Every pilot knows that one of the things they have to watch for is a downdraft. I'm not a pilot, but know from experience that a downdraft can be unnerving. You can't see them coming, you can't anticipate them, but they will hit us all at times. It's a time when the lift suddenly disappears from beneath your wings and the plane begins to fall. Your stomach is in your throat and you wonder if you will literally fall from the sky.
In the last day or so I came upon a downdraft and suddenly began to fall. It's always a surprise when this happens. You don't have to do anything wrong for them to happen to you, but they will. Suddenly, without warning, you are sinking....all lift has gone. Despair follows.
David experienced this in his own life when he wrote, Psalm 42:5 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence. For several chapters David repeats this refrain and works his way through his own downdraft.
What we need most at downdraft time is lift! We need air under our wings. Then it comes....just as suddenly as the downdraft, lift is back and we are flying again. I know that we take the "lift" for granted, but I will tell you what I think it is. I think the lift we need comes from an intimate relationship with God- time in his word and time with him in prayer. We will also find lift from our relationships with other believers and their encouragement when all the lift has been taken from us.
Last night, as I was in the middle of my own downdraft, my wife came home from a meeting at the church with a prayer quilt that the ladies of the church had made for ME. They made the quilt and tied prayer knots in the quilt. Each knot indicates the prayers of the one who tied it. Prayers for me.....I begin to feel the lift under that wing....hope is returning, despair is quieting.
Then, this morning, as I am reading the word, I realize that it's the word and my time in it that has kept me in the air. It's God's word that keeps me up, and without it I would sink into utter despair. I'm so grateful for the lift both the body of Christ and the Lord provide through the fellowship we share.
We all need one another when the downdrafts come. When you have downdrafts happen in your life don't go hide, get in the middle of the body of Christ, get in the word and you will feel the wind under your wings begin to lift you up again.
7 comments:
Oh Mike - this is so true. The word is our raft in the sea of despair, and the body of believers is the paddle... And God calls us into relationship for both.
Continueing to pray for you in this time of frustration.
Robyn, you didn't like my airplane illustration? you sound like Paul- a farmer, a soldier, an athlete....there's never enough good illustrations for truth, is there?
thanks, and thanks for your prayers.
At what point in a downdraft should you seek professional help?
And do you ever get tired of listening to others/helping others out of their despair?
Anon,
when I grab my bible and go to the Lord in prayer I AM seeking professional help. The one who made me is the best one to consult on how to fix me. Great question.
No, I never get tired of caring for people and helping them with their lives. It's exciting to see God work in lives.
Hmm...that wasn't the answer that I was expecting, but ok. I'll give it a try. It's just that even though I read the bible I feel like I'm still left with having to deal with issues on my own...or so it seems. I don't seem to be getting the answers that I need. Maybe it is a downdraft coupled with a fog bank.
Mike, I don't think Anon was asking you, personally, when YOU should seek professional help. I think it was generally speaking. A person should not hesitate to seek professional help if he/she isn't getting the answers needed. But Christian professional help, so that the professional can advise with a biblical point of view.
No matter what we're going through, it always helps to share the burden with someone else in the body of Christ, if only for emotional and prayer support. Like the relationship mm is referring to.
anon,
I'm sorry if I misunderstood the question. Let me try again. you asked, "at what point should you seek professional help?"
If you are in an ongoing "downdraft" that does not let up get some help from your pastor or friends in the church, and also go see your doctor. It may be that you have some health issues that are causing this. Pursue all resources for an ongoing depression, but know that the Lord is the one who can help through all of our down times.
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