Depression doesn’t happen when you first get down. Depression grows over time when you stay down. The way that you prevent depression is by speaking against negative thoughts as soon as you think them. Don’t allow the negativity to grow and invade your mind. Instead, speak the word and fill your mind with the thoughts of God.
The bible says in Philippians 4:6 to be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. The word careful can be translated as anxious which means worried. If you were desiring something to happen but instead received bad news, replace your anxiety with prayer petitions.
Recently, I received some disappointing news. I went through the first four stages of grief in a matter or hours. Denial, guilt, anger or bargaining and then depression. By the time I got to the end of the depression stage, I started to replace my sadness with gratitude. I remembered the promise that God gave me many years ago and couldn’t help but speed through the remaining 3 stages of grief: upward turn, reconstruction and finally hope. This situation could have easily led me to depression. But instead of wallowing in my sorrows, I made a decision to change my mind. To every Christian this is also known as repentance. I changed my mind about how I felt and who’s word for my life I would believe. The bible is clear when it says that we should be angry and sin not. Never does it say we should never get upset. The difference between sin and righteousness is what you do with those feelings that don’t align to the Word of God. What do you do with anger, fear, loneliness, disappointment, lust, etc? Do you allow them to consume you or do you take control?
Within a day I received good news that the earlier decision had been overturned. Praise God! This reminds me of the story of King Hezekiah. In 2 Kings, the prophet Isaiah comes to King Hezekiah with a word from the Lord. He says to put your affairs in order because you are going to die. I would certainly call this disappointment. Most of us today hear a prophet is coming and are expecting good news. What Hezekiah does with this terrifying news is what we should all do when we are disappointed. Turn away, pray and make our specific requests known to God. Don’t be afraid to express your grief, anger, confusion and or disappointment. God is not intimidated by your feelings. What God does for Hezekiah is save the nation and extend his life by 15 years. For me, I had a new door of opportunity to open. What will repentance do for you?
