God didn’t give you that! In His Word 6-21-2021
God did not give you that fear, He did not give you that
feeling of loneliness, and He did not give you the depression. He gave you power
in the name of Jesus. He gave you love, in the name of Jesus! He gave you self-control
in the name of Jesus and by the Holy Spirit. We have the power to change.
Many young people today have been depressed as of this last
year. It was really hard for those starting out in life from graduation from high
school or college to suddenly have to come to a full stop because the
internships and jobs they were applying for were suddenly put on hold. Many people
felt like giving up and not even trying to move forward. Do you know what
though? There are countless young people who have forged forward and started their
own home-based businesses and managed to move ahead. They chose not to let the
pandemic stuck at to stop them at get go.
Why do some people have that push or drive still and get
through depression and stumbling blocks or hurdles to move ahead in life and
others not. Many people deal with clinical depression and continue on moving
forward because they choose to. They follow doctors orders and seek counsel
that can encourage them in the Word what to do each day.
I believe if we start the day focused on the Word many
things can be overcome. Some people I know are plagued with constant pain. Not
the temporary pain of an injury or weakness aftermath but real pain that does
not go away; they live with this as part of their lifestyle. Yet, they continue
to bless others through written word, preaching, and encouraging people as they
take their morning walks each day. Though life is a struggle they can find the
strength they need in the Bible as they read it each day.
Many people have stayed strong during captivity by reading
and meditating on the Word throughout history so why should today’s struggle be
any different?
Paul wrote to Timothy, who was like a son to him, to give
him encouragement while he was in the middle of a jail sentence. This was
reason to be depressed and give up, he was no doubt pretty much starved and
chained in jail. He could not get out to wander the streets or visit with
people also he had a scribe who would write when he could not. This was common.
He had every reason to throw in the towel, but he did not. He encouraged
Timothy to be faithful to God!
May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace,
mercy, and peace. Timothy, I thank God for you—the God I serve with a clear
conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you
in my prayers. I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted.
And I will be filled with joy when we are together again. I remember your
genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois
and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you.
This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you
when I laid my hands on you. For God has
not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and
self-discipline. Timothy we can find a lot of hope and encouragement today. With
the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good
News. For God saved us and called us to
live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was
his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ
Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ
Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life
and immortality through the Good News. And God chose me to be a preacher, an
apostle, and a teacher of this Good News. That is why I am suffering here in
prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I
am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of
his return. 2 Timothy 1:1-12
Paul encouraged Timothy to accept His calling to share the Good
News of Jesus and reminded him of when he was commissioned as an Evangelist by
the laying on of hands in prayer. He reminded Timothy of the good things, good encouraging
things that God has done and would be doing through both of them. These things
helped Timothy to teach to others, to encourage others in hope and even today
they can encourage us.
Do not let the depression, or sorrow, or loneliness get you down, trust in God! When I remember these things, whatsoever things are good…
I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the
multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and
praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast. Why are you [a]cast down, O my soul? and why
are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the
help of His countenance. Psalm 42:4-5
God did not give you the depression, sorrow and loneliness, He
may have allowed it for a time but He gives us a way out of it. Look for the
door and walk through to encouragement!
…and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren,
whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just,
whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of
good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and
heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians
4:7-9
Continue the encouragement and read some more! Psalm 42:1-11
, Philippians 4:1-23, and of course the full chapter of 2 Timothy 1:1-18. Be encouraged in the Word and let the spirit
of heaviness be gone from you as you put on what God gave you… the spirit of a
sound mind in Jesus’ name.