No reason to despair

I looked like I have been in twilight zone these days, and David's cry in Psalm 69:20 strikes a chord in my heart -

"Reproach has broken my heart,
And I am full of heaviness;
I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none;
And for comforters, but I found none."

I wondered what difference it will make if I participate in the live recording of our church's 2nd worship album. 'The sacrifice of praise' that Pastor preached about - I knew but experienced not. Yet I remembered Psalm 73:25-26 - making God my portion, my choice.

"Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

The same verse that brought me through a particular tough period during my Bible School days in 2002.

So with simple faith, I went. Conclusion: it made a whole lot of difference. Heaps. His presence was so tangible and awesome, and in His presence, nothing else matters. Though I have not walked out of the tough situations, I know I have broke through in the spiritual.

"To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified." - Isaiah 61:3

What touched me most was when we sang in one heart, one accord. No music, no songleader. If it touched my heart, I am sure it touched His.

The antidote for the depressed soul, the solution for the spirit of heaviness - put on the garment of praise and praise God! In spite of anything and everything, He is still a good and sovereign God.

There is no reason to despair. Only a season to prepare.

There'll always be struggles and pain, but I can only keep reminding myself to let God be God.