Whipping A Whiney Spirit – Part IV
Depression – Whine or Win
Habakkuk 3rd Chapter
17Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though
the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep
in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I
will be joyful in God my Savior. 19The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes
my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.
Last week we began discussing the symptoms of a whiney spirit. The first was
obsession — when a person gets so consumed with another person’s victory or
blessing that he/she begins complaining or murmuring against that person’s
blessings. Well this week we will cover another symptom, depression.
Depression is defined as the act of being "low" in spirit.
However, it is really the result of an empty spirit. Now what we mean by an
empty spirit is a spirit that does not have an ample supply of the word of God.
Let me tell you "our" business.
One summer, Veronica was not working and I was. While I was out doing the
"8 to 5" thing, Veronica was home filling up on the word of God. She
was listening to the anointed women and men of God and studying the word while
I had very minimal study time. During that time my spirit was running on
"E" while hers was on "F." Being that one of us was not
working, things were financially tight. So whenever we had discussions over the
budget, guess who was more prone to get upset? You guessed it — me!! Because I
had a spirit that was close to being "bone dry," it was also closer
to being "fleshy" rather than spiritual.
Our scripture comes from the book of Habakkuk the prophet. In this short
book you will find that Habakkuk starts out by complaining (whining) to the
Lord, and the Lord replies to him. Then later in the 1st chapter Habakkuk
issues his second complaint, and the Lord replies to that as well (2nd
Chapter). By the 3rd chapter, Habakkuk is no longer complaining. Instead the
entire third chapter is a prayer filled with praise. So what did the Lord give
Habakkuk to change his complaints into a prayer? — Promises.
In the 1st chapter 5th verse the Lord states, "For I am GOING to do
something in your days." The Lord goes on to make more promises to
Habakkuk throughout the first two chapters. Now, after reading this I saw
Veronica like Habakkuk. They both were filling up on the promises and taking
their eyes off the problems. Even though the situation hadn’t changed in the
physical realm, it had changed in the spirit realm. Let’s look at Habakkuk’s
dilemma in the 17th verse:
The fig trees were not budding. There were no grapes on the vines. The olive
crops were failing. The fields were not producing food. There were no sheep in
the pen and there were no cattle in the stall.
However, based on a promise, the prophet went from looking at the
circumstances to seeing the victory. That’s why he stated in the 18th verse,
"Yet (Even though it hadn’t changed in the natural) I will rejoice in the
Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior." Habakkuk had gotten full on the
words from the Lord because he knew God’s promise was backed by power. Habakkuk
might have been at an all time low, but once he got filled with those promises
his feet were enabled to go on to the heights (18th) that God had for him.
Habakkuk and Veronica didn’t have that "low" spirit the enemy
tried to put on them. They got "filled" and it was the devil that got
"grilled." They both had the confidence that they would surely see
the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Then they both went on to
confess their victory. Habakkuk did so in prayer and Veronica did so by faith
confessions.
Instead of using her mouth to whine, she chose to use it to win. Instead of
saying, "God why are we going through this? It’s not fair," she said,
"Lord, we are tithers and we are in covenant with you. We know that you
will deliver us from this and we thank you for your deliverance." She
recited scriptures rather than sulked. She professed prosperity rather than
poverty. And it took a little while but I finally caught on and joined the
revolution. After I ceased my whining, that "low" spirit began to
dissipate and I was beginning to be where God wanted me to be. I thank God for
my wife who taught me to win that summer, and I pray that you too choose not to
whine but to win.
