Beauty Supplements

Your daily dose of true beauty advice…

Depression can be cruel. It is an emotional state that makes us vulnerable to believing lies. We combat lies with truth. We overpower wrong feelings with right thinking. This is not some naïve approach that assumes a verse or two will do the trick. But how can we underestimate the power of the Word? It is the Word that can revive and give hope.

A depressed person does not need to hear about his or her counselor’s depression; he needs to hear truth. If there is guilt, he needs to hear cross-centered truth and gospel promises (e.g., Rom. 8:1). If there is a troubled heart, he needs to hear Christ’s call to trust him and his Father (John 14:1). If there is chaos and confusion because of various troubles, he needs to hear the peace Jesus promised (John 16:33). There are numerous principles in Scripture that deal with suffering and its purpose (James 1:2-4). There are many psalms that are relevant and powerful and honest. We need to learn that the rock for the depressed is the Word (2 Cor. 10:3-5).

We need to preach the powerful truths of the Word to ourselves. This is what the psalmist does in Psalms 42 and 43. He not only questions himself, but he preaches hope in God to himself. “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God (Pss. 42:5-6, 11; 43:5).

~Brian S. Borgman in Feelings and Faith, pp. 141-142

Photo: OBMonkey

Beauty Supplements

Your daily dose of true beauty advice…

Depression tries to tell us what is true and what isn’t. For example, it says that you will never feel any different, and you can’t continue to live in such a condition. It says that God doesn’t care, and no one loves you. It tries to persuade you that nothing matters. Know, however, that depression lies! You have to tell it the truth, rather than listen to its interpretation of life…

Turn toward God, and instead of listening to your depression, listen to what he says about himself. The center of his message to you is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Son of God, became the Son of Man. He obeyed the Father perfectly, emptied himself, and became your servant. He died to give you life. Now he is the King, and through his death he brings you into his kingdom. Here on earth the kingdom of heaven is riddled with suffering, but we know the King is with us and our suffering is only for a short while. We also know that the King takes our suffering, which seems senseless, and makes it profitable in his kingdom. Read all of Romans 8 and pay special attention to these words, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:28–29).

This is God’s message to you. Beg for grace and mercy so you can hear it over the din of your depression.

~Ed Welch in “Hope for the Depressed“

Photo: OBMonkey

Beauty Supplements

Your daily dose of true beauty advice…

When you live a God-centered life, when your mind is fixed on who God is—I want to tell you, I’m preaching this to myself. This is what I need to hear. When you live this God-centered life, the result is order, peace, and direction. It doesn’t mean you don’t have problems, but it means you see the problems differently. You see them through the lens of who God is.

We’ll see David saying, “I will bless the Lord. I will boast in the Lord. I will magnify the Lord. I will exalt His name. I will seek Him. I will look to Him. I will fear Him, rather than fearing men or the future.” You see how his life has become oriented around who God is, and that’s the thrust of what we’ll see in Psalm 34. It begins by saying,

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth (verse 1).

I like that “I will.” David is in desperate circumstances. He’s in difficult circumstances. These are some of the darkest days of his life. Some of it was complicated by his going off on his own. Some of it was hard anyway. Not every hard thing in your life is because you have sinned. Sometimes life is just hard. David faces, through no fault of his own initially, in the midst of all of that, his own failures and failures of others. He says, “I have a determined resolve, and that is to bless the Lord.” I will.

This is volitional. It’s a choice. Listen, praise is not a feeling. Praise is not an emotion. It may involve our emotions, but it is an act of my will. It is a choice I make to bless the Lord...

I think that is an important part of dealing with meltdowns, dealing with depression and discouragement. It is to speak the truth about who God is, to bless Him with our mouths.

“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:1). To speak the praise of the Lord; to get it from my heart to my mouth. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). So what’s in your heart is going to come out. If your heart is centered on God and focused on Him, then out of that will come blessing of the Lord.

~Nancy Leigh DeMoss in “Praise Is Not a Feeling“

Photo: OBMonkey

Untangling the Roots of Depression

“Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why are you disturbed within me?”

Psalm 43:5

Dr. David Powlison of CCEF offers a thoughtful and balanced response to a question many Christians ask about depression…

To learn more on this topic, check out Depression: A Stubborn Darkness written by one of Dr. Powlison’s colleagues at CCEF, Edward Welch.

Photo: SSPIVAK

Acquainted with Sorrows

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…a time to weep, and a time to laugh;a time to mourn,
and a time to dance…”

Ecclesiastes 3:1,4

Does being a Christian mean being happy all of the time? Dr. David Powlison of CCEF  lends a thoughtful perspective on sorrow and happiness and the role that each may play in the believer’s life…  

Photo: sem rox

Trusting God with Our Thorns

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”

2 Corinthians 12:8-9

If you’re struggling with the pain of depression, Jennifer Rothschild encourages you to pursue God’s grace, not just thorn removal…

Related Post: Why Grace?

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