Wednesday in the Word: Discouraged?

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This entry was cross-posted today at KJV Blog Directory.

We all have ups and downs in life. Some of us seem to feel those downs more than others, and some seasons of life are more down than others. I know for me, personally, I've had three times when I was very low. One of those times was caused by circumstances, and the other two were caused by physical problems which affected my thought life. While I've never had thoughts of suicide, I have experienced times of just wanting to curl up in a ball and let life go by till everything got better. Now, on the other side of those times, I know that ignoring the thoughts won't make them go away, and ignoring life will not make the problems go away.

What should you do when depressing thoughts start to control you? In Psalms 42 and 43, David was struggling with thoughts of depression.
  • "Hope in God." Psalm 42:5, 11; 43:5 - Look at the future and not at the past. If you feel drowned by circumstances, keep in mind that they are His waves and billows (42:7), and He knows what is best for you. God has allowed whatever circumstances are in your life, and He will never leave you nor forsake you.
  • Stop feeding on your feelings (42:3) and start feeding on His Word (43:3) - God will guard and guide you, no matter how miserable you may feel. God is greater than your feelings. Walk by faith and He will see you through. How do you walk by faith? Romans 10:17 tells us that "faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God." Maintain your Bible-reading schedule, or if you aren't daily reading the Word, begin to do so. As you read, you will most likely come across verses that deal with feelings - anger, hurt, fear, dread, envy, discontentment. Your feelings are bound to be among them. As you read verses that apply to you, write them down and meditate on them. 
** If you're seriously struggling with depression, to the point that you want to hurt yourself or someone else, please get professional help! I would never presume to tell someone that all they have to do is read the Bible when they might truly need physical help for their symptoms. This short devotional is meant only to encourage you to think upon the Lord and trust Him, not to cure clinical depression.**

Comments

  1. Anonymous9:50 AM

    "Stop feeding your feelings and start feeding on His Word." I love that, Susan! Such great advice -- we do usually tend to feed those feelings.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jennifer11:31 AM

    I always enjoy your posts on the KJV blog - as well as your blog! Thanks for being willing to share your heart.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Susan12:28 PM

    Barbara ~ I do feed my feelings quite often. So much of what I write stems from things I deal with in myself!

    Jennifer ~ Thanks so much for your kinds words! :)

    ReplyDelete

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