Are You Up Or Down, Pt 1 - No. 82
Job 22:29, “When men are cast down then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble.”
Are you feeling on top or down in the pits? Perhaps I can hear you answer, “Sometimes I’m up and sometimes I’m down! Sometimes I feel great and other times I feel lousy.”
I have wonderful news for you. When you are cast down, you don’t have to stay down. Even when you are down in the dungeon of despair, you don’t have to stay there! There is lifting up. Did you receive those wonderful words? Embrace them into your mind and your heart. There is lifting up! If you stay in the pit of self-pity or the depths of despair, it is your own choice, for God is waiting to lift you up! This is His name. He is The Lifter Up. Oh what a wonderful and faithful God.
David confesses in Psalm 40:2, “He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out from the bog and the mire, and set my feet on a hard, firm path and steadied me as I walked along.” (TLB) Another time when David was in one of the most terrible times of his whole life -- fleeing for safety from his own son, Absalom, he still confessed, “But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.” (Psalm 3:3) Commenting on this Scripture, Charles Spurgeon writes, “There is a lifting up in honour after shame, in health after sickness, in gladness after sorrow, in restoration after a fall, in victory after a temporary defeat; in all these respects the Lord is the lifter up of our head.”
You may stumble and fall. This is part of life because not one of us is perfect! But the truth that we must live by is that no matter how many times we fall down, God will lift us up again. Not only will he pull you up out of your slimy pit, but also He will lift up your head. He lifts up your head so you can see clearly again. He lifts up your head to focus on Him instead of on your difficulties. He lifts up your head to behold Him so you will not be ashamed. Psalm 34:4 remind us that “They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.”
Can you make the words, “There is lifting up” part of your vocabulary? Say them continually. When you feel you are sliding into gloom or negativity, confess them out loud! When you feel wounded from hurtful words, confess them out loud! When you think there is no hope, confess them out loud. You’ll stay up before you can go down!
One reminder -- this promise is only for the humble. We can’t pull ourselves up. When we think we can do it in our own strength, we’ll fail, but when we cry out to God in humility, He’ll be waiting. The Amplified Version of Job 22:29 says, “When they make you low, you will say, There is lifting up; and the humble person He lifts up and saves.” The Living Bible says, “If you are attacked and knocked down, you will know that there is someone who will lift you up again. Yes, He will save the humble.”
When we get into a habit of continually speaking these words to ourselves, we’ll then be able to say to them to others too. We’ll say them to our husband. We’ll say them to our children. These are the words of encouragement that should roll off our lips to those who are down. I like the translation of this Scripture by Rev. Thomas Robinson, D.D. “When men are cast down (or, ‘when they shall cast thee down,’ or, ‘when thou art depressed’) then thou shalt say (to thyself, or to others), there is (or, ‘shall be’) lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.”
God wants you to be on the up instead of on the down.
Love from NANCY CAMPBELL
PRAYER:
“Oh God, I thank you that you are the Lifter up of my head. I can’t pull myself up. Others can’t lift me out of my dregs. You alone can and I trust you to help me. I will not stay down. I embrace you as my Lifter Up. Thank you, Lord. Amen.”
AFFIRMATION:
“I want to live above the world,
Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught the joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground.”