Whenever you feel weak (and by weak I mean depressed, angry, frustrated…) go somewhere quiet, take your bible and read a few verses. For me its really hard to focus and read when I am upset but I'm telling you if you force yourself to do it God will encourage you and give you strength. Gods word is encouragement for us, It is our foundation, we need to build our lives upon the rock, upon God. If we don't build our life on the rock we will be shifting sand, and sinking sand, apart from God we cannot stand. (Gods word says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. -John 1:1) This should bring perspective to how important Gods word really is, Gods word is the rock and our foundation and if we do not read His word we wont make it!! I'm reminded of verses from Joshua as a reminder for both of us. "[SUP]7 [/SUP]Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. [SUP]8 [/SUP]This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. [SUP]9 [/SUP]Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1
and also from Proverbs 4
"My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
[SUP]21 [/SUP]Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
[SUP]22 [/SUP]For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
[SUP]23 [/SUP]Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
[SUP]24 [/SUP]Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
[SUP]25 [/SUP]Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
[SUP]26 [/SUP]Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.
[SUP]27 [/SUP]Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil."
Another thing that really helps fight depression, is worship which is also thanksgiving. When we worship God regardless of how we are feeling God goes to work! The battle belongs to the Lord, we need to hold our peace and trust in God and know that He is fighting for us. When we get all worked up its because we're not trusting God!!! The moment we trust God anxiety flees!
Jehoshaphat in the bible was in a bad place where armies too big for them to defeat were coming up against him and his people. Now in our life that would represent the really hard stuff that overwhelms us, stuff that could run us over and defeat us if we relied on our own strength. Now Jehoshaphat was scared and he didn't know what to do but he did one thing right, he didn't run to men to ask what he should do, the first thing he did was pray and he said "...we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”2 Chronicles 2:12 Isn't that an amazing prayer! Oh how I can relate to it...how often do I panic because I know that I cannot defeat the battles by myself and isn't that the whole point! We need to be solely dependant on God! We are over comers THROUGH Christ Jesus not apart from Him! Our victory is from the Lord, He is the one who makes us prosperous! If we just keep our eyes on God and look to Him and give Him our battles then He will fight for us, He will bring us victory, we need only to hold our peace and holdfast to Him placing our trust in Him. Now after Jehoshaphat prayed that prayer the Lord answered him saying "‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. …17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”
After hearing this good news Jehoshaphat began to worship God…
“18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.” verse 20 “Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:
“Praise the Lord,
For His mercy endures forever.”
So here you have a man facing a problem, He cries out to God, God tells Him to not be afraid because the battle belongs the Lord, he says stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” So God has given him good news! God has told him that he has victory in Him and that He need only stand still and wait upon the Lord. So here’s the step we often miss, God has told us again and again through His word that we have victory in Him, that we are over comers through Him and that everything that is under Jesus feet is under our feet! God’s word says “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 Jesus came so we may have life and have it more abundantly. We do not approach battles striving for victory, but we already have the victory through Jesus. Having victory doesn’t mean that we will never feel the fire, having victory means that we can be thrown into the fire and not be burned. When we are thrown inside the fire we will find the fourth man in there and the smell of smoke will not be on us! (Daniel 3)
God has given us the good news of victory through Him now we need praise and worship Him! We need to accept His good news and have faith and wait to see our deliverance. When we are truly worshiping God we are surrendering everything to Him and placing our trust in Him and praising Him for His goodness to us.
“Praise the Lord,
For His mercy endures forever.”
22 NOW WHEN THEY BEGAN TO SING AND PRAISE, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
24 So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.”
2 Chronicles 20
We battle not against flesh and blood. (Ephesians 6) When we worship God the enemy gets confused and they cannot prosper against us as long as we keep our eyes on the Lord and submit everything to Him. The enemy got so confused they were self slaughtered and NOT ONE escaped. The enemy was completely defeated. Whenever we surrender everything to the Lord the enemy has no ground at all for victory.
(This is part of a letter I wrote someone today and the revelations are from God. It's not particularly well written, I did not edit it or correct the spelling and grammar so please excuse me if there is mistakes but I hope you are blessed by the message) Thanks if you took the time to read it.
and also from Proverbs 4
"My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
[SUP]21 [/SUP]Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
[SUP]22 [/SUP]For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
[SUP]23 [/SUP]Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
[SUP]24 [/SUP]Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
[SUP]25 [/SUP]Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
[SUP]26 [/SUP]Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.
[SUP]27 [/SUP]Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil."
Another thing that really helps fight depression, is worship which is also thanksgiving. When we worship God regardless of how we are feeling God goes to work! The battle belongs to the Lord, we need to hold our peace and trust in God and know that He is fighting for us. When we get all worked up its because we're not trusting God!!! The moment we trust God anxiety flees!
Jehoshaphat in the bible was in a bad place where armies too big for them to defeat were coming up against him and his people. Now in our life that would represent the really hard stuff that overwhelms us, stuff that could run us over and defeat us if we relied on our own strength. Now Jehoshaphat was scared and he didn't know what to do but he did one thing right, he didn't run to men to ask what he should do, the first thing he did was pray and he said "...we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”2 Chronicles 2:12 Isn't that an amazing prayer! Oh how I can relate to it...how often do I panic because I know that I cannot defeat the battles by myself and isn't that the whole point! We need to be solely dependant on God! We are over comers THROUGH Christ Jesus not apart from Him! Our victory is from the Lord, He is the one who makes us prosperous! If we just keep our eyes on God and look to Him and give Him our battles then He will fight for us, He will bring us victory, we need only to hold our peace and holdfast to Him placing our trust in Him. Now after Jehoshaphat prayed that prayer the Lord answered him saying "‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. …17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”
After hearing this good news Jehoshaphat began to worship God…
“18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.” verse 20 “Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:
“Praise the Lord,
For His mercy endures forever.”
So here you have a man facing a problem, He cries out to God, God tells Him to not be afraid because the battle belongs the Lord, he says stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” So God has given him good news! God has told him that he has victory in Him and that He need only stand still and wait upon the Lord. So here’s the step we often miss, God has told us again and again through His word that we have victory in Him, that we are over comers through Him and that everything that is under Jesus feet is under our feet! God’s word says “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 Jesus came so we may have life and have it more abundantly. We do not approach battles striving for victory, but we already have the victory through Jesus. Having victory doesn’t mean that we will never feel the fire, having victory means that we can be thrown into the fire and not be burned. When we are thrown inside the fire we will find the fourth man in there and the smell of smoke will not be on us! (Daniel 3)
God has given us the good news of victory through Him now we need praise and worship Him! We need to accept His good news and have faith and wait to see our deliverance. When we are truly worshiping God we are surrendering everything to Him and placing our trust in Him and praising Him for His goodness to us.
“Praise the Lord,
For His mercy endures forever.”
22 NOW WHEN THEY BEGAN TO SING AND PRAISE, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
24 So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.”
2 Chronicles 20
We battle not against flesh and blood. (Ephesians 6) When we worship God the enemy gets confused and they cannot prosper against us as long as we keep our eyes on the Lord and submit everything to Him. The enemy got so confused they were self slaughtered and NOT ONE escaped. The enemy was completely defeated. Whenever we surrender everything to the Lord the enemy has no ground at all for victory.
(This is part of a letter I wrote someone today and the revelations are from God. It's not particularly well written, I did not edit it or correct the spelling and grammar so please excuse me if there is mistakes but I hope you are blessed by the message) Thanks if you took the time to read it.
