Looking to God In Times of DepressionHope for the Depressed
What to Do When Depressed? Psalm 42 Many times, we get down and depressed. What are we to do when we get depressed? Many people turn to drugs and alcohol which will only give temporary relief and is a “false” comforter. Instead of turning to a “false” comforter, let us turn our eyes upward to our “true” comforter who is God. He is our only hope. He is the only One who can help us and lift us up from despondency.
10 Things to Remember when Depressed 1. Remember God “O my God, my soul is cast down within me; therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, and from the heights of Hermon, from the Hill Mizar” (Psalm 42:6). “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple” (Jonah 2:7). “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God” (Psalm 42:11). 2. Cast All Your Cares Upon Him “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22). 3. Wait on the Lord “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14). “Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord” (Psalm 31:24). 4. Don’t be Anxious but Pray “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7). “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray…” (James 5:13). 5. Keep your mind on God “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3). “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10). 6. The Lord will never leave you nor forsake you Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Heb. 13:5-6). Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:35-39). 7. Look to Jesus our compassionate and Great High Priest “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:14-16). “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25). “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30). 8. Rejoice in Trials & Afflictions. God has a purpose behind them. “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2-4). “Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer” (Rom. 12:12). “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:3-5). “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes” (Psalm 119:71). 9. Abide in His Word “Remember the word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life” (Psalm 119:49-50). “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word” (Psalm 119:114). “I rise before the dawning of the morning, and cry for help; I hope in Your word” (Psalm 119:147). “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning— Yes, more than those who watch for the morning” (Psalm 130:5-6). “Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word” (Psalm 119:67). 10. God will give you His perfect peace; comfort, and grace to go through all your trials. Remember afflictions are only temporary. Look forward for the new heavens and the new earth. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor. 1:3-4). “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13). “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:16-18). “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free! Refrain: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace. Through death into life everlasting He passed, and we follow Him there; O’er us sin no more hath dominion-- For more than conqu’rors we are! His Word shall not fail you—He promised; Believe Him, and all will be well: Then go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to tell!
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Where are You Going?My question to you is, “Where are you going?” There are only two places that every one of us will go to after we die: either Hell or Heaven. There is no such a thing as purgatory. There is no second chance! Once we die, our eternal destiny is settled. According to statistics, 6,316 people die every day. You might be next. Are you ready? Are you on the broad way that leads to destruction or the narrow way that leads to life? Are you sure that if you die today, you will go to heaven? Please listen carefully as I bring before you the Gospel. We are all sinners “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10). “But the Scripture has confined all under sin…” (Gal. 3:22). “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matt. 15:19). “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). We all deserve hell “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-21). “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10). “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8). Law-Keeping and Good Works Cannot Save Us. We are justified by faith in Jesus Christ. “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us, and have consumed us because of our iniquities” (Isaiah 64:6-7). “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified” (Gal. 2:16). But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” (Gal. 3:11). Salvation if by grace alone; faith alone; and through Jesus alone “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Jesus is the only way to God and to Heaven Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12). “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). Turn from your sins and put your faith in Jesus! Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:7). “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17). For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Rom. 10:13). |
AuthorPeter Sarkis Archives
November 2020
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