Status Updates From My Name is Hope: Anxiety, d...

For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor ... (psalm 149)

"How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?"
"How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?" (psalm 13) 📖

"Have mercy on me, LORD..."
"heal me, LORD..."
"My soul is in deep anguish. How long, LORD, how long?" (psalm 6)📖

And God built him (David) with the ability to turn his emotions into lyrics 📖

One author called the Psalms "the anatomy of the soul" because it gives us a window into the deepest parts of humans. The Psalms are replete with raw, unedited emotion📖

Do you ever feel like the highs of your life are followed by deep, dark lows? 📖

Do you ever feel like the outcast? Like everybody thinks you're crazy? Do you ever question God's love for you? Do you ever wonder why years go by with no answer from God?📖

I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief (Hannah's prayer) 📖

Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ... (insert idol / desire / want)? 📖

Sometimes we mimic Job's story. Something hard, tragic, gut-wrenching happens. At first we have faith. We say all the right things. We put on a good face. But after a while, the pain eats us up from the inside. We get tired of putting on a good face. The truth comes out. We blame God. We doubt, wrestle, question... Why me?📖

I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me (from the book of job) 📖

The scriptures are God's voice to mankind...In the stories of the Bible I found solidarity. Turns out, I wasn't alone in my struggles. And in solidarity, I found hope. That's why it's really important to know the Bible. It is written, "These things occurred as examples..." When we read the stories, we find ourselves on the pages📖

For my entire life the Bible has been part of my daily rhythm. I wake up and first thing, I get into the scriptures. I read. And I listen.📖

Yet, in spite of this reality, more than 34,000 people go the route of suicide every year. That's 94 suicides per day. One every 15 minutes. ...It is the third leading cause of death among teenagers📖

Maybe you are feeling the exact same way. Like a failure. Shame. Defeat. You are hiding your inner turmoil from your family and friends, scared of what people might think. You think you are alone. I was there. I was dead wrong. 📖

All the other Jesus followers are happy and smiling. Why am I alone in my hell? I love God. Yet I'm still depressed. 📖 How did I get here? Am I a failure? Am I weak? 📖

The scriptures teach, "The joy of the Lord is your strength." Why does the formula break down with me? A plus B doesn't equal C. Prayer and bible study don't make me happy. I finish my "time with God" and still I'm a wreck. The math doesn't add up.

"I am a work in progress. But Jesus is remaking me from the inside out." 📖 "My prayer is that you -- wherever you are coming from -- would find hope in the healing, saving, redeeming Person called Jesus." 📖