Have you ever been broken down?

Have you ever been broken down? Have you ever been totally defeated in this life? It could have been before coming to Christ, it could have happened to you after coming to Christ, but whenever it happened it left you for dead, it left you weeping. It robbed you of your song in the night, it silenced your praise, it left you hopeless for a time. It left you feeling that there was no way ahead, that everything that you ever had was lost? Inside you seemed to feel nothing.

You looked for refuge but seemingly could find none. And just when you feel that things could not get worse, here comes another blow. And, at the very edge of sanity, the very edge, the very edge of falling over you let a cry come from the depths of your soul that you did not even know existed and you heard a voice "Enough."

In psalm 137 the children of Israel sat and wept by the rivers of Babylon. Even in total defeat their enemies taunt them. Have you discovered that the enemy of your soul is merciless? Have you heard the accusers voice roaring in your ears " where's your songs of victory now Christian?" And the children of Israel hung their harps upon the willow trees, the weeping willow trees. Oh the tragedy of losing your song in the night, falling foul to the fowlers snare.

Yet brothers and sisters we are not the children of Israel by the rivers of Babylon. We are the redeemed of the Lord. Your God will hear your cry, He will not leave you Fatherless, He will never leave you nor forsake you. He will be found, He will be found. If you find yourself in a dark place tonight, if you find that you have lost your song in the night, cry out to Jesus, cry out to Jesus.

With all of your heart and your mind and your soul, cry out to Jesus. He loves you with an everlasting love. He has not abandoned you. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will raise you up. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you, He will...........

Psalm 137 poem

I went into the world and it broke me down
And the lord of this world said " now where's your crown"
And the truth of it was I had nothing left inside
I had no where to run, I had no where to hide

Somewhere on the path the night had stole my song
I had danced with the devil and right became wrong
He had gouged out my eyes and I could not see
I had hung my heart on the weeping willow tree

And in the blackness of the night I stumbled along
Abandoned and broken and without my song
The devil he danced and shrieked with delight
He was lord of the darkness he was lord of the night

I was tortured and tormented night and day
I was chained and whipped on my hell-bound way
And my tormentors they never gave me a moment of respite
As they tore at my flesh by day and by night

I cried out to God and He said "Enough"
He came and redeemed me, He redeemed me with Love
And the devil and my tormentors they all did flee
From Christ my Lord on Calvary

He raised me up and He replaced my heart
That was His plan, right from the start
And by His mercy my wrong became right
And He gave me back my song in the night

I once was blinded and now I could see
What the Lord my God did on Calvary
And from that day on I walked in love
Redeemed by my Jesus who came down from above.

Yes mamma, more than once dear sister. John, I love what you posted, love it........... bro Frank

I owned a Toyota Camry once... enough said.

Krispy

Hi Maryjane. All of what you wrote makes sense and I would say that what you experience is common to all of the saints. Just life and circumstances can seriously assault our souls. The Christian life is a battle-field, not a playground and for those who walk in the light then darkness will surely come against them. Then there is simply the fact that there are seasons in the life of every Christian. Spring and Fall can be wonderful, summers can seem to be oppresively hot and humid and sap our strength, long winters can truly test the sainst.

Yet, Travis explained it very well and it is this knowledge that keeps us going through the wintertimes of our souls. I always love the metaphor of the tree. Now, in winter the tree loses all its foliage. Everything that covers it and makes it pretty is stripped away until only the bare tree is left. Yet, it is when the leaves are all gone that the tree actually grows, it gains height in the winter. The roots go deeper, the tree grows higher.

So, when in seasons of pruning, when we are , in our own minds, stripped of everything that we thought was good about us, we begin to see only the goodness of God. We begin to fully realize that we are sustained by Him and Him alone. And just as in nature when the seasons come and go, so we as followers of the Lord will go in and out of our seasons. And sometime we have record winters, and sometimes we have record summers, and most oftentimes we have regular springs and falls.

The one constant in all of our lives is Jesus. Whether we "feel," Him or not, whether we please Him or not, whether we are more like Him or not, He is always there and He is always interceding for us before our Heavenly Father. And after all of that MJ, I would say that you have identified the key to victory, taking our eyes off of ourselves and lifting them up to Jesus. And then waiting patiently, panting as the deer pants, drawing near, and then suddenly, always suddenly, He is there, praise God He is there and with wings as eagle we mount up. We run and do not grow weary, we walk and we do not faint and our steength is renewed.............bro Frank

Thanks Frank for the Thread. It is important to realize that often strength is born out of weakness. We need to know that we do not exist in our faith to be blessed or made content or happy as we exercise our faith. The primary reason we live, is to be CONFORMED to the image of Christ Jesus, in a living way, with Him manifesting His life flowing through us.

Often, bewilderment, wandering and wondering come upon us, and there is no one to turn to. An empty hole appears in our lives that doesn't seem fair, because it isn't.

Many do not know where to turn, as the Heavens and grace seem to turn to brass. You have been sentenced to death..and it is not right...Why?

" For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life."

"Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;"

...."and who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us!
He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us!"

Was this experience for only the great Apostle and his team...way back then? Or, was this kind of discipline of "THE SENTENCE OF DEATH" placed on only the Moses', Josephs' or Jeremiah's of the world?

I say NO!...It is for each and every woman or man who goes on with Jesus...."A SEED MUST FALL INTO THE GROUND AND DIE!!!!

BEFORE IT BEARS MUCH FRUIT!...every Christian who desires to please Him, and walk with Him. You, and I must die. Our choice is to accept this denial of our throne of our life, and through death, allow the One who lives within, to possess us, to own us. We dethrone ourselves through death, or we dethrone Jesus, and live our lives for ourselves....THE ETERNAL EXCHANGE OF LIFE"

"And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me!"

" For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. "

Notice the "daily" word. Our flesh is better translated "our satanic nature"...and put your name where the our is. It will never be refined, but will blend as a chameleon into your religious affections...and relentlessly resist any efforts to descend and perish, as the Hand of the Spirit continually offends it...YOU.

It is NOT a one time event, this dark night of the Soul thing, though, as Paul related, there are times when the candle flame suddenly becomes a Forrest fire, and depression a way of life...as the heat is turned up....as Paul talks about being depressed...out of measure and despairing of living itself. That's intense.

Your Satanic nature will never, ever go away, no matter what spiritual heights you may think you have obtained....EVER! Consider David, after revelation beyond Earthly compare, Blessings for years, and "A man after God's own heart."...and then, almost suddenly, satanic lust rises, Rape, and the murder of his best friend...like a sudden dark wind of evil...all rising from down under...David's satanic nature that he let live!

In the end, this is everything....this daily walk submitting to the Holy Spirit that is bound to slay us, kill us, so that God may possess us, not we ourselves. Your position won't matter on that day, your social standing, your ministerial thoughts about your attainments....and the first will be last, and the last first.

Paul said; " I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily."

There will be more "dark nights", instituted by God Himself...because He loves us, and desires that Christ be formed in us...to Fullness...all the way...that when people see us, they see Jesus....and as He is, "Without spot or blemish." ...and , If you go to sleep at night beaming with the Glory of God....you will find an unwelcome friend rising in you the morning...your satanic nature...and he must die..every day...moment by moment.

This is for every common Christian on Earth...not just our superheroes.

" I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

Daily, with intermittent severity...because He loves us, and desires full fellowship with us, as His Son.

Yes brothertom I totally agree that the dark night of the soul is not a one time event. There have been so many events in my own life to bear testimony to what you say. Every transparent saint I have ever met has testified to the struggles that accompany the picking up of the cross and the dying daily............ brother Frank