Years ago, there was a Peanuts comic strip where Lucy was grumbling. She was grumbling to, of course, old poor Charlie Brown there about the awful new year that she was having. She complained that the problems just continued to abound, and she felt the difficulties were around every single corner. And then she just made this reply, and she said, I don't think we have a new year at all. I think we're stuck with a used year, if you will. Not a new year, a used year. You know, we'd say that Lucy was maybe feeling a little blue about the new year, if I can put it that way. Feeling a little on the blue side. You know, as we travel through this road of life, we'll experience a number of different emotions. And one common emotional feeling we'll experience is that of feeling blue. Feeling blue. And we all experience that feeling. It's a common thing that we all go through at some point in our journey. But it's a very unhealthy thing spiritually, emotionally, and even physically to stay that way. The question is, though, how do I beat the blues? How do I get over it and go on and experience the abundant life that Jesus Christ promised me? You know, God's got a plan. And it's really not as hard as we think it is. And it's kind of referenced here in our passage tonight. Isaiah 61. We'll just read the first three verses. These are powerful verses. There's a lot of meat in these verses. But I just want to take a thought out of it tonight. It says here, the spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all that mourn. Now, focus on verse 3. To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness or blueness. that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the law, that he might be glorified. In our passage, God mentions how he helps people overcome these negative feelings. And tonight, we're going to discover the secret of what I call beating the blues, beating the blues. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this truth tonight. And I do pray that you would help us grasp it, because it could just bring so much victory in each of our lives. So easy to get blue as we face different obstacles and difficulties throughout our nights and through our days. And do I pray tonight that your spirit would just meet needs here more than anything else. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. What does it mean, or what do I mean when I refer to us feeling blue? Well, the expression feeling blue dates back to the late 1300s. It's to describe someone who's feeling sad, depressed, discouraged, unhappy, down, defeated. It's just all those negative feelings. We've got kind of a blue mentality or blue countenance about us. We say that a person has the blues because, well, that's just the way they're they're feeling and they're expressing those negative things because of various reasons. Much of it has to do because of things going on within their lives. They're blue. When a person has the blues, well, their outlook on life is quite bleak right at the moment in time or during a season of time. The way they look at life, it's just everything looks bleak. And there's nothing positive that they can say about anything or anybody. You know, everything's just down. We might use the cliche Debbie Downer, or Nago Nelly, or whatever you want to, or Nago Neil, maybe. We'll use that one. Amen? Amen, I know. I kicked that dog again, right? But it's all this, it's just this negative outlook. And it's just, it just drags them down. You know, it gets to the point where it even gets to be for them, it's difficult to get up in the morning, because they just don't want to face the day. And it's difficult to go to bed at night, because their mind just swirls with all the negative thoughts and reasons, and it just keeps them awake. And as they face their day, they have a difficulty time just facing it, because it's hard for them to get motivated to do much about anything. They're just blue. And this feeling of being blue is something we all experience from time to time. But it's not a state we want to stay in any longer than we have to. As one could guess, the state of being blue does not produce anything positive for the glory of God, does it? I mean, we're not going on the upward way, new heights we're gaining every day. We're going probably more on the downsward scale. It doesn't produce anything positive for God's glory or for our own well-being, as this state of feeling blue will zap us of all of our emotional and spiritual energy. And that's why we are feeling the block within. The Bible mentions in Proverbs 15, 13, a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. the sorrow, the blueness, the downness, it breaks the spirit. We have no emotional energy. We have no spiritual energy. And when we don't have that, it just will drag our physical nature down. In fact, it has a lot of long-term negative effects on us even physically. The Bible mentions in Proverbs 17.22, a merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dryeth the bones. Drive the bones. Being blue will zap us spiritually and emotionally, and of course will have negative long-term effects on us physically. In other words, we just cannot afford to stay this way. Yes, we will experience it, but we just cannot stay this way. And God's got a way to get us out. Somebody once said this. Discouragement... in so many words, feeling blue, is dissatisfaction with the past, distaste for the present, and distrust of the future. It is ingratitude for the blessings of yesterday, indifference to the opportunities of today, and insecurity regarding strength for tomorrow. It is unawareness of presence of beauty, unconcern for the needs of our fellow man, and unbelief in the promises of old. is impatience with time, immaturity of thought, and impoliteness to God." Wow, you talk about a way of putting it real clear. That's what it is. Our lives will shrivel up if we remain in the state of being blue. Hence, it's not God's desire that we do. Jesus said in John 15 and 11, these things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be what? Full. Full. That you and I could have full joy, and not so much blue. Joy that can give us the strength to face what our next day brings us, good or bad. Full joy. That is a promise from God, and if this promise is not being realized within our lives, Then we have to ask the question, why not? Why are the blues beating me instead of me beating the blues? You know, God wants to replace those blue feelings with his joy. But how does he do it? What am I to do? Tonight, I'd like to take a look into God's word and learn how God helps us beat the blues. First off, let's talk about the reality itself a little bit more. The fact that we feel blue doesn't mean we are horrible people. It doesn't mean that at all. It just simply means that we are people. In other words, that we are just flesh and blood, human beings, dust of the earth. When God looks upon us, he remembers that we are but what? Dust. And he understands our emotional makeup. He understands our frailty. When we feel blue, it doesn't mean we're horrible people. It just means we're people. And the wording of our text, as we read here a moment ago, indicates that people will be experiencing these emotions. It mentions here, he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted. He mentions in verse 3, "...to appoint them that morn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." You know, the Bible doesn't say a person should never or will never experience it. No, it indicates very clearly that we as people will experience those feelings. It's not an uncommon thing to experience those. And sometimes we can really beat ourselves up over that and be like, I shouldn't feel this way. I shouldn't feel this way. It's not a matter of you shouldn't feel this way. It's a matter of what do you do with it when you do feel that way. That's the question. That's what we're trying to figure out. Tonight, my goal isn't to beat somebody up here because you may be feeling that way. You may be downcast. That's not my point is to beat you up. My point is to say, how do we pull us out? when we're there? How do we get out of it so we don't have to stay there? Because who likes the feeling of being blue all the time? I mean, I think as people, naturally, we want to feel joy. We want to feel optimism. We want to feel inspired. We don't want to be beat down and everyone we talk to grumble and complain about absolutely everything there is about life. That's the last thing we want to do. But how do we pull ourselves out of this blue feeling? Good question. Again, every one of us will at some point periodically face the blues. Because the Bible says in Romans 8.22, for we know the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. This is why. Our whole creation will face the blues because of the sin curse that is on this world. We deal with the sin-cursedness of this world all the time and the negative effects by it. It's affected us more than we even realize at times. And to expect a person not to ever get blue is really unreasonable. It's just not going to happen that way. That's just not reality. Because the whole creation groans and travails in pain. We all deal with it, again. I remember back in high school, I had a coach. And he coached a number of different sports. And whenever he was coaching, he was always talking, well, he's got to be up. We always got to be up. And he's always up. He said, I'm always up until. The team lost in the playoffs, and the season was over, and then he was blue for one week. It was always one week. And we'd always kind of talk to the side and say, yeah, he's really up today. He's really up. He would just be, you couldn't hardly talk to the guy for that one week, because he was not up. It happens. Even those who try to be up all the time, you know what? They're not always up. And we see all over the scriptures, God's choice servants getting blue, getting blue. You go to 1 Kings chapter 19, there was a very prominent prophet by the name of Elijah. Elijah had a great victory there on Mount Carmel, where he defeated the prophets of Baal and slew them. And there was a great movement of God. And there was rain in the land again after three and a half years of drought. But there was a king's wife by the name of Jezebel who sought his life. And Elijah went running for the hills, literally. First Kings chapter number 19 we pick it up in verse 4 speaking of Elijah says but he himself on a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper tree and he requested for himself that he might die and said it is enough now O Lord take away my life for I am not better than my father's here you have a man that is blue God take my life away he just had a great victory Elijah you're not don't you remember I mean the power God felt big time and But he's blue right now. He is blue as blue can be. Then we can look at David. We've been studying his life here as of late and Sunday nights. And of course, David was the sweet psalmist of Israel. He wrote a number of the Psalms. And what's interesting about the Psalms is they express a number of different human emotions throughout them. You see a man who goes through a lot of emotional swings, just like you and I do. I think that's why God put him in there, to help us remember that a man after God's own heart can even go through times of up and down emotional swings because of the circumstances of life. But if you go to Psalms chapter number 6, we see in this Psalm, I think David's a little blue when he's writing it. Psalm chapter number 6. It's a short psalm. I'll just read it here or part of it at least verses 1 through 7 It says O Lord rebuke me not in thine anger neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure Have mercy upon me O Lord for I am weak O Lord heal me for my bones are vexed My soul is also sore vexed. Needless to say he was feeling blue But now O Lord how long? Return, O Lord, deliver my soul. O save me for Thy mercy's sake. For in death there is no remembrance of Thee. In the grave, who shall give Thee thanks? I am weary with my groaning. All the night make I my bed to swim. I water my couch with my tears. My eye is consumed because of grief. It is waxed old because of all my enemies. Would you say David was feeling blue? He was very blue. You know, when you feel blue, isn't one of the Nicest books to read in the Bible, the Psalms. I don't know, it's just like you can relate to them real easily at those times. Yeah, because you had a man who wrote them that felt blue at times. And God preserved what he wrote in his word. Then there was Jeremiah, who he's referred to as the weeping prophet. And he wrote a small book. called the Lamentations, as he expressed his disheartened feelings regarding the situation that his Jewish brethren were facing. Lamentations chapter 2, verse 11, is one example of what Jeremiah was experiencing. It says, my eyes do fail with tears. My bowels are troubled. My liver is poured upon the earth for the destruction of the daughter of my people, because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city. Oh, Jeremiah was blue, to say the least. You know, when Paul went back to Jerusalem after being warned of God not to go there and not to show up there because there was going to be trouble. But Paul went anyways. And a long story short, he ends up in a prison cell. And guess who had to show up there to cheer him up? God. Acts 23.11, and the night following, the Lord stood by him and said, be of good cheer, Paul, for as thou hast testified me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. Hey, God said, be of good cheer, Paul. What was happening here? Paul was feeling blue. He was down. The whole point is that we are all in good company if we experience the blues. There are a lot of good people, a lot of good people in the scriptures who had that same experience, great men of God and women of God who felt that way. But I hasten to say, it's not a good thing to stay there. And that's really the point I'm trying to drive at tonight, is that we've got to beat the blues. I don't believe any of these people that we looked at stayed there, as I mentioned. They eventually got out of those situations and went forward. Because again, if we stay in the blues, the quality of our lives will just continue to wither away. and will lead to our own self-destruction. Hence, we need to beat the blues when they hit, because they will hit. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. So how do we beat them? Well, we got to consider, secondly, the rescuer. Now, back in our text in Isaiah, chapter number 61, we see that there is a God in heaven that desires to help us overcome the blue feelings. Isaiah 61. It mentions in verses 1 through 3, again, the spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. In other words, God was helping the speaker to preach the words of the things that were necessary to help people pull out of the blues. God was there to help. The message of God in these verses is one of hope, as he can rescue us from the negative emotions we're experiencing. He wants to replace the negative blue feelings with ones of joy, ones of peace, and ones of happiness, if you will. It's interesting to note that this is the very passage that the Lord Jesus Christ quoted when he launched his public ministry there in Nazareth, there in Luke chapter 4. These are the same words. He wanted to come to this earth to preach to this world that he has a message of hope. And the world in which he came into was very depressing, very difficult to live in under Roman rule. And he came with a message of hope and joy and relief that gave people a lot of hope and helped them beat their blues, if you will. You know, Jesus Christ came to help because he's the one that we can come to. Matthew 11, 28 through 30, common passages we've seen in the past. Come to me, all you that labor are heavy laden. I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. And ye shall find rest unto your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Again, Jesus Christ is the one who helps lift those burdens. He's the one who has come to rescue us from living disillusioned by life. but to live a life that is fruitful, fulfilling, and full of meaning. John 10.10, a very powerful verse, it says, the thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. In other words, make us feel blue. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Sounds a lot different, does it, than somebody who's feeling blue. But the key to beating the blues rests with the Lord Jesus Christ. He can help us, and is more than willing to, if we obey what he says to do. And that's the most important thing we want to get out tonight, is because there is something that we are responsible to do for him to help us beat the blues. I just want to talk now about the remedy. And I want to spend some time on this tonight, the remedy. So how does God help us beat the blues? Well, it might not be the way that we think it should be. It might not be the way that we expect it to be. I'm guessing that when we think about the subject matter, about beating the blues, we think about, OK, I'm blue because of fill in the blank, whatever reason it is that we can come up with. And God, you can help me not feel blue by removing the problem. or giving me what I want, or stepping in here and just cleaning up the mess. Again, we probably think that God's remedy for us should be Him just taking the thing causing us to be blew away. Well, guess what? Yeah, He may have the power to do that. And we may rationalize that. But God doesn't always do that, does he? And you know what happens is then, well, I guess this whole thing, God helping me to not feel blue anymore, well, I guess it doesn't work, and then we get mad at God and we blow away from Him. No, that's a wrong expectation. Sometimes God may remove the problem or give you whatever it is that you're blue about, but many times He won't. Because he's trying to show you and I that there is a better cure for the blues than getting what you wanted and what you've been begging God for, or having this problem removed, or this person removed out of your life, or whatever the case might be. God's got a better solution than that. It's a solution that is not subject to our lives always working out perfectly. Because to believe that our lives, in order to never have the blues or to get out of the blues, have to work out perfectly, what we're doing is we're living in a fantasy world. That is a total fantasy world, seen only in movies and TV programs. It's a fantasy. It doesn't exist. You know, Jesus said in John 16, 33, these things have I spoken unto you that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation. That will bring you some blues. But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. That's the world we live in. A problem-filled world. But it's very easy to deceive ourselves into this fantasy world if we're not careful. It's not reality, though. So how can I beat my blues in a world that will never give me a perfect life? Well, in our passage here in Isaiah 61, God mentions something that I believe will help. It's in verse 3. He mentions the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. And when we're blue, we have that spirit of heaviness upon us, right? The garment of praise. What's going to help us overcome the blues? Spending deliberate, specific, distinct time thanking and praising God. I thought I had to climb Mount Everest to get that. No, it's not that hard. Making a distinct effort to thank and to praise the Lord. That's what it is. The garment of praise replaces the spirit of heaviness. Well, that's what it is. The reason we feel so blue is usually because we have gotten our eyes off God and have focused them on our problems and ourselves. That's what it is. It's our thinking. Our eyes are not focused on the goodness and the greatness and the magnificence of God. It's focused on this, this, this, this, this, this, this. That's not right in my life. We are thinking about all the negative things going on or that we think are going on and that are affecting our lives instead of looking at how great and marvelous and wonderful and good our God is and thanking him for all those good and great and wonderful things he does for us. How much time have we spent in the last week complaining to God or to somebody else about how bad this, that, and everything else is in our life? Versus thanking Him for absolutely everything that He has done in our lives. What do I have to thank Him for? Well, did you drive here tonight in a nice warm car? It's a piece of junk. So what? Thank God for it anyways. Do you have a job tonight? that can pay your bills and give you a place to live, have food on your table. You know, we had a good meal tonight at home. It was really good. I was thankful for it. I'm trying to get some brownie points here. You know, are you healthy tonight? At least to a certain extent where you can get around. You're not bedridden. Dr. Larry Clayton, who's come here in the past, he sent some time ago a picture about he had a big burden for Filipino street kids. And there's lots of them running around in the Philippines. And he has this picture. I have it in my office. It's about five or six kids sleeping on a cardboard box. And they're just filthy. I mean, their feet are black, just with the dust. And we don't have anything to be thankful for, right? Do you have a nice, comfortable bed instead of a piece of cardboard out in the street? Boy. You know, there's a lot to be said about this thing of thanking God that we need to put to practice. And it will start replacing that spirit of heaviness if we choose to start practicing it. See, when we're blue, we often develop a very negative attitude and this spirit of complaining that just makes us, again, on the inside feel so drab. And if it stays there, then we just start spewing it out on everybody else. And then we make them feel drab. And then we can't figure out why nobody wants to be around us. It's like, no. That can change, though. See, if we have this unthankful, unpraising attitude, we're never going to get into the presence of God that way. And we need the presence of God to have fullness of joy. Psalm 1611, thou wilt show me the path of life, and thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand is pleasure forevermore. Hey, look, if we're going to get in the presence of God to receive that inner joy, we must approach him with thanksgiving and praise. Psalm 100, verses 4 through 5, enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him and bless his name. For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endureth to all generations. There's a lot of deep meaning in those verses. But if you and I would just come before God and begin to thank him for absolutely everything that we can think of, it would begin to lift that spirit of heaviness that's over our hearts, over our lives. It's a lot like the incense offering the priests offered up to God in the tabernacle or the temple. It's a picture. We don't offer those same incense offerings like those priests do. But we instead offer up our sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise to Him. Hebrews 13, 15 say, by Him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. And that's a sweet-selling Savior in the heart and in the nostrils of God. And as we begin to offer up that thanksgiving and praise, it'll begin to change the way we think. which will change the way we feel. So you can't change the way you feel until you start changing the way you think. And if you're thinking thankful things towards God, eventually you're going to start thinking positive things about God and are reminded of the good things that He's done and the greatness of who He is. And that's what we need more than anything else. When we are blue, all of our thoughts are negative. Just everything is negative. But when we choose to begin offering up thanks and praise, it'll refocus our thoughts back in the right spot. to God. Isaiah 26 3, thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. How is it going to stay on it? Well, if you're asking, you're thanking God all the time. Thank you, Lord God, for this new pair of shoes. Thank you, God, for this steering wheel on my car. Thank you that my car is not in the garage right now. Thank you, Lord, it is in the garage because it's being fixed. It doesn't matter if it's good or bad. The Bible talks about the sacrifice of praise, the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Through good and through bad, as we perceive it, we are to offer thanks and praise to God. And it'll help keep our mind in the right frame of mind. Philippians 4.8 mentions, finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on those things. But how often have we gotten stuck in a rut on all these negative thoughts, and we are stuck in these blue feelings? And it's like a deadly cycle that cannot be broken. It can be broken, but what you need to start doing is thanking and praising God for the very good things He's done and for the goodness of who He is. And not sit there and complain how bad God's done with your life and how God has messed your life up. There are some Christians, believe it or not, they actually kind of think that because that's the way they respond to God. They are complaining, complaining, complaining, complaining. God, I don't have a good enough job. God, I don't have a good enough spouse. God, I don't have a good enough life. I don't have enough money. I don't have enough this. I don't have enough that. Is it any wonder God doesn't even want to answer their prayers? Why? Because everything he does for them, they are ungrateful for. Yeah, no wonder you feel like yuck inside. But if we would just start recognizing, oh God, you've been so good to me. First off, you saved my soul from the eternal hell that I deserve. I deserve to go right there. And then, God, you gave me a Church is maybe not the perfect church or the biggest church or the best church that there could be But at least there's a place that you can hear the Word of God preached and you know, that's that's what you're gonna get And thank you Lord that I That when I'm down I could run to you about absolutely anything and everything and you never turn me away Thank you Lord that even when I mess up and when I sin against you and some of it has been deliberate I You're still merciful and forgive me and give me second and third and fourth and fifth chances. How many things can we think about that we can give thanks to God for? So many. But yet, how often are we just got this complaining, dripping spirit? And we can't figure out why God doesn't want to give us the time of day. Well, it's because we're ungrateful for what He's given us already. So why should God give us any more? But if we begin to thank and praise God for what He's done and who He is, oh, what's going to start happening is that those blue yucky feelings are going to start lifting. As the garment of praise will replace the spirit of heaviness, Now, I'm going to say this. Don't expect to say, well, thank you, God, for whatever, and then expect, boom, sudden joy, filling your soul. It takes time and effort. Remember, it's a sacrifice. It takes some time and a little bit of effort. I'll guarantee you tomorrow, if you make a deliberate effort to thank God for absolutely everything that you can, by the end of your day or the next day, you're going to start feeling a little bit better. And every time you get the thought of wanting to complain about something, you say, no, Lord, thank you for this problem, because you're teaching me something of importance for my character to be more Christ-like. Flip it around to some kind of thanks or some sort of praise. By the end of the day or the next day or something like that, within a short amount of time, you'll start seeing a lifting of that blue spirit. See, a lot of people just want God to snap his fingers and take things away without any effort. But God requires us to make some effort if we're going to change some things that need to be changed in our life, particularly this thing of being blue. And requiring this effort, this is where some people get stopped. And they'll even say, I just can't. Can I say this kindly? You're lying to yourself. You're lying to yourself. How do you know that? That verse, Philippians 4.13, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. Hey, look, if God saved you, he's given you his Holy Spirit, who's given you the ability to overcome and do right. Hey, next time you start feeling blue, make a concerted effort to begin to thank God for everything that you can possibly think of. Even what you might say is silly. Thank you, God, for the color of my socks. Whatever. Just start thanking him. It'll help combat that. Lift praise to him for who he is. Because you know what, one thing, some people will claim that God, oh, he must be kind of conceited that he wants all this praise. You know, I think praise is sometimes a little just more for us. Because you know what praise does? It reminds us of how great he is. Because we are very prone to forget about it real quick. Not to mention, I do believe he appreciates it. But I think it does a lot for us more than we realize. Praise him for who he is. Get some Bible verses and start quoting them back to him. Get specific about the praises and the thanks. He'll begin to, as a result, change those blue feelings. But we don't have to feel blue to do those things, though, either. In fact, that way of life is one that God desires for us at all times. 1 Thessalonians 5.18, and everything give thanks, for this is the will of God and Christ Jesus concerning you. That's the will of God, is to be a thankful people, to give thanks at all times, whether we're blue or not. Most likely, if we've gotten into the state of blueness, we've probably gotten out of the will of God by not giving thanks. And we've gotten focused on all the negative things. We've gone down that trail. Well, to get back in the spot of God's blessings, God's joy, and all the blueness, you just got to start giving thanks again. Giving thanks. May we take God's remedy to heart tonight as we strive to beat the blues. Again, everyone's going to experience it. We're all going to have periods of time when we're blue. I've been in blue periods. You've been in blue periods. We're not here to negate that. We're just here to figure out how do we beat it? How do we pull out of it? How do we get back on the top side? How can we have the strength to go forward? Well, thanks and praise. Pretty simple, but powerful. It'll change who you are and remind you how great he is. And that's what we need more than anything else. May God help us. to beat the blues.