Fear, sadness, and even depression are the battles we all seem to fight on some level every day of our lives.
Sometimes it is worse from person to person and day to day. Sometimes there are legitimate medical reasons like chemical imbalance, malfunctioning glands like the thyroid and probably lots of others that can contribute to fear, sadness and depression. That being said, though, know there is always a spiritual and mental side to things. We may or may not be able to deal with the medical issues related to the problems we have, but we can deal with the spiritual and mental issues that exacerbate a situation.
To survive and be victorious over fear and sadness, there are four areas we need to work on:
- We must learn to control our thoughts. This will take re-training your mind from years of stinking thinking. We must realize that the battle in our mind must be won and can be won.
- We need to know who we are in Christ.
- We need to know who the devil is and how to deal with him. He has been defeated and has no power over you any more than you give him. His weapons are fear, doubt and depression. The good news is he cannot read your mind and he cannot control your thoughts. He can interject thoughts into your mind, but you don’t have to accept them.
- We need to know how to recognize the voice of God and the voice of the devil, as well as the voice of our own flesh. We must realize that we have the power of choice and we can choose which voice we listen to. Choose to listen to God as He speaks and as He has already spoken in the Bible, God’s Word.
There was a time in my life when I was so afraid. I was afraid that every ache and pain was something serious, I was afraid something was going to happen to my children, I was afraid I would lose my job or I would not have enough money to pay my bills…afraid, afraid, afraid. I was sad and depressed all the time. I didn’t want to live. It got to a point that I thought I was losing my mind and on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I couldn’t sleep. I was tormented by my thoughts. I thought I was at the mercy of my thoughts, but God helped me to realize that I controlled my thoughts and I could choose what I think. I learned a lot about dealing with worry and fear. It exposed the devil’s most formidable weapon against the believer and destroyed the stronghold it held on me. Much of what I am about to share with you is what God has taught me.
First of all, realize God has not given you the spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Get this verse in your head and into your spirit. Say it out loud frequently. Every battle you fight in this life will be won or lost in the mind. Some things you cannot control, but you can control how you think and how you are going to react and what you are going to do about it.
Our actions are a direct result of our thoughts.
Negative thoughts create a negative life. Worry, doubt, confusion, depression (most cases), anger, feelings of condemnation, all these are attacks on your mind. We must learn to:
- Gain control over our mind and find freedom and peace.
- Recognize damaging thoughts and stop them from influencing our life.
- Be patient with ourselves even when we make mistakes.
- Arm yourself with the Word of God, praise, prayer and other spiritual weapons.
- Follow the light out of your mental wilderness (bad attitudes and excuses people use that keep them from God) and find undreamed of happiness and fulfillment.
I know that is promising a lot. And I don’t come to you as one who has mastered this. But if you knew me in 2005 and walked with me on my journey till today, you would understand how far I have come believing God and following these principles I am going to teach you. I want you to get free. I want you to learn how to live free.
You are a spirit being that has a soul and that lives in a fleshly body, not the other way around. God’s Spirit dwells in you. Your spirit is where your conscience dwells. It is the only part of you that can hear God’s voice as He speaks from His Word and sometimes a still small voice from within. Those voices screaming at you from outside in are not God. They are the devil or the bad programming of years of not thinking right. The soul is your mind, your will and your emotions. It is like a bridge between your body and spirit. It is where you make decisions, where you choose. God has given you the power of choice. He does not choose for you. You must choose to follow God’s voice so your spirit will rule over the body. If you continually choose what the body wants, then it will rule and the spirit will become weak.
Who do you think you are?
Proverbs 23:7 says as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. What do you think you are? If you think you are weak and fearful, you will be weak and fearful. Find out who the Word of God says you are and train yourself to think that way. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says bring every thought captive. Control your thoughts! Where the mind goes, the man follows. Get your mind on an ice cream sundae long enough you will go and get one. If you think someone has hurt you long enough, you will not treat them right. We can do something about what we think about. You are not at the mercy of every thought that pops into your head.
Did you know you can think thoughts on purpose?
Sure, you can. And it is important that you do just that! Take some time every day to have a think session and meditate on the thoughts that the Bible says. Get one of those Bible promise books. I have taken one to the doctor’s office many times while I was sitting in the waiting room, waiting for my test results, reading the verses out loud to keep from becoming fearful. Think things on purpose. It will change you. I know what you’re thinking: What about the person who is always thinking bad thoughts and prospers? Well, you don’t know that person may be miserable inside. You can have all the ‘stuff’ in the world and not have peace, joy and happiness. What we think about is important to God. The Bible teaches that it is the hidden man of the heart that He is concerned about.
We have to take responsibility for what we think. How we look at ourselves. How we talk about ourselves. It is our responsibility. God put it within our power to do. What you say about yourself affects you. The Bible says we are snared by the words of our mouth (Proverbs 6:2). It affects us. It affects our direction in life, our relationships, you name it. No matter how long you walk with God you will have to confront ‘stinkin’ thinkin’’. Refuse to let your mind be the dumping ground of the devil. You are God’s property and you have the mind of Christ. Remind yourself and the devil of that frequently.
Colossians 3:2 says set your mind on things above. Setting your mind is one of the most important things you can learn. Setting your mind means making up your mind ahead of time. For example, you need to rehearse in your mind in advance what you are going to do when faced with temptation, fearful thinking or even a bad report from the doctor. If you already have your mind made up what to do ahead of time, then when it comes, you will know exactly how to react. Athletes prepare ahead of time and train themselves. Lawyers prepare themselves ahead of time. Why shouldn’t Christians do the same? For example, I am not going to fear. Then that tape will play back in your mind when the time comes. That way, your emotions don’t drive you. You know what you are going to do ahead of time. Whatever it is. Talk to yourself ahead of time. Set your thoughts. Get the idea? You program your mind ahead of time. Then you will not be a slave to outside stimulus. This is what the Bible calls transforming and renewing your mind (Romans 12:2). Decide ahead of time what you will do and don’t react when the circumstance comes.
Renew your mind and keep it renewed. Like a car or house, you have to keep it up. It is a continual process. Renew the entire mind, Romans 12 says. Deal with every thought. Don’t condemn yourself, just move forward. It takes a while. It took a while to get the way you are and it may take a while to get free. I might not be where I need to be, but I’m not where I was yesterday. It takes commitment. You have to study the Word of God, you have to do some thinking on purpose. Write notes around the house. Have think time daily. Think on the right things, And write down what to think for the day if that will help. Post notes everywhere with what the Bible says and when you come to one, take time to read it out loud. It is important to speak it. When you speak, you hear it and your faith is increased: “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). The devil hears it too and he has to flee. God hears it and as you come into agreement with Him, He comes to your aid.
1 Peter 1:13 says, “Gird up the loins of your mind”. What does this mean? In olden times, they wore a robe and they would grab their skirt and pull it up and tuck it in their belt so they could run and nothing would hinder them or trip and make them fall. Maybe you have seen your granny do this to work in the fields. So, girding up the loins of your mind is to get all the junk out of your way that hinders you, or that would trip you and make you fall.
Think on purpose. Think things like: I am in right standing with God. Convince yourself of this and don’t play that record over in your head that something is wrong with you, or we don’t dress right or we’re not like someone else or there must be something wrong with me because I don’t have as many friends as some people. First thing He gives is righteousness. You may do things wrong but who you are has nothing to do with what you did. My children may do something wrong, but they are still family. They still are my children. They are still in right standing with me. You are in right standing with God even if you mess up. Just go to God and ask His forgiveness and He will forgive you (1 John 1:9). God knows our heart. He knows we are on a journey and He knows it will take time. Don’t beat yourself up. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Don’t dwell on the bad you did. And don’t give fear a chance to have its way.
Studies have been done that say 90% of what we worry about never happens.
Fear and worry are like a big old magnifying glass that makes things look bigger than they actually are. It turns molehills into mountains. Break that magnifying glass! Worrying doesn’t help. It only makes things worse. There are usually only two things we worry about: things we can do something about and things we can’t do anything about. Well, if you can do something about a situation, then do it. If you can’t do anything about a situation, then there is nothing you can do to change it. In either case, it doesn’t make sense to worry. Worry and fear are the opposite of faith. Worry and fear only stress you out and make things worse.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says you are a new creation. New inside, not necessarily outside, but whatever you struggle with the seed of God has been planted in you, Christ. The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance (Galatians 5:22). It is there in a SEED form. You have to water it. You have to nurture it for it to grow. In God’s economy, you first believe, then you see. In the world, we are trained not to believe till we see. You have to start by believing. Most of our trouble is because we don’t believe. God’s economy seems backward. For example, the Bible says give, and it will be given to you; surrender and you will be victorious. Don’t believe what you see, walk by faith and not by sight. He would not tell us to have joy if we couldn’t. He wouldn’t tell us to be patient if we couldn’t. It is in us, but as a SEED. The Bible says to water that seed with the Word. If you need more faith, patience, whatever, get in Word and find out what it says about it and the more you study about it and apply it the more you will have. The more you don’t react and instead act like Word says the more that seed is watered and the more it grows. Don’t give up. If Bible says you are something, BELIEVE IT. Then water it by living it out according to the Word and you will become more and more like it.
How would you like to have a mirror that, when you looked in it you saw the perfect person, no flaws, just all you wish you could be? Well, looking in the Word is like looking in a mirror. But unlike a mirror that shows our flaws, the Word shows us who we are in Christ. God sees us as we can become, not as we are. He sees the image of His Son when He looks at us. That is the way you have to view the Word of God. I think most people focus so much on the Bible as a book of don’ts. If you would focus more on the do’s, the don’ts would take care of themselves.
God sees us as He knows we can become but we have to walk in it. We have to believe. God is not mad at you. You have right standing with God. Relax and the love of God will bring you into performance. It is about what God did, not about what we do. If it were up to us, we would constantly be trying to please Him and waiting for Him to crush us when we mess up.
Romans 8:1-16
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”
If we mind the things of the flesh we will walk in the flesh. If we mind things of the Spirit, we will mind the things of the Spirit. In other words, if we think fleshly, wrong, negative thoughts, we cannot walk in the Spirit. We cannot think victoriously. We cannot live victoriously. Renewed God-like thinking is a vital necessity for a successful Christian life.
As humans, we can get lazy about something if we don’t realize how important it is or don’t place the proper importance on something. But when we realize it is a matter of great importance, we get in gear and do something about it.
Your life may be in a state of chaos because of years of wrong thinking.
If so, it is important you come to grips with the fact that your life will not get straightened out until your mind does. You should consider this to be an area of vital necessity. Get serious about tearing down those strongholds that hold you bound. A stronghold is any dark place the devil can rule you from. Wrong thinking will lead to strongholds of fear, confusion and depression.
You need to change the way you think about things as a Christian. Like a heartbeat is vital, like blood pressure is vital. You need to realize how real and vital spending regular quality time with God is. Time in His Word. Time in fellowship and prayer and praise. If you struggle as a Christian and struggle with your thoughts take a minute and think, how much time do I really spend with God in prayer.
You are in a war! You are in a fight! There are no rules in a fight. This isn’t a boxing match where there are rules. A fight is won by the one who is better prepared. It is a knock-down, drag-out fight. Satan wants to destroy you and every day, he is looking to do just that and he attacks you in your mind.
How you think has a lot to do with how you look at things, it affects your choices. Research is even bearing out how it can affect your health physically. Stress is the cause of 60% of diseases, one study said that I read about.
DON’T GIVE UP! It is going to take time. Don’t be discouraged. Stay with it. You can change. God has given you the capacity to change. Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
Whatever you are facing right now, don’t give up. Habakkuk 3:19 in the Amplified says “The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!” In other words, we develop hind’s feet as we walk. We are making progress, whether it seems like it or not. The hind is another name for a mountain goat. Have you ever seen any nature shows about these animals? They are amazing. They climb around on places where there seem to be no footholds. They leap from rock to rock with confidence and do not fall. You think you are not making progress but every step you make toward God you are developing feet that will make you climb higher and higher. Have faith. He will take you through.
Deuteronomy 30: 19 says, “I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live.” It is up to us to choose! Every day, thousands of thoughts are presented to us it is up to us to choose which thoughts to think. The devil can’t force us to think anything. The devil can’t read your mind. He can interject thoughts, but you are not at the mercy of any thought that comes into your head. You have the power to choose which thought you will think on and give place to. Very often, it is long-rehearsed ways of thinking that rule us, “Oh, I’ll never amount to anything, I’ll never get well, my marriage will always be bad”. STOP IT! Choose life-giving thoughts. We have to do the choosing. We have to choose the right thoughts. Take a stand right now that you WILL think right thoughts, you WILL not give up, you WILL outlast the devil. God is on my side. He loves me, He will help me.
Learn to live for today.
Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].” Our thoughts become our words. Therefore, it is vitally important that we choose life-generating thoughts. When we do right, words will follow. Think the right thoughts, overcome evil with good, say the right things. Your faith and confidence and power will get stronger and stronger day by day, minute by minute. And don’t think too far ahead. Learn to live in the present. Jesus said in Matthew 6:34, ”Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” In other words, take it one day at a time. Take it one minute at a time if you have to. You don’t have to believe God for 10 years from now; you just need to believe Him for the next moment, for the next breath, for the next heartbeat. You’ll get there.
We wouldn’t be able to handle it if God showed us our future anyway. David said “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalms 119:105). Think about this illustration he just gave us. Have you ever walked in the dark with only a flashlight or a lantern? It doesn’t light everything in front of us it only lights our next step or two. That is the way God guides us, one step at a time. It is when we dwell on the past or worry about the future that our peace is stolen away.
“The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). The devil doesn’t want your stuff, he wants your joy. He knows if he robs you of your joy, he robs you of your strength. Joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness is only present when everything is going our way. Joy is something you can have even when life seems to be against you.
Draw upon His wellspring of joy. Don’t depend on your own strength. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6).”
Go to John 14:1 and 27 with me. First, I want to you to read it as it is recorded in the King James Version:
King James Version
John 14:1
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”
John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Now I want you to read it in the Amplified version. There is nothing wrong with the King James Version but the Amplified looks deeper at the original Greek literal interpretation and amplifies it accordingly. These are my two favorite versions.:
Amplified Version
John 14:1
“DO NOT let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me.”
John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]”
The reason I wanted us to look at both versions of this verse is that most of us, I think, read the KJV or NIV. But I think the Amplified is going to teach us something. Look at John 14:1. Have you ever been distressed or agitated? Sure, you have, we all have. That is what the enemy wants to do to us. He wants to rattle our faith, shake our faith, get us agitated, disturbed and downright fearful. In short, he wants to destroy our peace. But look at Jesus’ words here. He tells us to believe in, adhere to, trust in and rely on Him. And not only that He tells us in John 14:27 we don’t have to depend on what peace we can muster up, He says He gives us HIS peace. He says He bequeaths it to us. That is a legal term like someone receiving something as an inheritance from a will.
Are you agitated?
He goes on to tell us, though, that WE are to put a stop to the agitation, WE are supposed to take authority over what is troubling us. God’s Word never tells us to do something He has not given us the power to do. If He abides in us we have the power to calm ourselves. WE have the power to stop the agitation and to always be at peace. Yes, the enemy will come, but we have to stand our ground. Think about the term agitate. You know what the agitator is in your washing machine, don’t you? What does it do? It agitates the clothes; in other words, it moves them around by constantly shifting their position. That is what the enemy wants to do to you. He wants to move you from the position you stand in, the promises of God you have believed. He wants to move you from where you stand in your faith. He wants to move you from a place of peace to a place of fear. He wants to get you into a place of doubt or depending on your own strength. But we don’t have to depend on our own strength. Joel 3:9-11 says, “let the weak say, I am strong.”
1 Corinthians 1:24-31 says
“But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”
Romans 4:17 says we are supposed to call those things which are not as though they were.
The point is, we are not alone, we are not fighting alone, we are not standing in our own strength. God cannot lie and we can stand upon the promises of His Word. If Jesus Himself says we have peace, then we have peace! When the enemy comes against us, we stand in the peace that Jesus gave us. We don’t have to be agitated. We don’t have to let ourselves be pushed around. We are not cowards. 1 John 4:4 says, ”Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
I am told that the Apache warrior was the fiercest warrior of all because they would fight down to the last man. When there was only one man left, he would tie a leather thong around his leg and the other end to a stake driven into the ground as a statement that, having done all to stand that he would still stand. Hey, that is in the Bible! Ephesians 6:13 says, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
It is in HIS peace we stand. He will come to our rescue. He will lift up a standard against the enemy when he comes in like a flood (Isaiah 59:19). All we have to do is stand. Stand on the promise of His Word. Stand in His peace. Don’t be agitated and fearful anymore! He has given us the power and we need not ever be afraid again.
James 1: 19-20 says, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. In other words, listen a lot, Don’t talk so much and don’t get mad. God is speaking in every situation if you are listening.
The more you train yourself in the Word, the Word will arise in you and you will know what to do.
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION ON DEPRESSION:
I hope you enjoyed this week’s article. Thanks for reading and be sure to share it with your friends and social media!
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