You ever get that feeling that everything sucks? The whole world seems to be against you and that no matter whatever you do you’re going to fail anyway… so why even bother to try?
I’ve been there, it’s not a fun place to live (emotionally speaking of course). And you know what? Time for some tough love here… If you feel that everything in your life is all wrong then you are absolutely right! You create your own reality. That may be a hard pill to sallow while you're wallowing in your own emotional muck but it’s the plain truth.
As born again believers, we carry a tremendous amount of power to command into existence just about any reality that we desire. Now it doesn’t always appear at the snap of our fingers, it takes some time to come to pass… but it will always comes to pass. That which we believe in our hearts and speak with our mouth will truly, sooner or later, come to pass. Good or bad.
Think about it. How much time do you spend each day proclaiming how bad things are? Have you ever said with indignation “Somebody should do something about that!" Well guess what… you are that somebody. So stop and think, what are you doing about that? “That” is whatever it is in your life that causes you anger, pain, anguish, bad feelings, loss of control, whatever.
Now think about this: how much time do you spend each day proclaiming that which is good and has gone right with your day? No really, take the time to ponder it and count them. Do you think on and talk about more bad than good? Strong dose of reality here my friend.
You know, they say bad news travels 10 times faster than good news. Why do you think that is? Have you read a newspaper, seen a gossip rag or watched the evening news lately?
Its all about the bad things people are doing or have had done to them. Then MAYBE for 15 seconds at the very end they might leave us with a small glimmer of hope and report on something someone did that was good and righteous. How sad! We have been conditioned from an early age to be of a negative mind set. It’s no wonder depression runs rampant in our country! It’s the only way we’ve learned how to think and process information.
So what do we do about it? We take drugs of course, lots of them. Some legal, some not. Some prescribed by well meaning doctors, some self prescribed at the liquor store. How’s that working out for us? Do we seem to be personally and as a nation getting better or are we getting worse… much, much worse? Obviously drugs are not the long term answer.
But wait… there is hope. There’s a book we’ve all heard about (and some of us have even read) that teaches us how to think positive, overcome depression and live a victorious and prosperous lifestyle. Let’s see… what was the name of that book… Oh I know, it’s called THE BIBLE!
If your reality is one of depression, loss and loneliness then you can change it to whatever you want it to be simply by changing your mind set. I know, I know… easier said than done. But I’m living proof that it can be done. It’s not always easy going every day, but the payoff of a rewarding life that’s worth living is well worth the effort.
Here’s how I do it: Next time you start to profess something negative, stop yourself and say nothing. Hard to do for a big mouth like me but if I can do it so can you. Next, if you feel up to it, say something positive instead.
Need an example? Okay. Let’s say you just accidentally stubbed your toe. Ouch! is your first reaction. That’s okay but what you say and do next is what’s very important. Before shouting out an explanative followed by “that always happens” try saying “God Bless It!” or maybe “that sure hurts but good thing god has blessed me in that I didn’t break it” or even one step further… if your dare… “well next time I’ll be more careful and THAT will never happen again!” Do you see where I’m going with this?
Here’s another one: Let’s say someone wrongs you, intentionally or not, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is how YOU react to it. Instead of saying “I knew they were going to do that” say instead, “What could I have done differently to prevent or avoid that from happening to me?” Now is the time for you to be in control of your emotions and take control of the situation, instead of the situation controlling you.
I know it seems strange but just try it, it really works. If you say “oh why does this always happen to me?” then it will most assuredly ALWAYS happen to you. Turn it around! Say instead “oh that will never happen to me again!” and you’ll see that it probably won’t. Believing is a powerful tool that God has given us through the gift of holy spirit (1 Cor 12:9) and it does work in both directions: good and bad, so make sure you send it in the right direction!
So that’s the adjusting the mind set part, thinking and speaking from a positive point of view instead of from a negative one. So now you might ask “What about overcoming my depression?” Well that’s almost all there is to it. When you think positive, there’s little to no room for the negative. Light dispels darkness right?
The last part is prayer. Why is prayer the last part and not the first? Curious, am I insane? No! (well maybe a little crazy depending on who you talk to but that’s a different case study;)
Changing your mind set FIRST before praying to God to help lift your depression is crucial because God won’t change your mind for you… you have to do it, then He can help you.
It’s your free will to believe what you want to believe. But remember that God can’t do good works with negative believing. Sometimes if it behooves Him He'll work a miracle and turn around a bad situation into a good one. But that's on rare occasions under unique circumstances. Generally He operates from a positive mind set within normal parameters. He needs you to believe and profess positive thoughts before His power can regularly come to pass in your life.
If you find all of this daunting and a little out of reach for you please don’t despair. Know that God is there for you, all you have to do is reach out to Him. Pray that he helps you to find the strength inside yourself to have one positive thought. Want to know a secret? If you believe that God can and is willing to help you, then you have already taken that first step toward positive believing! Yes, it’s just that easy.
God has already given you the power of believing within the gift of holy spirit. It’s inside you, it’s part of you so use it. Once you take that first step, all the others after it get a little easier until before you know it, you are walking, then jogging then sprinting in God powerful Word!
If you need help taking that first step, please feel free to contact me via email at Support@Gods-Word-First dot org. I’m happy to help you in any way I can. May God richly bless you in your life through all His promises.
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Daniel Sweet, President
God's Word First Christian Ministry
Daniel Sweet is a biblical scholar and an expert on the subject of Leadership. He served 8 years on the Board of Directors for ACF (The Association of Christian Fellowships) a worldwide biblical research ministry and served as acting Vice-President of ACF four of those years. Daniel Sweet and his wife, Debbra Sweet, were in charge of the North San Diego County Region of in home fellowships for ACF. During that time, he has overseen the growth and development of multiple in home fellowships and has been instrumental in helping many people come to the knowledge and truth of God’s Word. Pastor Daniel Sweet is the founder and President of God's Word First Christian Ministry
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