Fear, Worry, and Anxiety- The Doing Level

Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, Colossians 3:5-9 (NASB)

Now we come to what is known as The Doing Level with respect to fear, worry and anxiety. In Gal. 5:19-21 we are told that the deeds of the flesh are obvious. This passage, along with the Colossians passage bring to light actions (or doings) that reveal the roots of the heart. What a person's thoughts, beliefs, and desires are rooted in and centered upon.



When a person operates life on either the feeling or the doing level, they may become supremely self-centered. Everything becomes about them and how they feel, they will or won’t do something because it “makes” them feel a certain way thus illustrating the point that a self-centered life produces self-centered deeds.

Before our actions become actions, they are thoughts and attitudes. Jay Adams, in his book Competent to Counsel says that an attitude is often a mind-set. So, when a person is bitter, anxious, fearful and so on it is because of their mind-set. I think you would agree that many if not all of those actions are the result of thinking of yourself (having the mind-set of selfishness) in a given situation. The desire to serve self leads to the actions you see in the verse above.

For example, a person who thinks only of themselves might tend to say unkind words, or be critical of others. They may not care about how their actions affect others so they will be deceitful and manipulation. They may also gossip and plot revenge because all that matters is that they feel better!

As far as being worried or anxious, they tend to blame others or circumstances for their lack of peace and unhappy feelings. It is someone else’s fault that they are anxious or worried. Those statements tend to begin with, “If you would (or wouldn’t) have (fill in the blank) I would not be worried” “You make me feel (anxious, worried, afraid) when you (blank). Now, obviously there are legitimate things to fill in those blanks such as swallowing swords, but most of the things that people fill in those blanks with are intended to manipulate others.

This is but one reason we insist on obedience to the Word of God rather than following feelings.

When I have a counselee that tends toward fear or worry, it is a clear signal they are not placing their trust in God in the midst of their circumstances. The feeling of worry should encourage us to look at our focus. It’s a God given indication that something is wrong on the inside.

When person is fearful, the fear begins to rule their lives.

Dr. Ron Allchin, of the Biblical Counseling Center, Arlington Heights, IL coined this maxim: "Faith is believing the Word of God and acting upon it, no matter how I feel, knowing that God promises a good result."

Is this difficult? Yes, of course it is! As I demonstrated in a previous post fear is a very, very powerful emotion and I tend to want to follow those emotions even though I know that they will lead me right off a cliff! However, my faith in God must become stronger and my desire to glorify Him must rule over my desires and my feelings leading me to act in an obedient and righteous manner.

This is why the all important Heart Level comes into play next! Proverbs 4:23 says, "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.

The line between doing and feeling is a thin one. We tend to act out by doing what we are feeling

without much thought. But- if feeling is the first indicator that something is going wrong we must then check for a heart issue before we act out on the doing level.

In other words as one thing affects the other we can interrupt the process of not glorifying God by evaluating our own hearts. Why am I anxious? Where is God in all this? Is He not sovereign? If God is for me, then what or whom need I fear. This is what we mean by changing the heart. We evaluate what’s truly in it and the self-centered tendencies we tend to have.

More on this next time!

Worrying Made Practical...

Before we dive into the Doing Level, I wanted to give you some real life illustrations of fear, worry and anxiety on the feeling level.

My husband and I have 3 children, the youngest of whom just turned 16 yesterday. We have been contemplating selling our home for a while now and this has opened a whole arena of practical application of truth up to me, your humble correspondent in the area of fear, worry, and anxiety.

Our home is larger than we need at this stage of life and selling it would enable us to be more available for ministry and mission opportunities. However, in this current economy, selling a home is not easy as it was a few years ago and the value of homes is much lower than it once was. Our desire is to move into a condominium which would eliminate all the nasty snow removal and other tasks we no longer really enjoy.

Here is where it runs off the rails into the land of fear and worry. Two of the major components in anxiety of all types are, "what if" and "if only." I have seen that I can tie myself into knots of paralysis with these two little questions!

What if our house doesn't sell? What if the inspection reveals something terrible about the house? What if it sells but not for enough to make a large down payment on the new place? What if we cant find a place we like? What if the size we want is not affordable? What if we get an upper unit and then we can't sell it in the future?

I attempt to answer all these questions so I don't have to live in the land of "if only" one day. Those thoughts would go this way; If only we would have waited 6 months. If only we would have stayed in the house. If only we would have known about (blank) when we made this decision.

Do you see what an impossible situation this is? It is impossible to examine every "what if" and to try to do so completely discounts the sovereignty of God! What people who fret and worry must realize first of all that it is sin. When we worry what we are doing is meditating on things that are not either real or complete.

What do you think you will accomplish by worrying? (Hmm, didn't Jesus say that?) Can you change the future? Does your worrying help change one single thing? And...does worrying glorify God?

How is being fearful helping the situation? Does fear make you think clearer? Does fear glorify God?

To have fear, worry or anxiety as a way of life is exceedingly prideful. Whether you realize it or not you are subtly telling God that He needs your help to figure this all out. That God is not able to cause a solution independent of you and your worrying and fretting.

All of these anxiety related thoughts and feelings have got to be taken captive and brought into subjection to the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.

We are told to meditate on what is true (Phil 4:8) and real, lovely, praiseworthy, of good report, pure, holy, and I don't see things like "where will I live" and "will my house sell" on this list!

So, reading friends, this is where I counsel myself. And I tell myself all the same things I would tell you if you would ask me. It goes like this :

God is sovereign. He is in charge of every atom of all of creation. All things consist in Him, He holds it all together. He is faithful to do this every morning and He is trustworthy. Because He is sovereign nothing surprises Him. He already knows where I will live, how much my house will sell for (and He knows if it will sell at all!) and He knows how much where ever we end up living will cost too. My job is to live each day to glorify Him through service and love in every respect I am aware of. I am to prepare the house and research things to the best of my ability but in the end, God is God and I am not. I must trust Him and trust He has a plan for my family that He intends to prosper me and not harm me.

I either believe this and leave the worries and fears in His more than capable hands, or I continue to think that I am accomplishing anything worthwhile by wasting my efforts meditating on things that are not knowable by me at this time.

I think I will endeavor to opt for the first option...God is aware, God has a plan, God is in charge.

Fear, Worry, and Anxiety- The Feeling Level

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. Matthew 6:34 (NLT)

Last time we learned that the feelings that result from fear, worry and anxiety feel bad.

Often, people who struggle with fear, worry and anxiety react rather than thinking. This becomes habitual and so the person falls into a habitual response and it becomes “second nature’ to become a “worrywart.” They have trained themselves to respond this way and have done it for so long they do not know how to respond differently. Feelings are a normal part of life but they ought not to control our lives.

Did you know that your feelings are actually symptoms? Feelings are indicators of what is going on inside in the heart (inner-man). Read this next sentence slowly and carefully-

Your feelings are actually by-products of your thinking.

Making a distinction between what you believe and what you feel is critical because your attitudes reflect your inner beliefs about self and your problems.

Humans tend to operate on three levels- the feeling level, the doing level, and the heart level.

Our feelings are a part of our emotional package and part of our cognitive processes (which are our ability to think, reason, and communicate). Feelings may be the first indication that there is a problem. (Matt. 6:34) When we experience distressing feelings it may be the result of sin at the doing (or did) level. (Psa. 38:3-10; Gen. 4:6-7) For example, David (often a heroic example of our sinful issues) sins with Bathsheba. In Psalm 38 we learn of David’s distress because of his sin. There is a cause-effect on his emotions.

Another example would be Cain in Gen. 4:6-7. Cain is angry at God and Abel rather than being repentant for his disobedience. His own sin is the cause of his anger.

Also on the negative side, a person can feel happy and be involved with unrighteous deeds. (Ex. 32). My co-counselor Pastor Bruce Roeder gives this example:

“In Ex. 32 while Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments the people built the golden calf and had a wild party. Apparently their sense of joy was connected with their sin! It illustrates how emotions cannot be trusted as truth.”

Do you find yourself obeying your feelings? Living by them? If so, then I would venture to guess that your life is unstable, and that you often find yourself living in a see-saw emotional upheaval, never knowing what feelings are right around the corner in the next hour of life. This is a difficult way to live and not at all what glorifies God.


You are not to be mastered by anything, including feelings and emotions. You are to be ruled by the Holy Spirit of God. Allow Him to be your guide rather then those feelings of worry, fear, and anxiety. Trust that God is completely aware of all that encompasses your life and that He is working in and through your circumstances.

Next time- The Doing Level

Panic Attacks Unraveled

Last time I outlined for you what a person having a panic attack might experience. Today I want to pick this experience apart and help you to see what goes into one.

If you are a regular reader of this blog you know that I focus on the heart extensively here because the Bible has so much to say about it and how the heart determines our actions. It should not surprise you that the heart is a major player in a panic attack.

In Scripture the heart is the center of your core desires. Your mind, will and emotions are servants of your heart in meeting its needs. The heart is what causes the mind to think on what it thinks, the emotions to react the way they do, and the will to act the way it does. Matt. 6:21— P. Steve Lehrer

Thoughts are what drive a panic attack. Something a person is thinking about is driving the emotions and triggering responses in the body’s endocrine systems. As an example of this, think about someone who thinks they hear footsteps in the house in the middle of the night. The simple thought of, “Intruder!” sets off a chain of events in the body. Physical systems are God-given and intended to warn us of danger, and give us the sudden bursts of energy and strength needed in an emergency situation. You may have heard of the “fight or flight” urge. This instant impulse is driven by the thought that you are in danger. Your thoughts race with that possibility and your body then releases a flood of various hormones into your bloodstream that accelerates your heart rate, allows you to increase lung capacity, and gives you in some cases superhuman strength! This all takes place in fractions of seconds, and it is all begun with a thought! It may be that there were no footsteps at all just the settling of your house. However, your body reacts the same way to imagined danger or stress as it does to real danger or stress.

A person who has panic attacks is operating the same way as a person who believes they are in danger even when there is no danger at all. The thoughts the person is thinking evoke such strong emotions that they are able to cause their body to think there is danger when in reality there is not.

These people do not understand that their thoughts are what bring on these attacks because it feels like something powerful and beyond their control sweeps over them. I have heard it described like something they can sense coming but cannot stop, and that it is like something lurking around the corner waiting to jump out and attack them. The sensations are so unpleasant that the sufferer will do almost anything to hold them at bay. Many times they alter their entire lifestyle to avoid a panic attack by discontinuing activities and even relationships to avoid experiencing those feelings. The world becomes smaller and smaller for them as more and more things cause a panic attack and what we ultimately see is a person develops a fear of the fear.

I have seen people bound by fear this way many times in my counseling ministry. The good news, actually, the GREAT news, is there is hope! No one has to live like this! Jesus came to set the captives free from all sin; sinful thoughts, beliefs, desires, and actions. If you are one who suffers from panic attacks, please come again and continue to follow this blog. I believe you can find help and hope here because the solution is based on the Word of God and its application to your life.

Anatomy of a Panic Attack

There is little doubt that a panic attack is a terrifying thing to experience.

Imagine that you suffer with anxious thoughts. On this particular sunny summer day you have to go to the mall to buy a birthday gift for a friend. It is a mall you are familiar with, in a neighborhood you know well. As you get ready to leave the house you begin to experience anxious thoughts about this little shopping trip. You begin to wonder if you will find a gift, and if you find a gift for them, will they like it? You think about all the possibilities of gifts to choose from for your friend, and wonder if anything you can afford will be good enough take to the party.

As you finish getting ready you begin to feel a little dizzy and realize your heart is beating a little faster than usual. You wonder if this is normal or if something is really wrong with you this time? You try to get a grip on yourself and realize that now you may feel a little dizzy and are a little short of breath.

You try to shove these thoughts away and grab your purse to head out the door toward the car. You wish your heart would stop beating so funny, and wonder if maybe you have that irregular heart rate that causes some people to just drop dead! You think about that news report you recently saw about the otherwise healthy athlete who collapsed on the gym floor, and then think about your own inactive lifestyle. Are your pants a little tighter than the last time you wore them? The dizziness seems worse, doesn’t it? And, are your hands shaking as you tightly grip the wheel and try to breathe normally? You wish you could get a good breath…

Maybe going to the store isn’t such a good idea after all… you are really not feeling very well, your stomach is upset and you might get sick in the mall! You wonder what you would do if you vomited in the mall. That would be horrible! What would people think if they heard you throwing up or having diarrhea in a public bathroom? You realize you are now having chills, but you are sweating and just can’t seem to get a good breath…you feel like you are suffocating and your hands and feet are all tingly now. You think about skipping that party for your friend and start to create excuses to not attend. Besides, you might not feel good that day anyway.

You think, something has got to be wrong with you! This can’t be normal! Didn’t this just happen last week when you were at church? You had all these same sensations and ran out of church. That doctor you saw a few months ago for these things didn’t really know anything because he said nothing was wrong with you. Obviously he wasn’t a very good doctor. But the other doctors that you saw, well they couldn’t find anything either…started telling you that maybe it was all in your head…one even wanted you to see a Shrink! You just haven’t found the right doctor yet; surely there is someone out there who can diagnose what is wrong with you! Maybe you need vitamins or something or have a food allergy…there has to be something wrong here!

You begin to get a sensation that you have to escape, that you simply can’t stay where you are one more moment! You have to run! Get UP! GET OUT OF THE CAR AND RUN INTO THE HOUSE! Your heart is pounding like it will burst out of your chest; you are sweating, sick to your stomach, dizzy, terrified and think you are going to die.

You are experiencing a panic attack.

Those who have experienced these will say that my little drama is not even close to the way a person feels in the midst of the moments of the attack. It is no wonder that such a person thinks there is something very, very wrong with them and why they are willing to take any pill given to them to make these feelings go away.

Our Lord has the answer to this problem, dear reading friend! Please do not lose hope or think that there is no cure for this aspect of anxiety. You do not need to live in fear of the next attack or be a slave to a diagnosis for the rest of your life. Next time, we are going to look at what is behind a panic attack and how the heart plays into even something like this.

Many blessings.

Fear, Worry, and Anxiety cont.

As we learned last time, living as a “worrywart”, continuing to be fearful, being anxious will lead to panic attacks, irrational fears, and chronic worrying. These are fears that are out of control. Often these fears lead to irrational responses to life’s circumstances. People quit their jobs and withdraw from life out of fear they will feel fearful at some point and those feelings are so uncomfortable for them that they avoid them by remaining in their home.

Anxiety is the most common symptom of patients seeing a psychiatrist or a psychologist. Most of the medical community, influenced by psychology, assumes anxiety problems, worry problems, and fear problems are mental illnesses. The most common “treatment” for some diagnosed anxiety disorder is medication and psychotherapy.

A chronic worrier will suffer from physical body ailments, stomach and digestive problems, headaches and muscular tension just to name a few. More serious ailments such as ulcers and high blood pressure can result.

The feelings that result from fear, worry and anxiety feel bad. They may result in loss of productivity, and even a type of paralysis in life because they become ruled by the fear. These feelings may feel like “mental illness” or a “disease” because most people who suffer this way are not aware of any predisposing thoughts.

Often, people who struggle with fear, worry and anxiety react rather than thinking. This becomes habitual and so the person has fallen into a habitual response and it becomes “second nature’ to become a “worrywart.” They have trained themselves to respond this way and have done it for so long they do not know how to respond differently.

Feelings are a normal part of life but they ought not to control our lives. This word, “feelings” has been stretched to include thoughts, desires, attitudes, judgments, and convictions. These things are actually beliefs. Because we live in such an overwhelmingly feeling-oriented culture most people do not give this a second thought! (As a point aside, actively listen to how this word “feel” is used in every day conversations. You will be shocked at its inappropriate use!) Culture tells us we must feel good at all times by whatever means possible! Much of Psychology deals with feelings and the goal is also “to feel good.”

Therefore, many set aside their convictions and beliefs if it helps to make them “feel better” which seems to be the highest goal. Of course, there is nothing wrong with being happy, unless it’s your greatest goal.

Did you know that your feelings are actually symptoms? Feelings are indicators of what is going on inside in the heart (inner-man). Read this next sentence slowly and carefully-

Your feelings are actually by-products of your thinking.

Making a distinction between what you believe and what you feel is critical because your attitudes reflect your inner beliefs about self and your problems.

I will leave you with that thought for today. More next time on this important subject!

Fear, Worry, and Anxiety

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)

Are you a ‘worrywart?” There are certain situations in which I find myself tempted to worry and fret. Many in our current economy are worried about political things, financial things, and have concerns for their safety. Our world is very conducive to worry!

Even before concerns of recession, global warming, and terrorism our Christian forefathers managed to worry! This is because anxiety, fear and worry are problems common to man.

Abraham (Gen. 12:13; 20:2) feared man more than God. His wife, Sarah (Gen. 16:1-15)

Sarah doubted God (root of fear is doubting God). Paul counseled the fearful young pastor Timothy. He was chiding Timothy when he used the word “timidity.” This word means denotes a cowardly, shameful fear caused by a weak, selfish character.

Personally, I think Tim had some great reasons to be afraid! He was living with the threat of Roman persecution under Nero (who was nuts) as he was ratcheting up executions and worse! He was dealing with hostility in the Ephesian church from those who resented Timothy’s leadership, and subjected to the accusations of false teacher. Do you think he was overwhelmed?

Paul reminds the young pastor that the fear does not come from God and that God has given him (us) every spiritual resource to overcome fear.

The problems of anxiety, fear and worry are common to man and a common component in many of our counseling cases.

The Bible has the solutions to these problems. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pe. 1:3; Psa. 119:97-105)

A key passage to understanding and overcoming these common feelings is found in the teachings of Jesus in Matt. 6:19-34

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Matthew 6:25 (KJV)

The word “thought” in the KJV in the Greek is, merimnaoô (mer-im-nah'-o). From that we get the English “worry” or “anxious.”



The Greek word for fear is phobeoô ( fob-eh'-o). It’s where we get the English word phobia.



In English the terms fear, anxiety, panic, and worry are closely related and overlap each other.



Fear is one of the strongest emotions that God placed within man is fear. It is the quality that preserves us in a dangerous world. There are some very legitimate reasons for fear, such as a car heading straight for you in traffic, or the bite of a deadly snake or spider. In these cases fear is not always sinful for a rational fear preserves us from dangerous situations.



Worry is the fear that bad things will happen in the future.


Worry and anxiety are similar and related to the idea that something bad is going to happen. Worry is different than non-sinful concern in the sense that it dominates or controls a person. It’s a fine line between being concerned about the future and making wise plans and letting worry consume us.



Panic is fear that so dominates a person that he or she cannot control it or his reactions to it. Usually, irrational responses ensue. Panic stems from (and this is very important) the continual fearing of the feeling of fear itself.



Continuing to be fearful, being a “worrywart” or anxiousness often leads to panic attacks and irrational responses to life’s circumstances. I’ve seen people who struggled with anxiety threaten to quit their jobs even if they did not have another lined up. Others withdraw from life out of fear they will feel fearful at some point and those feelings are so uncomfortable for them that they avoid them by remaining in their home.



Panic attacks, irrational fears, chronic worrying are fears that are out of control and take over a person’s life.

More next time on this important issue!

Come To Me...

From time to time we are contacted by people who express a desire to end their lives. They have come to a place where they sorrow without hope of anything ever changing and death appears to be their only means of escape. This is utter hopelessness.

To consider suicide which the Bible would consider self-murder, comes as a result of blaming God for allowing certain circumstances into life and then to say that He has violated His Word (1 Cor 10:13). There is always a way of escape. Part of the trouble is that when life has us in a choke old we want a way out rather than a way through!

Most Christians who consider suicide believe that their problems are TOO BIG for God. (Matt. 10:29, 30) The suicidal person has lost sight of the fact that God is Sovereign!

As has been said before, the world calls this depression, or a form of mental illness that can be “treated” with pills or therapy. There is often no mention of the source of true hope, Jesus Christ. Of course, when true biological illness is present the appropriate method of treatment is to address the organic dysfunction or disease. This can bring help and hope with respect to recovery in the physical yet, for the Christian the physical body is only a temporary housing of an eternal being.

What is often found when a legitimate examination of hopelessness takes place is not physical, it is spiritual. The only source for finding hope in this life is always the Word of God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; He is the way through!

This is where we should look when life seems hopeless, and we feel discouraged and suicidal for lack of hope. God’s promises are sure and His power is matchless. He is wisdom and His love for His own is unlimited. God promises that He is sufficient and His Word is sufficient to meet every problem of life.

The old great hymn of the faith tells us, “In Christ alone my hope is found!” He is the place we are to look and His Word to us, the Bible (written by the Holy Spirit 2 Peter 1:21) and it there we will find the sure and certain promises of God.

God’s Word is full of hope! Some I have cited references for, and others I have inserted the text. I pray these verses will encourage you today!

Psalm 62:5–8: Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

Micah 7:7: But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.

Ephesians 1:18: I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he [God] has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.

1 Timothy 6:17: Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

Hebrews 10:23: Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Psalm 25:1-5; 31:23-24; 33:20–22; 52:9; 65:5; 71:5; 133:3;146:5–6;147:10–11; Proverbs 23:17–18; Isaiah 40:28–31; Romans 5:1–5; 2 Corinthians 1:10; Titus 1:1–2; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17; Hebrews 6:17–20; 1 Peter 1:3-4.

Build your hope on God alone! I know the temptation is strong to run to the solutions that the world offers! While drugs (prescription and otherwise), alcohol, and indulging in worldly pursuits bring some temporary relief they are not the approaches that will bring long term change and relief. None of those remedies solve anything, all they do is to in most cases make matters worse in the long run!

Only a changed heart that is focused on living life to glorify God- even in the midst of sorrow and loss – can experience real hope and joy. Can I encourage you today with the truth that God is trustworthy! He is aware of you and your life and He means to bring good out of your trials. God is without sin and cannot lie to you, He is worthy of your trust.

If you are living defeated and discouraged today, beaten down emotionally by the circumstances of life I wasn’t to encourage you to go to the place of help, healing and hope. Jesus said, in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Being a Polished Stone

"...he made me into a polished arrow"


I was reading in Streams in the Desert recently, and the entry for that day was this portion of Isaiah 49:2. It got me to thinking about the adversities of life and God’s purposes in them.

The goal for many of us is to get through life as unscathed and trouble free as possible, when that is not God’s intention or plan at all for His children. Think of all of God we would miss without adversity, without hardship, and without persecution.

Our faith and trust in God grows deep in times of trial. The roots of our belief and understanding grow deep and strong into our hearts and create anchors that are immoveable. Some of the best times of growth in my spiritual life have been when life has been at its worst. When times were tough and I was completely uncertain of everything in this life and how it would unfold is when the “Who” of God became real.

Do you know what I mean by the “Who of God?” Until we have cause to grab hold of all we have learned and put in our minds about God and His character it is all ethereal and unformed. There is little substance that we can wrap our arms around. But when those harsh waves of adversity crash into life we begin to experience God. We begin to “see” who He is and receive in ways that defy words the things God promises to us as we believe.

Without these things in life we would remain unpolished, our edges both outer and inner would remain jagged. Adversity brings change on some level. It brings us changes of the heart (the inner man) because we receive things that we don’t want, or we are denied things that we do want and we have to make a decision to respond righteously. This causes change as what we have learned in the abstract now must become real to us in application. When we make that transfer, change takes place.

God’s polishing tool brings us pain at times, literal, physical pain. Illness, disease, and suffering are all tools of the Almighty in shaping us into His image. He will stop at nothing to create in us what He has foreordained.

Just A Random Day In Life

What a busy day! took mom to the eye doc and she got another shot in the eye. I took her shopping and she got some new clothes, and I think she was happy. She loves me so very much, and I seem to make her day. She loves it when i call her and just make that connection.


We talked about death a little today, and I reminded her of what she told me. She said she believes Jesus died for all her sins and He took them all away. I told her that when that day comes she would not be in the casket, but in heaven with Him. The best is yet to come. I wish I could really share it all with her, because I want her to know it. I want her to share my joy.


I do cherish each moment. I want her to see Christ in me. I want her to know that I do what I do because of Him, that in my flesh I would rather not at times. The physical realities are such that it is true that it is very difficult to get around with her, a huge hassle, but I have to ask my self, what is this worth? They day will come soon when she leaves this earth and I am without my mom. I don't want to grieve over what I should have done but didn't. I don't want to look back at these times and say "I should have..." The time is short, she grows weaker each week, each time. Breathing is more labored, strength is going, mind is weakening due to the disease making its steady march toward her end. While her dying and leaving his earth will be a horrendous terrible horrible event for me, I am so comforted by the hope I have in Christ that she will be with Him, waiting for me! She asked me if I will know her, and if she will know people and I assured her she would, but would not even care. she did not understand this. She does not understand it is all about Him.


I love you mom.

The Midnight of Your Soul

Sorrow deserves sympathy. But when believers refuse to be comforted, they act like the world. When a Christian is beyond comfort over the loss of creature goods, God's name is degraded. Surely the professed truths never entered the soul.


If the furnace is hot, let your faith be strong. If the burden is heavy, let your patience endure. Acknowledge that He who lends has the right to reclaim. As you bless the giving, bless the taking.


In the midst of these issues with my mom, I was recalling my last birthday, which was a blessing. I went with them to her physical therapy appointment and learned her BP was 88/55 (alarmingly low!) Her heart rate was over 100, as her heart tried to keep up the blood flow to the brain. This explained so much about her general condition of weakness, lethargy, sleepiness, being cold all the time, and so on.


After the appointment my parents wanted to take me to breakfast to celebrate my special day. We went to the pancake house and I asked the waitress to take a picture of us, because I thought it would be the last birthday I had with her.


The blessing came in the afternoon as I helped her return some clothes. I was sitting at her feet in the changing room at Penny's. She was too weak to change clothes without help so I was helping her get her feet in the right leg holes and then stand up. I thought to myself how wonderful it was, that on the celebration of the day she selflessly brought me into the world, I was able to serve her in this way. It brought such joy to my heart!


This was like no birthday I have ever had in my life, and I remember thinking, "it is really 'ok' I am ok." I was convinced I was going to lose her, and the entire thing was surreal in retrospect. Soon after she was hospitalized. We learned she was nearer to death than we thought at the time. By God's grace she lived and has since continued her journey toward the end of her of suffering.


I am headed toward another birthday this fall... Today, in the here and now things are evening out for her again. People say it is worse for the people watching suffering than it can be for those actually doing the suffering! I can see this point.


I wonder what it was like for the Father as His Son hung on that cross. I wonder in those moments in time as He forsook His Son what the Father was thinking as all His wrath was poured out on Jesus...His sinless Son. I wonder if it hurt the Father to see His misery and pain.


Our understanding is only in the human realm. God is amazingly gracious and gentle with me, with us! I worship Him.

Final Thought on Depression and Discouragement

Some things to keep in mind as we wind up this topic of depression and discouragement I hope you have found hope and help here.

Much of what I have written here has come from my own past struggles with both these issues. Our family had a very tough go of it for a number of years and the book that I wrote on depression, and the things in this blog come from personal experience and searching for how God would want me to respond to the situation that He allowed to come to pass.

Some final thoughts on this topic~

What happens daily in your life that leads you to be discouraged? Are these things that can be changed? Is there anything you can do to alter your circumstances? Such as for financial difficulties get a second part time job, for relational discouragement seek wise counsel, for loneliness get involved in activities. Change what you can change, and believe that what is unchangeable is God’s business!

As yourself, “What do I want to happen? The single most often repeated response to this question is something like, “I want the pain to go away.” Oh my friend, please remember God is working in your situation, conforming you to the likeness of your Lord Jesus Christ! If there was any other way for Him to accomplish what He desires to change in your heart, He would! Please prayerfully consider changing the prayer of your heart to, “I want to glorify God in the midst of this trial.”

How would having what you want make life better? Frequently, what we want becomes larger than life and begins to look like some sort of a savior to us. We begin to thing that if we could only have (blank) life would be better, we would be happy, we would be satisfied. During the time of my sorrow I initially thought that getting what wanted (and thought I needed) would be the solution to my discouragement and suffering. While emotionally it would have made me feel better, I am confident that I would have dramatically short-circuited what lessons God had planned. I would have lost a wealth of spiritual and emotional growth had I had my own way.

Understand that your feelings will influence your responses. Your flesh will cry out and even scream for relief! You may feel desperate and hopeless and think this time will never end. It is so important that no matter how you feel you do what is right which is so very difficult, and so very necessary.

Ask yourself if your feelings justify your responses. Sometimes we get the idea that because we are out of sorts that we have a “right” to demonstrate sinful anger, self-pity and other sinful attitudes of the heart. Keep in mind that the Christian is not to be ruled by feelings and emotions, but by the Holy Spirit.

Appreciate God’s grace (2 Cor 9:8) There is no sweeter experience of God’s grace than during times you just don’t think you can go another step. I recall one particularly catastrophic day I had received some very bad news on the heels of more bad news (it was very Job-like I assure you) and I was amazed at my response to it. The grace of God enabled me at that moment to speak the words of Job himself, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” I assure you, there is simply no way that aside from God’s grace my response would have been vastly different.

Serve one another (Gal 5:13; Eph 5:20) when discouraged get out there and serve other people. Get your focus off yourself!

When you begin to change your thinking about your feelings and about problems, you will change your thinking about depression. James 13:17; James 1:25; Romans 6:11; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Romans 8:28,29.

Learn to think biblically about your problems! Always remember:

• There are answers from God. 2 Timothy 3:16
• There is hope from God. 1 Corinthians 10:13; Romans 8:28,29; Philippians 4:13
• To plan ahead to focus on praise and thanksgiving. Ephesians 5:20; Philippians 4:8
• Keep your focus on who you are in Christ. Ephesians 1-2
• Fix your eyes on Jesus - Hebrews 12:2
• Develop a God ward outlook rather than fixing on the present.

Finally, keep the centrality of Jesus Christ and the supremacy of Christ on the forefront.
Believe that God is sovereign and keep in mind that your suffering does not eliminate His supremacy!

Christ is your righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Is this not better than having "felt needs" met? As a person who has been through this dark looking glass personally, I would maintain that it is far, far better to have Christ with suffering and discouragement than it would be to have a charmed life without Him!

The Sandwich Generation

Being in this sandwich generation is a tough spot. I often find myself having to choose between necessary and urgent. My plans are often disrupted due to an emergency phone call that brings me to their home to help. This leaves our older teenage son on his own more than I would like.

When he was a baby I had to work, and it was not until he was about 8 that I really got to know him. Because we home school we have spent many days together and as he has grown he has become more independent in his studies and in his life. God has wired him this way I believe, knowing in all His wisdom what was ahead for our family- these days of mom’s suffering.

Sometimes my being here for mom means does without his mom. He has to walk or bike to or from work, make his own lunches and care for himself in many ways that are not my preference. I cannot imagine having younger children who are unable to do these things for themselves and who require a much more attentive mother than I am able to be at this point. As I sit here in dad’s chair, I am thinking about the milk I never got to buy because of mom’s call early this morning. She could not see her pills, and needed pain medication. Dad is gone for a few hours today and really, she should no longer be alone. My son does not even know I am gone as he was asleep when I left…

There are times when all this causes a bitterness to rise up within me. I am not so holy that I go about this without anger or resentment all the time. I am angry that such a thing has befallen my mom. Like Job she was blameless, not sinless, but she sure hasn’t done anything to warrant such misery. (And yet I know we all suffer because sin entered the world) She has cared for her own parents in their final years, raised 4 good children, loved her grandchildren, and been one of the few truly decent people I know. One of the rare people in this world without guile or malice…

I also am angry at the intrusion on my life to some extent. Not angry at her but angry because these problems cause me to be away, and not engage in my own pursuits. Surely, these are not the thoughts of a Christian?! Aren’t we all supposed to be perfect and sinless? Ha, one day yes, but not in this life. Here, we struggle with the same issues and hardships and influence of sin as the unbelievers.

The difference I find and what I repeatedly come back to is this: God is in this. He is working in it, working through it. I know this and believe it with all my heart. For years my unbelieving family heard me talk about Jesus Christ. They saw me changing from someone who was very much of the world, drinking, smoking, swearing; and so on to someone they did not know. The talking about Jesus has turned to living His life through me. I no longer go to church on Sunday and Wednesday nights only, I live church every day. The message of One Anothering in the Bible has become a way of life.

Paul said “For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me”. (Galatians 2:19-20)

My goal is to live this life by grace through faith in Christ and let it be His life flowing from within me outward to others in my life.

Watching Mom Suffer

I am in what would be called The Sandwich Generation. I am finishing raising my family while caring for my elderly parents. I do have siblings and they do assist as well, but because my life is more flexible than theirs is I am the “go to” girl.

I would like to tell you a little background, if I may about our present situation and how I have come to the place where I am watching mom suffer. She has had a Job-like experience over the past 3 years. About this time in 2005 she began to have distorted vision which I knew (from my past life in the medical field) to be a form of eye disease that causes a person to loose their central vision. One never goes completely blind, but is robbed of the ability to read, drive, and eventually see anything that makes sense because the field of vision is blacked out. Her onset of this was rapid and in both eyes. In spite of the new treatments available she quickly lost her ability to be independent. My go getter mom was forced to stop many of her activities of daily life she enjoyed so well. Gone were driving to the store, doing the bookkeeping for the household, watching television, reading the paper, baking (can’t see the cookbooks) and just about every other thing you can think of to pass the time away on your own.

She had also been some back pain that was helped by pushing or holding on to a shopping cart while walking. We also noticed she was experiencing shortness of breath that was getting progressively worse, and we could not decide if it was the back pain causing her to breathe oddly or the other way around. In the end, it was both. She was diagnosed with arthritis of the spine and emphysema. There is no cure for any of the things she suffers from. One ailment complicates the other making it impossible for her to have surgery for the back pain.

So in the past 3 years my parent’s lives (and subsequently my life) have changed dramatically. Gone are their days of square dancing, round dancing, bowling, golfing, flower planting, vacations, and mom’s cleaning the house and making meals. Life now consists of dreading to wake up with the inevitable horrible back pain that now shoots down her leg like an electric shock, waiting for the minutes to tick by until the pain medicine kicks in to take only the edge off the unrelenting pain, (can’t have too much because is slows the breathing) doctor visits, injections, and the unanswered desire for life to be the way it used to be. She cannot see, or hear very well, cannot read or do handwork; she cannot entertain because it involves coming, going, or preparations she is unable to do.

My mom has had a Job event in her life.

When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was. Job 2:12-13

Thankfully, she does not have friends like Job, but a loving family that surrounds her and my dad at every opportunity. This eases some of her sense of isolation but it is always tempered by the feeling she is being a burden or stopping us from living our lives.

Her cries have often been as those of Job who in the midst of his physical torment cried out to God as he sat among the ashes scraping at his skin:

“Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, to those who long for
death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure, who are filled
with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave? Why is life given to a man whose
way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? For sighing comes to me instead of food; my
groans pour out like water. What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has
happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.”

This is indeed a sorrowful time in life. I wish so badly I could fix it! This woman who was for my entire life a rock and fortress has become a child. In many ways she has become my child. I see the suffering on her face from moment to moment and yet she does not often cry out; only when the pain is beyond a level 10 which is difficult for most of us to imagine. And she still mothers and cares and desires to be whole.

The "Cure" for Depression

What’s the cure for depression? Are you surprised that you ought not to only focus on the fruit of depression? (previous blog) What we learned last time is that it is not helpful to simply pull the bad fruit off the tree, because new bad fruit will soon grow in its place. The depression you may be experiencing is the result of the problem, not the problem itself.

So how are we to deal with depression biblically? We must first determine the source of the feelings which are your beliefs, desires, and thoughts. The Bible says that the source to examine is your heart. An important “put on” is the change from everything being all about me to everything I think, believe and desire being about glorifying God.

When I am suffering, I want to know what I am supposed to be doing while God has me in His schoolhouse of learning to suffer biblically.

What I have learned through my own challenges with discouragement is not to deny you are suffering. People care, Christians care, and many with Godly wisdom want to offer encouragement and help.

I have also learned it is important to seeking spiritual guidance and wise counsel from Christians wiser than I am. There are times I just cannot see the forest through the trees and getting a fresh perspective on my troubles can be very helpful. Many a time has someone been able to give me insight that I was just too close to the situation to see.

Those times when I have hovered near the edge of depression a loving Christian has pointed out that I was wallowing in self-pity or thinking only of myself instead of the Lord.

Accept the humbling experience. God is sovereign, and He is allowing you to be in this place at this time. Humbling is not always because we are prideful in the sense we often understand it. Sometimes it is to prevent us from becoming wise in our own eyes. (2 Cor. 12:7) it is to remind us of Who owns us, and Who we are to serve lest we become overly self-important.

Be transparent. This is one of my favorite character traits about a person, and one I am happy to say is often said about me. Being transparent means you allow others to know who you really are that you don’t hold back out of fear, or a desire to man-please. When I talk to someone, I want to know the truth of them, the core of them and what is really going on behind their eyes and in their heart. I despise the fake and plastic masks I see so many Christian women wearing! If you hide the work God is doing in your heart and life, how will anyone else learn?

Here are some concrete things to implement in daily life:

• Establish realistic goals and plans- don’t overwhelm yourself with a huge list. Try planning to do 3 things each day and only if you get those done should you add another. It helps to plan a concrete schedule so you have some parameters. There are plenty of tools for this on line, or in print.
• Change your actions!
• Get yourself busy no matter how you feel. Plan ahead to focus on something different than what “depresses me.”
• Get yourself sweating physically and spiritually. Church, classes, Bible study, do some housework, or yard work Practice right treatment of your body through exercise, proper nutrition, watching your caffeine, sugar, and salt intake. Have regular sleep patterns!

• Establish accountability. This is a very important piece of these equations! You must be willing to give someone the "ok" to speak into your life!

Application of the Roots-and-Fruits Principle to Depression

Today I want to focus a bit on the application of the Roots-and-Fruits Principle to Depression

Jesus said, “A tree is identified by its fruit. Make a tree good, and its fruit will be good. Make a tree bad, and its fruit will be bad” (Matthew 12:33, NLT).

The quality of the fruit of any tree depends on the root system of that tree. When the roots are growing in deep, rich soil full of nutrients, the tree will be strong and healthy. The fruit of that tree will be juicy, sweet, and resistant to bugs and parasites.

The tree rooted in poor quality soil will have little nutrition to carry up through the trunk to the branches and leaves. The tree will be weak and susceptible to disease. The quality of its fruit will be poor. You could return year after year and pluck the poor fruit from the tree, but that would not change the health of the tree. The tree would remain sickly and vulnerable, bearing bad fruit. The only way to cause a tree to produce good fruit is to attend to the roots.

To make application to your life, if you address only your depressive feelings (fruit), you will be depressed again in a short time. There is a problem to deal with deeper down in your tree of life. Something has caused your fruit to be bad. You must address the root system. Deal with your depression by attacking the real causes (roots) in a biblical manner.

You have to deal with the heart of your problem in order to overcome it. In the case of humanity, the root system is equal to the heart.

If you have the fruit of depression, you have focused your heart on your wants, your perceived needs, your personal rights, your beliefs and desires. This results in a self-centered, idolatrous heart, which is revealed by your thoughts, words, and actions.

If you are depressed, chances are you came to believe you needed certain things or people to “make you happy.” Yet even though you may have gotten those things, you find you are still unhappy.

Self-focused motivations spurred on by the desires of the sinful heart have produced the kind of fruit you would expect—depression and discouragement.

What’s the cure for depression? It may surprise you that biblical counseling does not focus on the fruit of depression. It is not profitable to simply pull the bad fruit off the tree, because new bad fruit will soon grow in its place. The depression you are experiencing is the result of the problem, not the problem itself.

The way to deal with depression biblically is to determine the source of the feelings—your beliefs, desires, and thoughts. The Bible says that the source to examine is your heart.

Your heart focus must change from being all about me to glorifying God.

Spiritual Answers to Depression and Discouragement cont.

Last time I encouraged you to begin to think of and view yourself as God does.

Consider what God says about your reason for living. Why did He create you? Search the Scriptures and make a list of the reasons God says He made you.

Remind yourself daily of your spiritual identity. The book of Ephesians gives you great truth about who you are in Christ. Examine the book in depth, especially the first three chapters. Take notes, use various translations, and look up words you don’t know or understand in a concordance.

I also listed some common terms that are used to describe issues people tend to have that struggle with depression and discouragement. I have the world’s term first that you may recognize, along side the biblical term. Here are a few more for you to think about:

• Grudge—refusal to forgive
• In denial—self-deceived; deceitful heart
• Insecure—fearful
• Mistake—sin
• Need—desire
• Self-esteem—self-love, lover of self
• Self-pity—resentful; discontented; self-centered

The reason I gave you these lists is because of how important it is that you recognize the impact what you believe has on how you feel! When you begin to adopt biblical thinking and practice it in your behavior, you will see changes in your feelings. On the other hand, when someone labels you with “depressive disorder,” you become saddled with a medical diagnosis code, which in the medical realm may mean you have an illness from which you will never recover. You are now a victim of an illness. There is no victory there.

When behavior is labeled as a disease, it means you have a problem that cannot be fixed, which takes away all hope. You are led to believe that you will have “depressive disorder” for the rest of your life, even if you never have another depressive episode.

When you define depression the way the Bible defines it—“sorrow” and “despair”—this describes feelings and sinful behavior for which Christ died! There is a lot of hope there! A behavior can be stopped and avoided because it is a choice. The choice begins with the desires of the heart.

Christ didn’t die for “depressive disorder”—he died to give us victory over the flesh that drives us to be sinful in our thoughts and desires. He didn’t die for diseases; he died for sins. I pray this brings you tremendous hope!

Keep meditating on these things...

Spiritual Answers to Depression and Discouragement

Last time we finished up with the thought that what is required for success in change of life is a change of focus. A person suffering from depressive feelings and from discouragement must stop looking at themselves and begin to focus on God. Remember that we are looking for heart changes that lead to life changes and when my heart is not focused on “me” and I am instead thinking about “how can I glorify God in this circumstance” I will begin to accept and understand certain things that God wants me to learn through the suffering.

Then I must put into action the things that I know are right to do. I must be respectful, humble, demonstrate faith and trust in God in spite of how I feel.

Reading friend, I know that as much as we dislike suffering, it is the perfect place for God to do some of His best work in the hearts and lives of His people because it shows you your heart attitudes. Suffering reveals the heart! Once you get a glimpse of what is dwelling in the heart you can begin the renewing of the mind with Scripture that will enable you to put off the sinful desires of the flesh. These may be any kind of desires, and specifically the selfish desires that keep you focusing only on yourself and how you feel today.

It is important to examine your belief system for what you think or believe about depression will determine how you respond to it. If you believe depression is largely biological, you may think the most you can do is get long-term therapy or take a pill to feel better. The truth is that very few cases of diagnosed depression are biological. Most are in fact not able to be medically/scientifically proven as all "testing" is subjective. (for more on this topic check out the psychology debunked website)

If the depression is not a biological issue, a true alternative is to allow the Lord to affect your belief system. You must come to believe in your thinking that your behavior is ungodly and that living a depressed way of life is wrong and unbiblical. This will require a shift in your core beliefs! An attitude of repentance takes place when your belief system is affected.

The biblical reason to stop the behavior is that you have come to believe it grieves God and causes Him sorrow. A large part of how we understand something depends on the language used to describe it. It is important that you understand the terminology being used to describe your behaviors and feelings. Also important is to know what these words represent to you. It is helpful to define biblically the terms that psychology uses if you are going to approach your problem from a spiritual perspective.

A paradigm shift will take place in your mind as you begin to understand that diagnoses like major depressive disorder are not life sentences but only words that psychology has created to define behaviors. For example, you will be unable to find “alcoholic” or “self-image” in the Bible, but you can find “drunkard” and “prideful.” Long before the psychological terms were invented, God knew the behaviors and had the remedy at hand. Consider these common words in the medical model and their biblical equivalents:

• Addiction—bondage to sin
• Alcoholic—drunkard
• Anger—selfish desires withheld
• Anxiety—fear; worry; lack of faith in God’s love or care
• Can’t forgive self—unbelief; insufficient confidence in God’s Word
• Co-dependent—idolatry; fear of man
• Depression—sorrow without hope
• Dysfunctional—sinning

Rather than seeing yourself through these terms, determine to know who you are in Christ. Check a concordance for words like “justified,” “sanctified,” “called,” “elect,” “blameless,” “holy.” Memorize the Bible verses that reveal how these words apply to you.

Look for God at work in your circumstances. Examine the life of biblical characters such as David, Samuel, Ruth, Naomi, King Saul, Samson, Elijah, and Paul. These people had many trials in life and they were all used by God and still testify to us today; how did they handle their crises and troubles?

What is your focus on today? Do you just want to be “feeling better”? If so, change your focus to “seeing Christ.” The goal of true change is to see only Jesus Christ. He is your answer.

Check in next time for more.

Spiritual Reasons for Depression

We have been looking at our responses to depression and discouragement over the last several blogs.

It is a good thing to ask yourself what you have done to deal with the issues of your own life?

You may have gone through some of these methods of dealing with suffering yourself. Have you found any of them to be helpful? Or have you walked away from this season with the underlying question of: “Why God, why?”

The theological answer is that we suffer because sin entered the world. That one sin has brought our sorrow and woe down upon us. It is why we have disease and depression and disaster.

There is no room anymore in medical science for such an answer. And a world that has become far too wise in its own foolish wisdom refuses to believe that in most cases of depression the spiritual component is the real issue.

Often in depressed persons this is what we see:

The deceitful heart is bent on satisfying “me,” having my own way, and living life for my own ease and pleasure, with “me” at the center of my universe.

We can see this is the case when Feeling better, Respect, Love, Power, Control, Freedom from pain are all more important to me than caring what God wants to accomplish through my suffering or pain.

See, when we know that there is no medical connection to depression, no organic component- then we have no other option than to conclude that what a person has been thinking about, believing, and desiring in their heart is what has caused them to feel depressed or to have sorrow without hope.

I want to encourage you by telling you that God is not going to waste this time, He uses depression and suffering in our lives to reveal the contents of the heart. And not only is He going to reveal the heart, He is going to deal with it. He has a purpose and a plan for all adversity.

To deal biblically with suffering and depression, you must learn what God says about your problem. To start, God says that your thoughts, beliefs, and desires need to be dominated by Him through His Word.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 (NIV)

As the Word of God enters your mind and heart, you will begin to have a better idea of God’s thoughts, standards, and goals for you. This is called being “renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Ephesians 4:23; Rom 12:2.) Mind renewal is especially important when dealing with depression. It is critical and vital.

When thoughts, beliefs, and desires of a person are set on glorifying God, they will begin to do the right things, such as serving others, and they will experience good results, such as relief from depressive feelings.

If a person wants to be successful in overcoming these feelings, then change your focus- from self to God. When my heart is not focused on “me” and I am instead thinking about “how can I glorify God in this circumstance” I will begin to accept and understand certain things that God wants me to learn through the suffering.

Then I must put into action the things that I know are right to do. I must be respectful, humble, demonstrate faith and trust in God.

More next time!

July 4, 2008 - Independance Day!

For all my reading friends around the world, today my Country celebrates it's birthday, our Independence Day.


It is the one day each year we are united together as Americans; from vastly different and sometimes opposing perspectives and world views to stand side by side on the sidewalks of virtually every town in the entire country and salute our flag, watch antique cars, children on bikes and trikes, High School bands and our proud soldiers parade by us to our wild delight.


We eat entirely too much food and play lawn games during the day and wait anxiously for the darkness to fall so we can huddle together on blankets and enjoy the thrill of fireworks that remind us of the great battles that have been fought to possess this land and to defend our freedoms. We fellowship with each other on this day from afternoon until the last flaming spark fades from the skies above.

I love my country, and I am a fiercely proud American. My children are in Her service as volunteers, and while America is not perfect I would not want to live anywhere else in the world.
In honor of this day, I am posting a collection of quotes and such that reflect my Countries heritage.

We the People, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America. Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America

"Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation: conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war. . .testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated. . . can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war.
We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate. . .we cannot consecrate. . . we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us. . .that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. . . that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. . . that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. . . and that government of the people. . .by the people. . .for the people. . . shall not perish from the earth." Abraham Lincoln ~ The Gettysburg Address


"It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. ... I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not." -John Adams


"My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!" -Thomas Jefferson

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves." -Abraham Lincoln


"We know what works: Freedom works. We know what's right: Freedom is right. We know how to secure a more just and prosperous life for man on Earth: through free markets, free speech, free elections, and the exercise of free will unhampered by the state." –George H.W. Bush


"If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

May God have mercy on and bless the United States of America~

God does not intend that we allow our emotions to rule our lives! I doubt if Jesus felt good all the time, and I doubt if Paul felt good as he bobbed a day and a night in the sea or was laying half dead on the edge of town after being stoned. But none of the followers of Christ allowed their feelings to rule their lives. In fact, Paul said “I beat my body and make it my slave.” We are expected to press on, to fight against the feelings and emotions that want to immobilize us. The Bible graciously teaches us how to respond biblically to the feelings of discouragement and depression because God cares about us and He knows we struggle in this sin-cursed world.

There are many verses in the Bible that address the common areas of discouragement

· Anxiety - 1 Peter 5:7

· Worry- Philippians 4:6

· Guilt- Hebrews 10:22

· Attitude - Ephesians 4:23

· Complaining/discontent - Philippians 2:14, Philippians 4:11

· Explosive anger/wrath - James 1:20

· Frustrated, downcast - Psalm 43:5

· Grief/sorrow, mourning - John 16:22, 2 Corinthians 7:10

Psalm 56:3 says, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.” When you go to the Bible while fearful, sorrowful, and discouraged – you are attempting to see what you are enduring through the lens of the Word of God. Seeking Him, and wanting to know what God says about this season of suffering you are in.

How have you suffered? What have you done to deal with the issues of your own life?

You may have gone through some of these methods of dealing with suffering yourself. Have you found any of them to be helpful? Or have you walked away from this season with the underlying question of: “Why God, why?”

The theological answer is that we suffer because sin entered the world. That one sin has brought our sorrow and woe down upon us. It is why we have disease and depression and disaster.

There is no room anymore in medical science for such an answer. And a world that has become far too wise in its own foolish wisdom refuses to believe that in most cases of depression the spiritual component is the real issue.

Next time: Spiritual Reasons for Depression and Discouragement

Looking at Depression and Discouragement cont

What the world labels as depression is often considered to be the deep loss that comes from death, the feelings resulting from a broken relationship, life’s disappointments, the uncertainty of the days we live in, and experiencing the results of the failures of other human beings. However, these feelings are all a part of living in a sin-cursed world.

The truth is almost everyone feels sorrowful, overwhelmed, or hopeless from time to time. David did, Naomi did, and Paul did! However, it is possible that feelings and emotions may be working in complete conflict with the truth. You may feel you have a reason to sorrow when none exists. Your emotions are working, but they are motivated by unbiblical thought and may themselves be unbiblical.

Remember this: it is your response to your depressive feelings that will determine the outcome!

The cycle of depression goes like this:

I have problems and I don’t like what I am going through. This causes me to have and focus on bad feelings which lead to decreased function which leads to more problems, creating a vicious cycle of depression.

We have become a society that has abandoned thought and reason for feeling-oriented living. I rarely hear people express a thought or belief anymore, for many people mislabel their thoughts as feelings. If you spend some time just listening to how others talk, you will begin to notice how much people “feel” everything, even things that are not by definition feelings (e.g., I feel like I should get a raise).

We must always return to this question: Is it biblical to live life by how you feel? I maintain that we must go to the Scriptures to determine this answer and to know how we are to live! It is the only authoritative source of truth. Did Jesus live by feelings? Did He tell the disciples to live that way?

A careful student of the Scriptures will determine that Christ never commanded or suggested that we should live life by our feelings. In fact, the Bible warns us not to live by our emotions. 1 & 2 Peter are heavily concentrated with verses that warn against and give the result of living a feeling-oriented life. I have listed a few of them here for you.

As children who are under obedience, don’t shape your lives by the desires that you used to follow in your ignorance. 1 Peter 1:14 (CCNT)

Dear friends, as resident aliens and refugees, I urge you to keep at a safe distance from the fleshly desires that are poised against your soul like an expeditionary force. 1 Peter 2:11 (CCNT)

As a result, it is now possible to live the remainder of your time in the flesh no longer following human desires, but following God’s will. 1 Peter 4:2 (CCNT)

Since His divine power has given us everything for life and godliness through the full knowledge of the one Who called us by His own glory and might (through which He has given to us valuable, indeed, the greatest promises of all, in order that through these you might have become partakers of a divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of desire). 2 Peter 1:4 (CCNT)

Especially those who are following the polluted desire of the flesh and despise ruling authority. 2 Peter 2:10 (CCNT)

“Through uttering impressive-sounding clap-trap, by an appeal to fleshly desires and to impure practices, they bait a trap for persons who have barely escaped from those who live in error” (2 Peter 2:18, CCNT).

God does not intend that we allow our emotions to rule our lives! I doubt if Jesus felt good all the time, and I doubt if Paul felt good as he bobbed a day and a night in the sea or was laying half dead on the edge of town after being stoned. But none of the followers of Christ allowed their feelings to rule their lives. In fact, Paul said “I beat my body and make it my slave.” We are expected to press on, to fight against the feelings and emotions that want to immobilize us. The Bible graciously teaches us how to respond biblically to the feelings of discouragement and depression because God cares about us and He knows we struggle in this sin-cursed world.

Because this is such a pervasive issue in our world, I am going continue addressing depression and discouragement over the next several entries. I pray you will stick with me through it!