The Cure for Unhappiness, Depression and Worry
Lately, God has been nagging me with the same Scripture over and over and over again.
If I stress out, He reminds me of it.
If I start worrying about anything, He reminds me of it.
If I wallow in self pity, He reminds me of it.
If I begin to feel sad, angry or any emotion that is not happy, peaceful and content–He reminds me of it.
I am now convinced that it really is a message from the Lord that is quite powerful for all of His children. I believe it is the CURE for unhappiness, depression, worry…and many mentally developed issues we have.
Before I go further: I am not telling you to go against a doctor’s advice, stop taking medication, or anything like that…That is between you, your doctor and God. I AM saying that I am convinced that if we would take God at His Word; we may find ourselves on less pills, paying less psychiatric bills, and feeling less crappy.
What is this so-called “cure”, you ask??
Well, it is in God’s Word:
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me. Then the God of peace will be with you. – Philippians 4:6-9 (NLT)
I am certain most of you have heard this Scripture MANY times in your Christian life. I know I have. However, it was only recently that it has come alive for me. Have I mastered it? No. BUT… I am in training and God is faithful in His reminding me of the cure for my emotional issues.
You see, most of our “issues” stem from our emotions. If we could step back and see ourselves the way God does, we would be amazed. If we would just believe and DO what God’s Word says, we would BE happier, joy-filled and worry free!
The question of the hour is: How do I apply it??
First, we must recognize WHERE it all begins–the mind.
Then, we can take steps to gain control over our minds and emotions.
3 Steps for Implementing the Cure:
1. Be careful what you are thinking about. Hold EVERY thought captive under the authority of Jesus Christ. Make Philippians 4:6-9 your life verse. Take charge of your thoughts! These Scriptures are very clear. Pray about EVERYTHING, thank God for all He has done and will do. Think on GOOD things. Think about what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise–and then KEEP ON doing it! (ref. Colossians 3:2, Romans 12:2)
2. Pay attention to what/who you are listening to. What we hear is extremely significant. The Word tells us that faith comes by HEARING. The opposite is true as well. Nothing is “just a____”. It is not just a song, just a movie, etc. What we hear DOES matter and DOES affect us. God’s Word says so. That’s all the proof I need. (ref. Romans 10:17, James 1:22) – read the link above too, for further study on the topic of “faith comes by hearing”.
3. Watch what you say. Life and death our at the tip of our tongues. Letting our tongues run amok will destroy anything we are trying to do as a wife, Mother, and Christian woman. It is very important that we be very careful and choose our words with wisdom. Start thinking BEFORE you speak. REPLACE bad thoughts with what is good, worthy of praise and honorable. After thinking/speaking Life for a while, you will not only begin to believe the Truth, you will KNOW the Truth, and the Truth WILL set you free! (ref. Proverbs 18:21, James 3:3-8, Proverbs 29:11, Philippians 4:8)
The bottom line is to get more of God’s Word in you and less of the world’s influence.
Replace negative thinking with Truth. Pray, pray, pray–repeat.
And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth. – Colossians 3:2 (amp)
For further study: read; Deuteronomy 30:19, Ecclesiastes 7:5 and Jeremiah 5:21. You could also look up words like; mind, renewing, faith, trust, peace, thoughts, tongue, hearing, etc.)
Copyright © Lara Velez, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved
Thank you for this! I was having an awful day, full of negative thoughts and self pity. Then, I got this in an email. Coincidental? I think not.
Just woke up and read this – thank you so much. Really needed this. God bless you!
God always gives us what we need, exactly when we need it. What I thought I needed most today really wasn’t what I needed most today. Not more money, not more things, and not more activities but more of His Word in me. I just want to thank you Lara because He used you this day, to remind me again.
I love that passage of scripture. And you’re right in the sense that God’s Word can transform our hearts and minds. While you’re article is well written, it echoes what the majority of believers have been taught about mental and emotional “issues”. Believe harder, read more, pray better. There is a version of that advice that is absolutely essential. But many believers have a hard time accepting that an individual can have great faith, seek the Lord in His Word and through prayer, and still have crushing depression and maddening anxiety. At some point, these people need to hear from the church, “We see this for what it is. We’ll keep telling you to keep the faith, read your Bible, and pray hard. We’ll do it with you and for you. Don’t hide because you think we’ll condemn you. Come to us and let us care for you. Let’s get you some physiological or psychological support to sustain you while you wait on the Lord. Let’s trust His sovereignty in this. There will be healing either now or in eternity. It’s not hopeless. Let’s wait it out together, in faith and in prayer.”
Clearly, you’re speaking from a place of love. And that goes a long, long way!
Uggh…I hate typos :)