Life Change

Depression and the Bible. Seeking God for Deliverance!


– Deliverance from Depression –


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FIGHT BACK BY CONSTANTLY
QUOTING THESE VERSES!

5 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence. 6 O my God, my soul is in despair within me; Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me. 8 The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life.
(Psalms 42:5-8)

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6 Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.
(I Samuel 30:1-6)

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3 But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. 4 I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill.
(Psalms 3:3-4)

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1 I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.
(Psalms 40:1-3)

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1 Hear my cry, O God; Give heed to my prayer. 2 From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
(Psalms 61:1-2)

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1 I love the LORD, because He hears My voice and my supplications. 2 Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live. 3 The cords of death encompassed me And the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow. 4 Then I called upon the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I beseech You, save my life!” 5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate. 6 The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. 7 Return to your rest, O my soul, For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. 8 For You have rescued my soul from death, My eyes from tears, My feet from stumbling.
(Psalms 116:1-8)

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5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

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Come unto me, all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
(Matthew 11:28)

 

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Worried About Lost Donkeys, and Stumbling on a Kingdom!


“Don’t worry about the donkeys you lost three days ago.
They’ve already been found. But who are all of the people
of Israel longing for? You and your father’s whole family!”
(I Samuel 9:20, NIV)

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We all have misplaced and even lost things that we treasure. Everybody should be able to identify with the cycle and anxiety of mentally backtracking, trying to recall where we lasted placed something.

There are people in the Bible we can identify with, who have lost things, too. There was a character in the Old Testament whose name was Saul.  He was from Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin. He seemed to be an average citizen who one day was sent on an assignment by his father to locate some of their donkeys who had ran away (I Sam. 9:1-27). The father was troubled by this lost (9:5). The family did a diligent search and Saul and his servant travelled to many areas, no doubt, spending days in the process. They came upon a prophet by the name of Samuel who had knowledge that the donkeys had been found. This must have taken a load off these two exhausted travelers! It’s is such a blessing when we find what we have lost!

While finding their donkeys seemed like a time for rejoicing, there is a greater blessing to this whole account in the book of I Samuel. The prophet further shared with Saul that God had called him to be king over all Israel! We see a perplexed man who was at a loss about a lowly animal, yet he was about to step into the greatest blessing he could not even have imagined!

It’s amazing how God can have some greater plan for a man or woman who, at present, is perplexed, and so unsure about loss. God has a way of showing us our future even when our present seems bleak. Saul’s mind was toward one of the lowest animals God had created and yet God’s mind was to give this man authority to oversee the kingdom of Israel! The scripture has declared that the people we read about in the Old Testament, such as Moses and David, in some unique way, are not complete without us (Heb. 11:39-40). It also states in verse 40: “God having provided some better thing for us”. Whatever the loss we may feel today, it is safe to say that God has some better thing for us tomorrow!

Here is a song about uncertain times and anxiety
when we are at a loss. Please click the link below:

Didn’t I Walk on Water

 

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Video: Guilty and Then Set Free?


 

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Click on the video below of a man who is about to be sentence for the crime of murder! Will he be condemned or be set free?  Look at all the emotions of the defendant’s lawyers and people in the court room, as well as the lawyers who fought to keep him in prison! He claimed his innocence and was given a retrial after serving 25 years in prison. Can you in some way put yourself in his place?

You and I were facing eternal death:
no chance of parole, but Jesus has set
us free from the charges imposed on us!
The crimes against us were nailed to the
old rugged cross and He has taken our place
when the verdict against us was sure!

 

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Now God Knows!


“For now I know that thou fearest God…”
(Gen. 22:12. Read chapter 22)

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In Genesis chapter 22, God tested Abraham by asking him to take his son Isaac to a mountain and offer him as a burnt offering. This test was tailored for Abraham to prove his love, loyalty, devotion, worship, sacrifice, and commitment to his Lord! It’s likely that nothing else on earth was more precious to Abraham than the son God had promised him.

After hearing God’s voice, Abraham took his son and the wood to consume Isaac upon God’s altar!  We see the succession: Abraham journeyed three days to the mountain. And at the base of the mountain, he was prepared to climb with the wood, items for the fire, and the knife to slay his son. God (I’m speaking in human terms) watched to see this progression. This series of events still did not prove Abraham’s loyalty until he attempted to plunge a knife, directly into the body of his son. We see Abraham performing the ultimate sacrifice in vs. 10, when he extended his hand and would have killed his son, but the voice from the angel of the Lord stopped him! The angel of the Lord now knows. Thousands of years later we come to know — what type of man Abraham was, as well. It’s the story of his life, from the book of Genesis, that speaks of his progressive faith and maturity. We see his devotion and loyalty and his ability to “worship” (vs. 5) during his greatest time of testing! What an example to us who read about the details of a man who loved God and ultimately overcame by his faith in God!

The child Isaac was saved. He remained God’s promised seed and through him, God would multiply and bless the earth! What a test of faith, to be set to kill your son, believing that God would raise him from the dead (Heb. 11:19). Abraham passed his test and a nearby ram caught in the brush was sacrificed instead!

How is God Proving Us?

There are special times when God wants to test our integrity, loyalty, commitment, love, or devotion, as well (Ps. 26:2; Ps. 66:10). Sometimes He does it in the smallest ways until (speaking again in human terms) He knows what we will do. More importantly, God tests us to HELP US UNDERSTAND what WE will do! He may do this with progressive steps, as with Abraham. He takes us through these steps…each a bit harder than the prior one, until hopefully, we pass the test.

Have you passed your recent test?

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An Assuring Thunder!


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I awoke last night to the low sound of thunder with brief flashes of lightning. Thunder can be a very frightful thing but, to me, it was a reassuring sign that God is over the people and controls the universe! Thunder speaks to me! As I laid there — there was a comforting assurance that this God, who has the power to destroy nations, was my God! I was taken away from the daily noise of our world, along with its fears, and brought into a reality that God judges all who live on the earth, but He is also a shelter from the storm! As the thunder began to die down, I so wanted to hear the sound of the noise increase, not with great blasts of judgment, but loud enough to hear God say that this is His world! The loud rain falling reminded me of God’s provision to water the earth that the earth might produce. God’s judgments are mixed with His mercy. His mercy is extended to all who will call on Him in truth! God will save those who turn to Him and He will make himself known. Thunder, as we know it, does not need to be frightening, but it can be a sign to us that the owner of this world reigns sovereign and that He is in control!

The clouds poured down rain.
The skies rumbled with thunder.
Lightning flashed back and forth like arrows.
Your thunder was heard in the windstorm.
Your lightning lit up the world.
The earth trembled and shook.
Your path led through the Red Sea.
You walked through the mighty waters.
But your footprints were not seen.
You led your people like a flock.
You led them by the hands of
Moses and Aaron.

Psalm 77:17-20
(Read all of Psalm 77)

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