Battle Depression and Anxiety
Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.
Have you ever been around a nail biter? They can make you nervous and anxious over their nail biting! Some people bite their nails so often and so hard that their fingers actually look sore and painful. The Passion Translation reads of Proverbs 12:25, “Anxious fear brings depression, but a life-giving word of encouragement can do wonders to restore joy to the heart.” This proverb can also be translated “Stop worrying! Think instead of what brings you gladness.” Why do we insist on focusing what we, in ourselves are powerfulness and cannot change? We know that we have everlasting joy in the Lord. He is our Peace, the awesome Prince of Peace. Sometimes we have to turn on the searchlight to our own hearts and look deep within ourselves to see and believe the life-giving word of encouragement that is hiding in the depths of our hearts. His Word lives within us and remembering this and searching for it within, can become perpetual encouragement. David, the great psalmist of the Old Testament talked to himself when he was writing the psalm where he says, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? I envision him taking himself by the nape of his shirt and saying, “Why?! Hope thou in God!”
Mental mapping is when we actually have thought, say negative thoughts, so long and so often, that when something happens or we get thinking about someone or something, we can immediately go into the pattern of a negative mantra that we have thought and driven mentally over countless times. This kind of thinking changes our metabolism, our heart rate, and our blood pressure, although it actually didn’t start in the physical but literally in our minds. Then to top it all off, we have developed a learned helplessness, meaning we truly and deeply believe there is nothing that can be done about it and there never will be anything anyone else can do about it. Forget, as a Christian, that we know there is nothing impossible with God! That concept left our psyche way before this battle began. How religious we can be, yet lacking in a deep faith in who the Lord wants to be for us. Then on top of it all, our verse says a good word makes it glad. I have been at the beginning gathering of a Bible study and have someone come in prepared to be negative before everyone. How sickening! Others will try to give a word of encouragement and the person has already pre-decided they were not going to receive any such encouragement today. They actually seemed to love being miserable. We must practice rolling our cares and concerns onto the Lord. Our emotions will try to rule the day and take over our thinking. Destroy the old mental map! Purposely think and speak what God says—nothing is impossible with Him! Remember that negativity arrives straight from the influence of hell itself. Have nothing to do with it. We may not know how God will answer our cry in prayer, but we know He is faithful, and He hears our cry and like a good, good Father He will answer us. Think new, speak encouragement and do it all on purpose. God will hear and honor your words today.
What about you? Do you need the Lord to do some remapping concerning your thought process? Ask the Lord for His help. I’m sure He will be glad you did. Have a blessed day in His Name.
