds with the Stuart line of kings for interfering in the affairs of the Presbyterian church of Scotland. Actually, “at odds” is a bland term for the severe penalties faced by the common Scottish believers who called themselves “Covenanters.”

The story goes like this. A young girl (from a Covenanter family) was headed toward a secret, prohibited communion service when stopped by the king's soldiers. Her freedom, perhaps even her life, were at stake. Her conscience would not permit her to lie. Instead, she used euphemisms in explaining her trip:

“My Elderly Brother has died and they are going to read His will this afternoon, and He has done something for me and has left something for me, and I want to hear them read the will.”

Yes, at that critical moment, she replied with power, love and a sound mind, and they let her go. Her “elder brother” who had died was Christ. At the communion service, she would hear His “will” read (scripture), reviewing what He had done for her and left for her.

Lloyd-Jones remarked of this illustration, intended to encourage those prone to spiritual depression:

Instead of allowing the future and thoughts of it to grip you, talk to yourself, remind yourself of who you are and what you are, and of what Spirit is within you; and , having reminded yourself of the character of the Spirit, you will be able to go steadily forward, fearing nothing, living in the present, ready for the future, with one desire only, to glorify Him who gave His all for you. (p. 105)

During winter's gray days (especially for those of us in colder climates), it's a message of Light worth “soaking in”...and practicing. God is able to give us the right words—and the right attitude—when we depend on Him! 

Worth repeating when you look out on a gray day: "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 181:24 KJV).