All of us will feel depressed at various times for valid reasons. To feel depressed is not sin but it becomes sin if we remain there and sink into that depression.
Do not make any major decisions when you are depressed because you will not be thinking straight.
I learned about depression from Elijah. When Elijah was down and depressed, the angel did not give him a vision, did not preach a sermon to explain Scripture to him, he brought him a meal and said – get up and eat – a most ordinary thing.
Here is a tip from Dr. Stanley – HALT. If I am depressed the first thing I must do is HALT – STOP and figure out the reason for the depression. These letters are important for times of depression.
H hungry,
A angry,
L lonely,
T tired.
If I am hungry – eat.
If I am angry – work it out before God and forgive the offender.
If I am lonely – call a friend.
If I am tired – take a nap.
When I do the next ordinary thing, I find that God is in the commonplace. Then I worship the Lord before the awesome grandeur of His Sovereignty.
God does not give us power. The Holy Spirit energizes the power and strength already resident within us because Jesus lives in us and we are (Ephesians 3:19) filled and flooded with God Himself.
If our chief desire (Matthew 6:33) is for God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, all these things will be added, will be given to you. Because God has already given us so much, He can only keep adding (James 1:17) to every good and perfect gift. Through His great and precious promises, we lack nothing but have everything we need (2 Peter 1:3) for life and godliness.
God created the sun with its warmth and brightness to grow crops, the mystery of moonlight and the glittering sparkle of stars to beautifully adorn the night sky. He brings out the stars in their order, calls them all by name (Isaiah 40:26) and not one of them is missing. And yet still, this wonderful, glorious God, Who is Creator – Owner – Ruler of the universe, always has time for me and my needs in my blindness and increasing weakness. My worst days physically are my best richest days spiritually and my countless blessings leave no room for complaints. My obviously increasing weakness is a show case to display the miracle-working of God’s strength (2 Corinthians 12:9) in the impossible situations of my life.
Even though God knows everything, I’m glad and thankful that I can talk to Him and listen to Him about everything. The Lord doesn’t need me to make Him aware of anything but He is always available and patient for 24/7 loving conversation with me.
Here is a beautiful verse (Psalms 13:3) from the Amplified Bible - - Lighten the eyes of my faith to behold Your face in the darkness.
How great is God’s goodness (Zechariah 9:17) and how great is His beauty.
We were created in God’s image to be (Charles Price) physical representatives of the moral character of God and to have (Genesis 1:28-30) dominion over God’s creation. The good news of the Gospel is that God is working in our lives to fully restore us (1 John 3:2) to the Divine Image.
Here is a concise treasure package which we can unpack every day for our ongoing profit.
Matthew 6:33 - Seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness. Have our priorities straight.
1 Corinthians 2:16 – We have the mind of Christ. Every choice and decision must be made with God’s wisdom and glorify Him.
Psalms 119:111 – God’s Word is the rejoicing of our hearts – IF – we read it and meditate on it daily.
Hebrews 13:5 – Jesus promised that He would never leave us or forsake us. We are never alone and never have a need to feel lonely.
Romans 12:12 – Joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 – Be constant in prayer. Maintain our unbroken communion with the Lord and be involved in His redemptive purpose.
1 Chronicles 29:14 – Everything we have belongs to God. We must be wise, obedient stewards of all God has given us. This includes our bodies which are (1 Corinthians 3:16) His Temple.
2 Peter 1:3 – We have been given great and precious promises to equip us with everything we need for life and godliness. Our imperfect lives should be a clean and undistorted mirror that gives a perfect reflection of the perfection of Jesus.