Paint the Positive Side by Pastor Ed Young

One of the many things I love about the Bible is the fact that it is a straightforward book.  Not only does it paint the positive side of its characters but also the negative as well.  And when God paints a portrait, He brushes in every detail of his subject matter.  Now if the Bible was just a book that talked about the upside of His characters, I couldn’t really identify with it.  But, because it is a book that talks about the downside of these personalities, it is something I can relate to and identify with.  I love the Bible, I really do.

Depression.  Despondency.  Loneliness.  They are part of our human existence on this flawed planet.  How do we deal with these emotions?  How do we face them?  Today we are going to connect with a character from the pages of scripture named Elijah.  Elijah was a man who dealt with depression.  As we peer over this prophet’s shoulder, we are going to look at the upside and the downside of his life.  We are going to see how he really faced the music.

The Bible says that Elijah was a man subject to passions like we are.  He was optimistic.  He was a visionary.  He was a man who, for the most part, saw the good in people.  Do you ever meet people like I do sometimes who major in pessimism?  Do you ever meet people who always see the glass half empty instead of half full?  I heard about a woman the other day who said, “I feel good today.

Fellowship Church Grapevine – But I always feel the worst when I feel the best because I know how bad I am going to feel once it gets worse again.”  Elijah was not like that.  Elijah was positive.  He saw the glass half full.

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