December 2: Luke 21:34-36

Key Verse: Luke 21:34
Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.

Devotion:
One of the things which always seems to pop up at this time of year is some sort of depression: the nights are drawing in, it’s getting dark far too early, it’s cold and icy and lots of people come down with colds. But one of the things which affects us most is staying indoors for longer periods because the weather is just not hospitable outside – or at least that is the excuse we give.

Scientists and phycologists will tell you there are reasons for us all feeling down and for people taking up drinking and allowing the anxieties of life to take hold – they say it is because of the lack of sun and being outside. But it is more than that. That may be the physical reason why people to feel down, but when we do allow those feelings of anxiety in its many forms to take hold we are allowing the world to take over our lives.

God has warned us for a very long time we should not allow the ways of the world to grab hold of us and lead us away from Him. Sadly, anxiety and depression are just some of those things which take us away from God. We can call out as much as we like and tell people they only have to read the bible, but unless they have some sort of relationship with Christ, reading the bible may not help because they may not understand it!

God wants us to be in a relationship wit Him so He can guide us through the dark times; physically, mentally and spiritually. These worldly feeling can pounce on us like a trap and we will feel helpless against them; but with God’s help and encouragement we can weather them!

Points to Ponder:
Do you allow worldly feeling to take hold?

Have you tried depending more on Christ to stay those feelings?