I am SO OVER these last few weeks.

It seems that everywhere I turn there is death. Dear friends had to unexpectedly bury their brother. Robin Williams committed suicide. A classmate of mine lost his wife because of a hornet sting. A friend told me of losing his two week old son – it was decades ago but the pain is always present. This very morning I attended the funeral of a sweet cousin who battled cancer for a long time. I have several more instances but I will spare you.

Modern Bible translations render Psalm 23:4 as, “the darkest valley” or “a valley of deep darkness.” In this case I think the old school King James Version has them beat with “the valley of the shadow of death.”

What could be more awful than that?

I’ll tell you. It would be not seeing past the valleys, the shadows, and the death.

You see, the presence of a valley means there must be a mountain.

The presence of a shadow means there must be light.

The presence of death means there must be life.

You can’t have one without the other.

I think David, who wrote Psalm 23, taught this lesson well to his son, Solomon, who wrote Ecclesiastes 3:

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die…
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance…

The valley of the shadow of death leads to the mountain of light and life. 

What could be more wonderful than that?

I’ve had four funerals in the past couple of months, not all of which I could attend but mourned and reflected nonetheless. Three of them where significant “firsts” in my family’s close knit community. The forth was a stillbirth.

Grief hits hard but death is a part of life.

Funerals always get us talking. We hear encouraging words from friends, stories from families and comfort from pastors. We start thinking about our own mortality.  Many grab a hold of what time they have and “live” again. Many begin to ask about streets of gold and wonder if the reality is for them. Is there a Heaven? Will they enter it? And if so, is it really a golden city? Why?

Gold.

It is a common description for intangible worth in Scripture.  Ancient people knew in an instant that gold was only for a select few. It was not meant for every day folk. So to hear they could be heirs to a throne and their faith was far greater than what was only attainable to kings, was of great encouragement!

This got me thinking about many today.  Many who do not know Christ and have become trapped by their sin may not understand when I tell them they are worth more than gold. Sometimes in our failures and subsequent sadness we forget what our Jesus did for us. Sometimes we think we are too far gone and can never enter the Kingdom of God. Why would God want to rescue us and redeem our stories? But Scripture has the power to cut through that lie.  This is what one psalmist wrote,

I needed this reminder today. Perhaps you did too. You were made worthy by the blood of Jesus Christ because He delights in you.

You are worthy to walk into the City of Gold. Turn to Him today. And if for some divine reason you fell upon this blog and have forgotten your worth…turn back to Him. 

He has never left you.

Kings come and kings go. Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall. But One King I know abdicated His rightful throne to save His people -- the sick, the blind, the dying.

He entered this fleshly world full of kings who demand and force and imprison with works. Where the self-righteous bathed in judgmental pride, this King's compassion soaked His Spirit.

Nobodywas ready for Sunday.

Sunday came with a death shattering victory. The KING rose from the depths and raised His banner.  Wailing turned into dancing and sackcloth into garments of joy. 

The King, OUR KING, has taken His rightful place. He showed His worth of the purple robe, He has spared no expense. He has paid the debt in full. He gave His life and shown the grave couldn't hold him.

Rejoice! I say it again, REJOICE! This King is King of kings and Lord of lords! His Name is Jesus and calls us to be heirs in His Kingdom!

Answer Him with a resounding YES!

But that is just a comic book and the dreams of a child.

This Man’s name is Jesus. HE is Light and in Him there is no darkness (1 John 1).

 “My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.” Psalm 119: 28

            It’s not a matter of if we deal with depression. We all will and do at some point in our lives. I remember the “Ok, I get it” moment God spoke to me. It was a couple months after my daughter passed away. I finally got up the nerve to enter her room, then to actually sit in the rocking chair—our rocking chair—that encapsulated our short “mother/ daughter” time together. It didn’t take long for the D word to begin to pull me down. Tears soaked my blouse; groans bellowed up from beyond the pit of my stomach. The “why, Lord, just tell me why” began, again. That’s when the loving wisdom of my Father freed me.

            “Lezlie, depression is no more than an emotion, and I created all emotions. It’s not about feeling depressed. It’s about what you are going to DO when you get depressed. You have two choices here. Continue to wallow and sink deeper into the abyss of self-pity, or GET UP and say good-bye.”

            That tough love lesson rang true once again June 2013. Death didn’t knock, no, that sting was gone. This time it was drugs, but not for the first time. Drugs had already stolen years from one of my sons (but only for a decade!) Now drugs came again, no, not just again, but back. Back to haunt yet another of my sons—for the second time in his life.

            “That’s it God, I already did this, I can’t do it again.”

            “I know you can’t. Let me.”(And when my son cried out, God answered him, again!)

            My depression lasted longer this time, but it didn’t defeat me. God’s word is living, true, and freeing. It is “new every morning.” It is the detonator needed to bust through, apart, and thoroughly destroy anything that tries to rob us from the joy of the knowledge of eternity.
           “In my anguish I cried to the LORD and he answered by setting me free.” (Psalm 118:5)
            Do you want freedom from depression? Open the pages of the one book that has lasted the longest throughout history. Allow His words to detonate the lies of the destroyer as He restores your soul with truth.

Even though she felt a huge weight lifted from her heart, certain parts of her life remained difficult. She’d married a bulldozer personality type that erupted more oft than not. After receiving her B. A., her first-born started having medical problems, and her master-teacher didn’t appreciate the time-off she had to take for his needs. Seven years after asking God to change her life around, her third child, and only daughter, was diagnosed at eight months with a rare syndrome: not just one but three diseases, cancer being the major. CaSondra died before her second birthday.

            What kept this mother of three, now two, (but now joyfully three again) both alive and growing? That Sunday when she had the assurance of where not only she’d spend eternity, but also her unborn baby, she dove into God’s word. It literally became “a lamp to her feet.” It fueled her, carried her, fed her, and healed her. God’s word, a “living and a two-edged sword” kept her spiritual tank full—and overflowing. God proved faithful: “In the day when I cried out, You answered me and made me bold with strength in my soul.” (Ps. 138:3)

            Now, 32 years later, and after a bump with death, divorce, and drugs affecting her life and family, she continues to snuggle up in the presence of “Abba, Father” with daily Bible reading. Yes, she struggles—depression knocks occasionally, frustration brings out the ugly, dead-to-sin old girl of decades past. The “I want” screams forth, “me first” shoves past, and the “filthy flesh” reeks of grumblings. Fortunately, God’s mercy continues to remind her, “You did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again . . . but you received the Spirit of son—(daughter)—ship.” (Romans 8:15b)