“When they saw Job from a distance , they scarcely recognized him.” Job 2:12 (NIV) Job, a man of integrity who loved God, would most likely today be diagnosed with depression. His friends were shocked when they saw him and Scripture tells us they barely recognized him. When a loved one is suffering from depression or another form of mental health condition, at times you may not recognize them by their behavior or appearance. The increase of mental health diagnoses and awareness in recent years reveals more families are affected. Our pandemic-changed world has caused mental health problems to burst …
This One Sunday
“And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, The inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, Who created all this in the first place, Has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along.” Ephesians 3:8 (MSG) Mental health illness and challenges; part of our family for over 20 years. Two decades should have been enough time to identify, treat, deal and heal from mental illness, so we could move on. I was tired. The desire of my …
Live in Awareness, Not Fear
Which came first, depression or anxiety? I’ve lived with both and can tell you that neither is fun. Both are self-serving and hard to treat. Both conditions are very real and can destroy lives if not diagnosed and controlled, often with medicine. Instead of living in fear, get the facts from the Specialists; ask God for wisdom and give your fears to Him. Worrying and complaining solve nothing. Replace those bad thoughts with what is real and true. Don’t fret. God’s got this. 1 Peter 5:7 – “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for …
He’s In The Ordinary
There are millions of people today facing depression and loneliness. These are trying times. Days of isolation for many can be devastating. But, there is hope. Better days are coming. No, I can’t predict the future, but I can tell you of someone that can help you. God has been here from the beginning of time. He created every living thing. And God will be here in the end. I didn’t always know this, and even when I became a Christian, I didn’t always believe it. But the more I pursued God and the deeper our relationship became, I realized …
A Threefold Cord Is Not Quickly Broken
DAY FIVE: Depression lives in isolation. It grows in the darkness. We must remember that we are not just joint heirs with Christ. We are joint heirs with one another. Ephesians 4 says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is …
Losing Focus
Why is it that when we get busy with life, distracted by worldly problems and put off spending time with God, that we wonder why we feel so depressed? There is a direct link between our spiritual walk and our emotional well being- it’s a fact. We were created to have direct communion with God and when we choose to separate ourselves from this communion our spirits feel the strain. We already have to endure a type of separation due to the fall of humanity… thankfully Christ sacrificed to correct that huge mistake. But when we “put off” spending that …