Sermon: Everlasting Consolation and Good Hope

#1638
Martin G. Collins
Given 12-Feb-22; 72 minutes

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Everyone gets discouraged. It is a natural human reaction to the frustration and trials of life. It happens sometimes when we do not see progress in our own lives spiritually. We may work hard at trying to develop and overcome, but we do have our setbacks and we get depressed.

We watch the news and read news articles about the horrible conditions in the world and it disgusts and depresses us. We hear of children being abducted, abused, and murdered by predators and by doctors in the form of abortion—more than 50 million in the US in the last 50 years. That is enough to depress you right there. We have ways of getting out of that. Now we see public schools and the entertainment industry promoting such sickening perversions as homosexuality to our children. It is almost impossible to block our ears from hearing of the satanic perversions.

I do not need to go down through the X, Y, and Z of immorality and confusion in this world, but it is constantly blasting us. And it is easy to get discouraged over these things. You are very familiar with Genesis 6:5, which describes the conditions on the earth right before the Flood and it is a relevant description of our society today. "Then the Lord saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." That should be a banner on a flag that people wave these days in this nation very sadly, and yes, pretty depressing.

As a result, sometimes we find ourselves suffering from discouragement that may turn into depression if we do not deal with it quickly. We feel overwhelmed and frustrated and useless and we wonder why it seems that we are the only ones sometimes who feel discouraged. As members of God's church, we pray and we study to find solutions to our problems hoping to come out of it. Even biblical characters of great faith and courage sometimes showed their human frailty and weakness by suffering from discouragement and depression. Noah, Moses, David, Elijah, Jeremiah, and others, all powerful prophets and leaders, experienced deep depressions, some to the point of wanting to die

Now, these faithful men and women eventually found a way of escape from depression. They and others since were able to access the right power and resources to overcome their fear and worry. They were able to deal with seemingly hopeless situations and out of weakness they became emotionally and spiritually strong. Notice what the apostle Paul has to say about what the faithful are often subjected to and how they were able to face it. We are very familiar with this passage.

Hebrews 11:32-38 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

That is enough to discourage and depress anybody that is in this situation that may be a saint and a member of God's church. But then we read,

Hebrews 11:39-40 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

So, by overcoming discouragement through faith, they became spiritually more stable, more compassionate, and more mature spiritually. We should be thankful that we have not had to suffer even half of what they did in their trials and probably every one of these faithful people at some time or another battled discouragement, and as I said earlier, even depression, some wanting to die.

Depression has many faces. It is not limited by intelligence or wealth or culture or race or age. Some people do not even realize they suffer from it. Depression is a major problem in young children and increasingly it is leading to more adolescent suicides. Masking, isolation, fear have made life much worse for our children within the last two years, their personalities and intelligence are being damaged. Many are becoming impolite, socially backward, and self-centered. Suicide in the US is up 600% in two years caused by the Covid-19 "plandemic."

Depression has a broad range of negative states of mind. At one end of the spectrum, it shows up as the common short-term down or sinking feeling after hearing bad news or maybe after learning of the loss of someone or something. And sometimes it results from a blow to the ego. This down feeling may last only a few hours or days at the most. At the other extreme are the long-term chronic, crippling emotions of futility, hopelessness, emptiness, and a lack of joy and energy. These also can be coupled with total loss of self-esteem, unrelenting guilt, shame, and even suicide.

Now, let us look at some of the different types of depressions. The majority of depressed feelings begin in response to a specific loss or failure, fear of loss or failure, or other adverse occurrences in life, something we can pinpoint. There seems to be no way of retrieving or preserving what is lost or threatened with that loss. Depressive cycles lead to collapse of self-worth and to self-deprecation, and then to a feeling that the situation is hopeless. Hopeless attitudes produce changes in the responses of our mind and body which begin to immobilize us. God inspired Solomon to write simply in Proverbs 13:12, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes [or is fulfilled], it is a tree of life."

It is good for a person to have hope, but if it is not fulfilled for a long time he experiences disappointment. But when a hope is fulfilled a person is refreshed. The gratification of hope gives encouragement like a tree that gives life, like a fruit-bearing tree that gives fruit.

Unfulfilled hope makes the heart sick whether the thing hoped for is good or bad. The Tree of Life belongs only to the hope of the righteous. And after waiting a long time and eagerly expecting something, many people discover when they finally reach their objective that it is a withered branch and not a living tree. That is the world's hope, it ends with hopelessness.

There is no peace for the wicked because they were always either desiring or getting. But in their case, the desire and to get are only two different kinds of misery that they end up with. And if the desire is pure, the attainment of it is a tree of life, it is living, satisfying, and enduring, and it has a living root in the ground and satisfying fruit hanging on its branches.

But in serious depression, all human body systems, mental and physical, slow down. Growing evidence from medical and mental health research indicates changes occur in chemical imbalances of the brain and nervous system. So, anxiety, depression, discouragement, all those things have a physical effect on our bodies. These changed chemical imbalances alter transmission of brain and nerve impulses, which in turn produce disturbing brain patterns and painful or crippling emotional and physical feelings. For example, the depressives tend to say, "I can't get out of this, it's hopeless. I'll never get better." Or, "What's the use of trying, I can't keep going on like this!" But these expressions increase the intensity of the problem by reinforcing its negativity.

In serious depression almost everything is viewed negatively. The future is seen as bleak, unrewarding, and there appears to be no way to change it. Depressives mentally stop fighting. They are possessed with their own sad feelings. They often assume others are equally obsessed with the same feelings, but usually others are not having the exact same feelings. One type of depressive, the manic-depressive, usually swings between periods of extreme optimism and unfound pessimism. Depressives stubbornly resist reassurances of their worth. Encouragement to snap out of it, pull yourself together, usually have little or no effect.

For every serious depressive there are several masked depressives. People who function at far less than their ability in jobs, homes, or schools. They do not realize that their emotional problems and difficulties with the job and with other people, or many other physical ills, are caused by a subtle depression which they do not recognize. For many of these people, lack of positive emotions and attitudes have become a way of life for so long, that they do not realize why happiness and good feelings perpetually elude them.

Masked depressives find little true joy in life. They are constantly restless and irritable. They fill doctor's offices with real and imagined complaints of a lack of energy, chronic headaches, stomach problems, constipation, and other ills. They make up a large part of up to 85% of patients visiting doctors offices whose health problems are largely mentally induced. Many of these worldly patients seek a miracle drug to free them from their ills. The peace of mind and better health they seek will only occur when they develop a positive and constructive state of thinking and a way of handling their problems, but without God in their lives, they are totally on their own.

In still others their depression is mixed with anxiety, in pleasure seeking, sexual activity, or even violence. Growing numbers of depressives drown their depression in alcohol and drugs to kill the mental pain of weakness, emptiness, and futility. In normal grief at a loss, a certain amount of sadness or crying is often helpful and necessary to work through to normal feelings. Grief at the loss of a loved one or something highly valued is not wrong, but it becomes unhealthy and damaging when it causes total loss of personal self-worth or the desire to live. The line between natural remorse and pathological depression may be a subjective judgment. For example, a person who loses his job is unable to mobilize himself to find work for weeks after being fired or losing his job. That is seriously depressed and that person needs help and encouragement.

While the cause of the depression is often related to a loss we can pinpoint, which is sometimes called a reactive depression, the cause at times can be much vaguer. It may be a mood we do not understand. Depressed feelings can come over a person for no seemingly rational reason. But there are mental, physical, and spiritual reasons for these things.

Endogenous depressions, as the "experts" have phrased it, those who have looked into these things, are related to the less distinct causes that may develop either slowly or suddenly within a person. The cause may be from subconscious or denied fears. They may be from needs or desires that unsettled events now threaten. Susceptibility to frequent depressions often depends on the kind of encouragement, values, and self-esteem, love, or support that we receive in the early years of our lives. Or maybe a lack of them.

Vulnerability may be related to how we learn to respond to losses or problems in life. And in addition, certain personalities seem more sensitive to discouraged moods than others. That has to do with their upbringing and some of their personality and other reasons, maybe health. A depressive mood can cross the mind for no apparent reason. It could be the result of reaching a breaking point in a series of adverse setbacks in life. Something we refer to as the final straw.

Now, the breaking of God's spiritual law sets us up for attitude problems for which there seems to be no help or hope. Doing what we know is wrong results in negative thoughts and depressed emotions. And what is worse, we may expose ourselves to demonic influence. Unsolved resentment, bitterness, jealousy, envy, and anger lead to feelings of loss, and as a result to depressed feelings. Proverbs 14:30 says, "A sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones." Psalm 38:3 says, "There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin." So there is two examples of how it does affect us physically, our bodies, and of course, mentally, especially.

For such sins as envy, we must ask for forgiveness from God and ask others we have offended for forgiveness as well, and then set our values and priorities right and resolve not to do them again. This is referred to as repentance and overcoming.

Never underestimate the influence that evil spiritual forces have on our minds and our attitudes. Satan and his demons are alive and active and having a heyday with unwary humanity and we can see it as much as it ever has been possible before. Satan and his demons are just alive everywhere and they are doing whatever they can to mess people's minds up. That is why we are seeing so much confusion and insanity going on today. No wonder so many psychiatrists and their patients do not understand many of the negative moods and attitudes.

Ephesians 2:1-3 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others [that is, those in the world now].

The apostle Paul was speaking of putting on the whole armor of God when he emphasized what we really fight. Flip over a few pages to Ephesians 6.

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

These evil spirits place damaging and negative moods and feelings in vulnerable or unsuspecting human minds. In weakened people, they impart impulses to want to give up on life. All depression is not caused directly by mental and spiritual problems however. There are also physical causes. I would like to go over some of those now.

We all know that overwork or diet, prolonged mental stress, anxiety, or fear can drain our mental and physical energy levels almost immediately. But this drains us of our needed strength to cope with life and its problems. Here are seven physical causes of discouragement and depression.

1. Physical or mental exhaustion. It may take weeks or years to develop, but it eventually manifests itself in a serious lack of energy. A chronic fatigue, a worn out feeling of being unable to cope and continue with life. An unbalanced lifestyle can be exhausting and do severe damage to the mind and body. It may bring on chronic fatigue or adrenal exhaustion.

2. Improper nutrition. Improper nutrition will gradually set us up for physical ailments and mental depression. Too many refined sugars, starches, or wrong fats in the diet or other unbalanced nutrition weakens the body's physical endurance, mental alertness, and ability to handle problems or stress. Allergic reactions to certain foods or substances can also produce headaches, mental dullness, and irritability.

3. Improper sleep, diet, and exercise. Improper sleep, diet, and exercise lead to weariness and depression. Proper rest, healthy food, and the right kind of activity helps strengthen our stamina and help us avoid exhaustion. According to the article, "The Full Arsenal to Fight Depression," "Numerous studies have shown regular exercise to be an excellent antidote for mild to moderate depression."

4. Lack of creative activity or achievement. Lack of creative activity or achievement is discouraging. It is easy to feel that you have totally lost all your former skills and abilities. This leads to the wrong conclusion that you are a total failure. But the skills and abilities are really still there, maybe not toned to their best ability, but they are still there. They have just been left unused. Those of us who are aging, especially those in their 70s and 80s (which I am not yet *chuckle), are no doubt struggling with that type of thing, get depressed when they think about the things they could do before and cannot do as much now.

5. Boredom. Boredom has a negative effect on our mood. Not continuing to learn new things is dull. Take into consideration Craig's [Sablich] sermonette on studying the Scriptures daily. That will help with boredom. Boredom is an absence or dullness of a stimulation and feeling. It produces apathy, lethargy, and a sense of worthlessness.

6. The abuse of drugs and alcohol are often depressants themselves. It is not wrong to have wine, even every evening with a meal or afterwards every day, but it depresses some people and when they are in a depressed state and they have wine, they get even more depressed. So it is something to take into consideration. Doing everything in balance, of course. Toxic depression is induced by various drugs, abuses of alcohol, improperly working bodily functions, or viral infections. Barbiturates, sedatives, tranquilizers, or alcohol are all drugs that dull the brain and depress the central nervous system. They may alleviate some pain or suffering temporarily, but in the long run, they put a person into a deeper depression.

7. Other health factors. Imbalances in hormone production can also cause depressive feelings. This may happen from a malfunctioning pituitary, adrenal, thyroid, or other gland. Menstrual, postpartum, or menopause hormone changes can produce negative moods. Diseases such as diabetes, hypoglycemia, thyroid illness, mononucleosis, and infectious hepatitis, or a heavy touch of the flu can be responsible for some depressive feelings.

Obviously all depression is not caused directly by spiritual problems. As we have seen here, there are many physical causes as well.

What about the spiritual causes of depression? Now, in one sense, you could say that some of these—not keeping your body in the best shape—is a type of spiritual problem. But I was not going that far with it, just looking at the physical things at that time. Well, let us look at the spiritual now.

As you know, members of God's church are not immune to discouragement, depression, but when we get depressed, we feel guilty and ashamed to talk about it, thinking that spiritual people should never feel depressed. But spiritual depression is a recurrent theme throughout Scripture, even among the faithful. The Bible is full of examples of servants of God who in the face of intense trials got discouraged and depressed. Their human reasoning got them thinking negatively and they were tempted to give up. Job, for example, felt that his trial was too much to bear. He was despondent to the point of wanting to die. Moses was dejected enough at one point that he asked God to kill him.

Although these people had their severe trials, they found strength from above to fight and win their battles with depression. It is encouraging that we have access to the same help they did and we should make use of it, of course. The prophet Elijah, despite his great faith, fell into depression even after God did great miracles through him. Read the miracles that Elijah went through and you think, Wow, if I had gone through those, my faith would be so great. Well, was the Israelites' faith that great after they went to the Red Sea?

I Kings 19:1-3 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a message to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time [referring to those prophets that Elijah executed]." And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

So Elijah had experienced one astonishing miracle after another. God even sent ravens to feed him. Elijah, a widow, and her son were miraculously provided for during drought and famine. Elijah even raised the widow's son from the dead and then Elijah called down fire from heaven while confronting a group of antagonistic idol worshippers. As a result there was a spiritual revolution in the nation. Elijah should have been feeling pretty good and not depressed in the least at that point, we think. If we were in his shoes, we probably would have reacted similarly.

The last thing we would expect is for Elijah to fall into depression. But he did. He allowed himself to spiral down into despair to the point of desiring his own death.

I Kings 19:4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!"

Elijah's situation reveals four major causes that would discourage and bring any of us down, so we can apply them in our own lives. The first major cause of his discouragement and depression is that he was physically exhausted. By the time Elijah got to Sinai, he was weak and fatigued from lack of food and sleep. (We are going to go through these rather quickly.)

The second is he presumed the outcome. Elijah presumed that everyone would repent, but things did not turn out the way that he planned. We can easily relate to that. Everyone has looked forward to something, believing he had everything planned out, when suddenly things changed. This can be very disheartening and people can get depressed over such a thing if they put too much emphasis on it. We always have to allow God's will to be done and also desire for God's will to be done rather than ours, because His will always ends in good. The lesson in this is that we have to guard against unrealistic expectations by remembering that God is sovereign and we must never presume upon His perfect will.

Number three is that Elijah focused on the problem. In the wilderness, at the widow's house, and on Mount Carmel, Elijah focused on the power and greatness of God. But Jezebel's murderous threats consumed him and overwhelmed his faith, and in his panic, he focused on the enemy's power to destroy him rather than the power of God to deliver him.

And number four, he focused on himself. Elijah was in the depths of self-pity, And when he said in verse 4, "I am no better than my fathers," Elijah's focus had shifted from God to his circumstances, and then from his circumstances to himself.

These four main problems affecting his reasoning are common to all of us at times of stress. Nevertheless, our loving Father recorded the remedy to alleviate Elijah's spiritual depression, which has been preserved for our admonition for us to apply in our own lives. Now there are four elements of the remedy to alleviate Elijah's discouragement that we can apply very practically in our own lives.

1. Get proper rest and nourishment. An obvious one, but if you are like me and you run yourself ragged or you work long hours or something like that, and get to the point where you just cannot go on any further. You are just primed for depression at that point. You are just exhausted and too tired to do anything else and it can get quite emotional too.

I Kings 19:5-8 Then as he lay and slept under very broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat." Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and laid down again. And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you." So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.

God's remedy began simply—rest and refreshment. A tired mind and body can more easily become disoriented, discouraged, and depressed than of refreshed mind and body.

2. Get a new realistic and proper focus. Elijah believed that he was the only one in Israel who was faithful and spiritual.

I Kings 19:9-10 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" So he said, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone and left; and they seek to take my life."

He did not know what to do about that. He did not have a clue as to what to do. Where was God in that attitude? Elijah was in touch with his feelings, but he was not in touch with reality or with God, and things were not as bad as he thought. So, God came to give Elijah a strong dose of reality, and later, God told Elijah there were 7,000 others who were faithful. The reality was that Elijah was not alone. And if he had faith he would not have had to worry.

3. Have new hopeful expectations. Do not be negative about your future. Do not say it just will not work or I will never be able to do this. Have new hopeful or positive expectations. Once God had Elijah's attention, He set out to readjust his expectations.

I Kings 19:11-14 Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake [So if Elijah was looking for a great miracle, he was not going to get a great visible miracle.]; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" And he said, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."

He was obsessed with that idea to the point where he reiterated it here and he could not get it out of his mind that they were seeking to take his life. So Elijah had unrealistic expectations. God was not in the wind or the earthquake. Instead, God readjusted Elijah's expectations, coming to him as a still small voice, and Elijah learned that God's work is most times an inner work of the heart and mind.

4. Take obedient action. In one sense, these points seem simplistic. There is a simplicity in Christ and sometimes we get ourselves so wrapped up in a problem that we make it too complicated. We have to take a step back. When Elijah was up against the wall, God told him to get up and get moving.

I Kings 19:15-18 Then the Lord said to him, "Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu Elisha will kill. Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

God wanted to Elijah to make a choice of godly action based on obedience, rather than inaction based on his emotions. Many people believe that life's pressures lead to depression, but it is how we handle those pressures that lead us either to depression or to victory.

Whether or not we suffer from stress depends on how we react to the frustrations of life. If depression creeps in, try following God's general remedy of rest, refocus, right expectation, and obedient action.

Where do these negative discouraging thoughts originate? It will serve us well to look into this a little more. Satan capitalizes on the difficult circumstances in our lives and uses these trials and negative situations to generate feelings of dejection. He transmits to us the feeling that God does not care. Satan, who the apostle Paul calls the prince of the power of the air in Ephesians 2:2, broadcasts negative feelings and moods into our minds that are negative. And even when there is no circumstance or apparent reason for us to be feeling down, many times these thoughts appear in a subtle way. They seem like they are out of the blue and all of a sudden we have a down feeling. Wonder why. For example, we start thinking about all the things we do not have, but we would like to have, but we do not have the money to buy them. Or our personality or health is not as dynamic as that of someone else. Sometimes we get lonely and we feel sorry for ourselves. We let these things fill our minds and before we realize that we have become depressed without even knowing why.

Now, the way to protect ourselves from this kind of attack is to be constantly aware of the source of such discouraging thoughts and guard against them. And when they do start to grab hold of us, we seek the counteracting help of God.

James 4:7-10 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil [This has to be a conscious thing. We realize that he is there or his demons are there to try to get us into negative attitudes.] and he will flee from you. [that looks like a guarantee to me.] Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

We must have confidence that God will help us in times of discouragement. This involves drawing on the power of God's Holy Spirit—the mind, attitude, and nature of God Himself.

But what can we do specifically to do our part in combating discouragement and depression? Well, we have to admit that we usually get depressed when we are not as close to God as we should be. It is much easier for negative moods to overtake us when He is not the center of our lives. The solution of course, is to be in close intimate, continual contact with Him, and the nearer we are to God, the easier it is for Him to develop His mind in us.

These are obvious things to those of us who are in God's church, but we do need constant reminders of them. Let us take a look at seven simple ways that will help to prevent discouragement and depression. (This is a sermon of points today, just because I think it would be more helpful for you to be able to remember them.)

1. Focus on our awesome Creator. In God's own words, "You shall have no other gods before Me." Meditate on His great power and mercy. Think about what God has done in the past and what He is doing now to bring about His great plan of salvation for you individually, as well as the world. When we put our problems in perspective with God's plan, the troubles and trials of life shrink into insignificance. God has promised the help of His Holy Spirit and His everlasting love.

Romans 8:26-28 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. [Who makes intercession for us? Not a being called the Holy Spirit, but Jesus Christ. This Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ.] Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Verse 28 does not mean the situation itself is good. It does not mean that it is good when our spouse dies. It does not mean that it is good when we lose our jobs. It means that any situation can work for good if we meet the challenge properly and let God guide us. If we put our lives in God's hands the end result will always be good, eventually or even immediately.

Romans 8:31-32 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Romans 8:35-37 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, "For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

God's people, His church, have been often persecuted. However, God has often intervened to save us from the hands of our enemies. But where He has not saved us from their hands and preserved our lives, He has never left us! Even if our enemies are attacking us and He is allowing it, He has not left us but has sustained, maintained, and comforted us, even in the dreadful agonies of death. Stephen's stoning comes to mind. God was there, but he allowed that to happen to Stephen.

2. Remember the spiritual goal. Do not let your physical goal overshadow the spiritual goal of getting ready for responsibilities in God's Kingdom. The goal of every Christian is to be in the spiritual Family of God by becoming more like Christ, overcoming Satan, the world, and our own human nature. We must value the spiritual above the physical by getting our heads off the physical to seek God

Colossians 3:1-2 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.

In other words, set your mind on spiritual things, not on physical things. God does want us to enjoy life but not at the expense of our eternal life. We are in training now for a glorious spiritual life and He has already called us and set us apart for His own purpose in His Kingdom. This is why Christ commands us in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things [food, drink, clothing, the necessities of life, and more] shall be added to you." In Ephesians chapter 1, Paul calls the blessings from above abundant. The abundant blessings from above.

3. Pray and study God's written Word every day and fast when depressed, or before. Prayer is conversation and interaction with God and it is a major part of our intimate relationship with Him. Without it our attitudes are easily battered by the world around us. Sometimes we are so battered by the world, whether it be the things we see that are terrible in the news or our children come home from school and they tell us that another child has "become" whatever a person who does not have any sex at all or what their identity is. (I cannot remember because I do not want to remember.) We can overcome the world and its moods by using the stabilizing strengthening tool of prayer several times every day.

Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving [Do not ever pray without being thankful. That is necessary. If a person asks amiss, as James calls it, it is probably at least that they are not thankful and probably other reasons.], let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

God promises He will guard us and give us peace of mind. But we must ask in faith. He knows no one can grow out of the depression or with unforgiven guilt hanging over his head. Paul encourages us in Philippians 3:13 to forget our past guilt for those sins and mistakes we previously made and have repented of and reach for future spiritual goals and godly character, continuing to overcome those problems that we had before, so that we do not fall back into it.

The Bible contains many encouraging and inspiring examples of the faith of people who faced virtually insurmountable odds and yet overcame with God's help. But they quite often had to ask in prayer. In confidence and contemplation, David wrote in Psalm 55:17, "Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice." There is at least three times there when we should be praying, at least every day.

The Bible shows us the greatness of God and the vastness of His master plan that He has lovingly designed for the whole universe. It illustrates His mercy and compassion and lovingkindness for His creation. It shows that God promises to provide all our needs and does not want us to be discouraged. But He allows it so that we can learn lessons. The more we read and study His written Word, the more we take on the mind of God.

However, there must be a balance in our study because as Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 12:12, "Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh." Our study must be in balance. Sometimes late at night, you probably have experienced the same thing, I will be studying or reading the Scriptures and my head will keep nodding because I am falling asleep. Time to give that up at that time and go to bed and get some sleep, so that continue again in the morning, or whenever it is, to continue reading it. Because you are not getting anywhere falling asleep every other word.

We are told this over and over and over again every year, but we have to be reminded of it because we so easily forget. That daily Bible study is essential because it is God speaking to us and we need to make the Bible the basis of our behavior and the basis of the sound-minded and uplifting thoughts that dispel discouragement..

Romans 15:4 [Paul says] For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

So if you want to have a hopeful life, read the Scriptures, study the Scriptures. If we are being led by God, we will being moved to seek Him, and the more effectively we can develop the habit of responding immediately to the influence of God's Spirit, the more quickly our minds will take on God's thoughts, replacing thoughts of discouragement and depression.

4. We should be patient with God, with others, and with ourselves. It takes time for human beings to overcome obstacles and problems. Now we get discouraged from struggling to overcome faults and sins, but we have not failed until we quit trying. Every failure is only a lesson that helps us to know better how to try the next time. Growth takes time and effort. We especially must have patience to give God time to work out His purpose in our lives. And when I say, we have not failed until we give up, I am talking about, generally, final failure. We fail and fail and fail and learn and learn and learn so that we can avoid that final failure that is permanent.

Psalm 31:22-24 For I said in my haste, "I am cut off from before Your eyes"; nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications when I cried out to You. Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

God is much greater in patience understanding than we are. And if He judged as harshly as we sometimes judge, we would have good reason to be discouraged. But thankfully He has infinite wisdom and mercy.

5. Be content, thankful, and generous. If we are not content and thankful for the blessings we have, why should God give us additional help and blessings? I know over the years of my life, having several jobs looking back decades ago, that if I did not like the job that I have, it was not until I became content with that job that God gave me something else, and He gave me something else that was either better or something where I would not have given up because I learned so much from it. So remember that contentment and thankfulness are necessary for God to answer our prayers. God is much greater in patience and understanding that we are.

The apostle Paul says in I Timothy 6:6, "contentment is great gain." David tells us in Psalm 92:1, "It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to His name." And the author of Hebrews 10, in verse 24 advises us "consider one another in order to stir up love and good works."

It takes the love of God flowing through us to make a personal sacrifice of time, money, and energy with no strings attached, without expecting anything in return. But when we serve with this attitude, God's Holy Spirit gives us peace and satisfaction. If we plant goodness, we will harvest happiness and peace.

Galatians 6:7-10 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. [There is no comparison between those two.] And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

So, if you feel like you are getting depressed or feeling sorry for yourself, go help somebody else. Works every time.

An excellent way to overcome feeling sorry for oneself is by being generous and we should especially look for ways to help others when we develop an unhealthy preoccupation with ourselves. Maybe it is a matter of visiting those in poor health, or cheering up someone who is feeling down, or writing a letter of encouragement, or calling someone who is alone, or serving the needy. The list is endless. We have to think about it, come up with things that work for us. It is a matter of giving happiness to others.

Giving is a natural, unbreakable law that produces happiness for the giver and the recipient. The key is to get our minds off ourselves. That is the key to avoiding discouragement and depression. But to do that, you have to have to draw closer to God and have an intimate relationship with Him.

6. Be positive and active, making every each day count for good. Sometimes we fail to solve our problems and needs because we lack a positive attitude and diligent effort. Our human nature likes to dwell on the negative when things are not going right. A negative attitude manifests itself as feeling sorry for ourselves or we begin to feel trapped. But by taking a positive approach to life, we overwhelm our troubles with solutions from positive knowledge and truth. I am not talking about a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps-alone philosophy. I am saying we should focus on the reality of the goodness of God and the power and strength He provides. Thus, positive creativity or continuous accomplishment of anything right and good, even if it is something small is a real boost to morale. It is important to be positive because they depressed attitude tends to downgrade even God's gifts to us and the things that can be accomplished with them.

God designed our minds and bodies to need a balanced amount of healthy variety and stimulation to feel alive and maintain equilibrium. I told my children as they were growing up when they said they were bored, "You're only bored if you're boring," and it seemed to stick because they all remember it and they did not want to be boring. Have interests, hobbies, varying projects that interest you or help somebody else with theirs, if they will allow you. Every day is an opportunity to grow in character and serve God and the brethren and produce good spiritual fruit. Life should not be viewed as just something we have to endure.

II Corinthians 5:9-10 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

That is as clear as it gets, I think. Every day we have an opportunity to make an impact, whether on the job, at home, or with our families, with our friends, or elsewhere. Do not mope. Accomplish something worthwhile.

7. Be faithful and obedient to God no matter what happens or how things appear. God did not design a Christian life to be an easy one. Everyone whom God calls can expect difficulties. And sometimes these difficulties and problems seem to get the better of us, because we still have human nature that we are trying to replace with God's help, with His Spirit. When this happens, we must, in spite of how bad things may seem, hold on to God and His way of life and not let go even until death, if necessary.

Despite his many hardships, the apostle Paul relied on God and did not allow himself to stay depressed. Look what he told the Corinthians and us to this day.

II Corinthians 4:8-11 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always caring about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. [That was said twice there.]

Even though Paul was severely pressed by persecutions and trials, he was not so hemmed in that he had no way to act or move because the life of Jesus was seen in his life by his witness. The idea is, he was not completely discouraged and disheartened and overcome by negativity. He always had that positive attitude that comes from above, knowing that all things are possible and that God always has our back.

God allowed him to still have resources and provided whatever he lacked and he had energy in his faithfulness which enabled him, with God's help, to bear up under these trials and still engage in the work of preaching the gospel. This word perplexed generally means to be without resource, to not know what to do, to hesitate, to be in doubt, or in anxiety as a traveler is who does not know the way and is lost.

But here in verse 8, it means that they were often brought into circumstances of great humiliation where they hardly knew what to do and what course to take. They were surrounded by antagonists. They were in need. They were in circumstances which they had not anticipated and which greatly baffled them. But they were not discouraged and they were not fearful.

Now, as they were then, we are not left entirely without resource. Our needs are provided for, our human humiliations are removed, our perplexity is taken away, and unexpected strength and resources are imparted to us by God's Spirit dwelling in us. When we do not know what to do, when all resources seem to fail us in some unexpected, unseen way, we are relieved and saved from absolute despair by comfort in Jesus Christ. Surely this occurs in the lives of all Christians, and certainly in all such cases, Christ will intervene by His grace and help us and save us from absolute despair.

II Corinthians 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. [Or you could say the things of God's will are eternal.]

Paul was realistic enough to recognize that his effort and anguish had taken their toll physically. Nevertheless, he was abundantly compensated spiritually, because a daily renewal of his energy spiritually counterbalanced his weakening physically. The more he exhausted himself as an ambassador in service for Christ, the greater his spiritual strength became. Paul had many reasons to get discouraged. His letters and the books of Acts record many of his unpleasant predicaments. Yet he did not let adverse circumstances depress him.

Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

But things are not always what they seem. We may be hungry. God will eventually provide what we need, and other things as well.

We receive encouragement through the example of perseverance set by the apostles and the prophets during their lives. But most of our comfort comes through Jesus Christ, who is our true source of encouragement. Because we share in Christ's sufferings, we also share in the comfort that God provides through Christ that helps us endure such suffering.

II Corinthians 1:5-7 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we [that is, the apostles] are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.

Paul knew that to share Christ sufferings always involved God's consolation through that suffering, and he hoped this would give the saints the boost they needed to try to triumph in their time of trial.

Whenever Jesus Christ's sufferings are multiplied in us, so also is His comfort multiplied in us. The greater we suffer for Christ, the greater comfort we receive from God through Christ, and the greater ability to share suffering and consolation with others in God's church.

II Thessalonians 2:16-17 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

So our hope is an inheritance stored up for us in heaven. God has given us everlasting consolation, not temporary comfort, but sustenance and assurance and hope that will endure forever. The joys of membership in the Family of God are not like other joys, they are not like the joys of the world. Those worldly joys soon fade away. They always terminate at death, and they cease when trouble comes, when sickness invades the body, and when wealth or families depart. Or when disappointment lowers, or when the pleasures of youth give way to the weightiness of age.

But the comforts of God do not depend on any such eventuality. They live through all these events, attend us in sickness and poverty and mourning and losses and age, and they are perpetual, unchanging for eternity. We have the assurance of an everlasting consolation and good hope from our Savior Jesus Christ, and our God and Father.

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