You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning, my God turns my darkness into light.

We all experience sadness, despair, and downtimes in our lives from time to time.  If we are lucky, these downtimes pass quickly and are replaced with joy again.  However, sometimes it seems like these negative feelings may be with us forever.  We may feel a little depressed or maybe a sense of hopelessness.  This feeling of despair can be compared to what it would feel like to never see light but to always have darkness in our environment.  The longer we feel down, the more it seems like this feeling will not pass.  However, the Word of God tells us that He will deliver us from darkness.  Psalm 18:28 says that God will keep our lamp burning.  In other words, God will light up our spirit and replace the darkness with light.  He will not only provide us with comfort in our period of darkness but will replace the feeling of despair with that of hope and peace.

What causes us to feel such melancholy?  I believe that feelings of sadness, despair and depression are caused by anxiety and worry.  Proverbs 12:25 tells us that worry weighs us down.  Anxiety and worry are strong emotions.  They are a derivative of fear.  Fear is the ultimate dark emotion.  But take heart that God does not give us the spirit of fear but the spirit of faith.

There are many triggers in our daily lives that can make us worry or experience anxiety.  Some of these triggers may include job stress or dissatisfaction, financial lack, unhealthy relationships, or health issues in our bodies.  Sometimes our worry about these things is all consuming.  We simply cannot get rid of the negative thoughts and therefore feel like we are in a state of continual melancholy.  During these times, we have to take control of our minds and fight back.  We must counter these negative thoughts and replace them with the Word of God.  We should meditate on the promises of God with the confidence that what God says will come to pass. 

I believe that there is power in the Word of God.  In and of itself, power exists in the Word of God.  Just by reading, speaking and reflecting on the Word of God, we activate the power that can turn our darkness into light.  Also, by focusing our attention on the Word of God, we can keep our mind clear of the negative effects of worry and anxiety.  We cannot have two thoughts at once.  Either we will think positive or we will think negative.  It is our choice.  Another interesting thing happens when we focus on the Word of God, especially in the midst of a problem.  When we no longer focus on the problem but focus on the Word of God, we will stop looking at all of our daily distractions and when we look up again, we may find that somehow we were delivered from the problem.

I also believe that it is important that we spend some significant time in prayer, especially when we are experiencing times of darkness.  In prayer, we should take our cares to God and leave them with Him.  When we commune with God and tell him what is bothering us, we must believe that He has heard us and will take care of the problem for us.  If we do that, then we don’t have anymore use for worry because we believe that the problem will be taken care of by God.  I’d rather have God solve my problem then me solve it on my own.  God is infinitely more powerful than I am.

Psalm 18:28 makes it clear that God does not desire for us to be in a continual state of worry or anxiety.  His Word says that He will keep our lamp burning.  He will revive our spirit, comfort our sorrow, and light a spark that will restore our joy.  We would do well to stand on this Word of God and overthrow the attacks of the enemy.

By increasing our communication with God through prayer and by focusing our minds on the Word of God, we can tap into the power that will enable us to step out of the darkness and receive the joy and peace that God desires us to experience.