Noah interviews Dr. Alan Noble about his new book On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden & Gift of Living (InterVarsity Press). They discuss the daily realities of suffering and depression contrasted with the church’s tendency to fake it like everything is okay and that if you do things God’s way, he will fix everything.
Maybe you can give me what I can only get from God?
Dating. Girlfriend. Boyfriend. Romance. Porn. Marriage. Husband. Wife. Sex. Kids. Grandkids. Maybe you can give me what I can only get from God?
Ep. 62 Noah’s Story Part 2: Depression
In this episode, he talks about his journey and struggle with depression
Psalm 31 Devotional – When Darkness Comes
It’s so helpful for me to hear the psalmist describe the simultaneous reality of his darkness and his refuge. In modern Christianity, it can often feel like results are supposed to come instantaneously when we cry out to God for help. That we are in the darkness, we pray that God would take the darkness away, and the darkness is gone! But time and time again, that is not the pattern we see in the Psalms. Yes, the psalmist is praying that God will take away the darkness, but the right now prayer is that God will be his refuge, shelter, and fortress in the midst of the darkness. This is something I can hold on to. This is something that actually gives my soul peace as I deal with my own seasons of darkness.
Psalm 22 Devotional – Where is God in my agony and suffering?
We need to be very careful here not to try to create a perfect theology about why this is, either trying to get God off the hook or somehow explain this exception in the prayer-formula that we’ve constructed. If you haven’t noticed yet, the Psalms don’t abide by any prayer-formula. We need to not look away and act like these parts of prayer aren’t in Scripture, as if we can sing our favorite worship song loud enough and God will be right there as our waiter holding a silver platter. We need to look toward these deep and sometimes disturbing parts of the Psalms. We will certainly need them. Jesus did.
Psalm 8 Devotional – When Anxiety Meets Jaw Dropping Awe
It is okay to feel small sometimes. We always need to remember we are significant, have value, and are incredibly loved by God. But we can experience those truths while also meditating on how small we truly all in this universe. As already mentioned, this turns us toward God in worship. But it also helps with our daily stressors and anxiety. It’s helpful to zoom out. It helps to know I am part of something way bigger than me. It helps to know that this whole operation doesn’t rise and fall on my shoulders. It helps to know God was on the throne before I was born and he will be on the throne after I am gone. It helps to know that when something feels like the end of the world… it isn’t.