Discouraged? Depressed? Try God's Cure!

Oh this week, our family has been hit with a series of what I would call spiritual arrows aimed straight at our heart. While I can't go into specifics, we are trying to keep our proverbial heads above the raising waters. So what do I do in the midst of this? Well first of all, I pray. I pray because after enduring so many of these trials, I've learned that is what I need to do first. Then I ask all my fellow Christians to add me and my family to their prayer lists and to pray for us. We hold fast to the truth that where two or more are gathered in His name, God is with us! How wonderful is that statement alone. God is meeting us in the midst of our struggle.

Do you wonder what some of the signs are of being discouraged? See if any of these apply to the current situation you may find yourself in and then I will provide God's cure to help you see things differently. I don't guarantee that overnight all your problems will vanish, but I hope this may change your outlook on them today, until they do.

1. Lack of energy: We literally feel like we don't have the strength or power to endure this storm we are in. We'd rather find a way to head on back to bed, pull the covers over our eyes and pray that somehow it will be different in the morning.

2. Losing touch with reality: Ever heard these words or thoughts? No one cared that I am going through this? No one cares? Why, God am I going through this by myself while everyone else is so happy in their lives? We can't even comprehend that God cares about us. We have lost touch with what makes sense and yet those around us, can see perfectly clear that this is not the end of the world even though to us it seems like it is.

3. Losing our memory: We forget how many times we have endured trials or struggles in the past and now find ourselves consumed by worry, anxiety, and are literally stressing ourselves out so bad that we are making ourselves sick. We know that in the end, we will make it through, but we can't seem to find a way to get through one day at a time.

4. We lose heart: We fail to seek God to help us through our struggles and instead turn to ourselves which ultimately and almost always leaves us lacking in so many areas, instead of being filled with God's fullness.

All these signs combined lead to one thing: Losing Hope!

If any of you have planted any time of tree when it's young, you know that you need to stake it so that the winds and storms will not blow it over while it's trying to establish it's roots. However, if you never take the stake out, the tree will also fail to grow roots deep enough to prevent it from blowing over in a bad storm.

We know the winds of trials will try to blow us over, and that is why it's important for us to grow our roots strong. We need to dig deep into God's word through prayer and reading the Bible and even encouragement from believers to help us establish our roots. We have to learn to grow our own roots through each storm we have to endure. We will weather through it. We will bend and not break when our faith is strong. Hold fast to God and you will get through it.

Do you build your faith on sand or rocks? What happens then when the storms of life come? If your faith is on yourself, the world, money or other things (sand), you will be swayed by your feelings and emotions. However if you have your faith in God (rock) you simply need to exercise your faith and put your trust in God instead of your feelings.

We need to rest in this simple assurance as believers.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably, abundantly, exceedingly more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us." ~ Ephesians 3:20.

We need to know that whatever difficulty we are faced with, we need to bring it God, daily if needed, and ask simply what He wants you to do. Remember these 4 steps:

1. Power: Ask for God's strength and power to do what you feel you can't do. When you feel like you don't have the strength to get through it, ask God for help through prayer.

2. Provision: Remember that God cares for you. You are precious and valuable to Him. Just like you wouldn't let your children struggle if you could help, neither does God and He can do ALL things to help you. Just ask.

3. Presence: God will never ask you to endure something beyond what you can bear and He will never let you go it alone. Remember even though there will be valleys and dark times, there will also come mountain tops and light once we get through it all. Then looking back down, we will see it wasn't so bad as when we were knee deep in it.

4. Protection: What can God do? He can do anything, beyond our ability to measure it, more than we could ever expect or imagine and He's waiting for us to simply ask. We need to walk through it all humbly, with gentleness, being patient that God is bring us through it and He knows when it will end, and bearing with one another in love.

Our lives, the way we live, how we endure these times, are a testimony to what God is doing in our lives. These are powerful tools to remember. The enemy loves division in the midst of struggles, to divide family's, husband against wife, parent against child, and division in our communities. So remember to come together in prayer is the strongest weapon we wage against the enemy.

If your joy is missing or lost, you've let the enemy discourage you. We need to remember through these storms to TRUST GOD!

Don't lose heart, and remember God's got a plan! He will bring your through it.