Anxiety, Depression and LonelinessSample
Your Mountains
David was the youngest in his family. He was not considered significant by his brothers. However, when he faced Goliath, he stood in front of the giant and said, “You come against me with a sword, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, and today I will strike you down” (1 Samuel 17:45-47). David believed in God, and God saved him.
The apostle Paul also went through tough times, but he knew the Lord was on his side. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, “Everyone has deserted me.” However, Paul thanked God for sending a faithful friend who stood by him, Onesiphorus, who was not ashamed of his chains. (2 Timothy 1:16-17)
These days many people place psychologists on the altar and leave God on the substitute bench. They send their best player to the bench and say, “I am feeling too anxious, and I cannot read the Bible right now. I have to go to the psychologist.”
Other people use drugs and alcohol. They forget about God because they believe drugs and drinking can make them happy. They show their complete disbelief by saying, “Alcohol cannot fix my problems, but it helps me forget about them.” But alcohol and drugs will never have more power than the Word of God.
If you let your distress matter more than the Word of God in your life, then your life will be completely unbalanced. You need to give God the highest place. He is the only one who can move mountains. Renowned preacher Charles Spurgeon once said, “The very essence of anxious care is the imagining that we are wiser than God.” Many people give power to things that lack power. The Bible has all the power and authority.
What can we do on a sleepless night or when we have a panic attack? For my part, I like to sing praises and read or listen to the Bible. Then, suddenly, what seemed like the darkest night became the most amazing night in the company of God, who showed me what I was missing. Your darkest night can become the night where you get to know God better. Job said, “I had heard of you,” but on his night of distress, he said, “Now my eye sees you” (Job 42:5).
Meditate on this today: Am I ready to take the victory God has placed right in front of me?
Scripture
About this Plan
We have all been through moments of loneliness, anxiety, and sorrow. Many of the people in the Bible have been as well. Their stories should inspire us to look for answers in the Scriptures. The problem with these emotions—anxiety, depression, and loneliness— is that we often give them too much power over us. We must choose to give that power to the Word of God.
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