Hallelujah! My soul, praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing to my God as long as I live. (Psalms 146:1-2)
In the Psalms, we’ve often seen the author commanding himself to praise God, then reminding himself of all the good things God has done. This Psalmist commands his soul to praise the Lord, then reminds himself that God looks out for the oppressed, the hungry, prisoners, the blind, those who are bowed down, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. In other words, God helps the helpless and defends the defenseless. When you’re feeling down, the best way to lift your spirit is to preach truths like that to yourself.
Martyn Lloyd Jones was a doctor and pastor who wrote in his book Spiritual Depression, “Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?” Maybe life hasn’t gone the way you wanted it to. Maybe you don’t think you’re getting what you deserve. The best thing you can do today is to sit down and make a list of all the ways you’ve seen God work in your life. Then command your soul to praise God for each one. This will help you escape from incapacitating depression and join God in his mission of helping the helpless and defending the defenseless, just like he’s helped and defended you.