We have been discussing ways to pro-actively beat the winter blues. Maintaining good sleep hygiene, getting physical exercise, and engaging in social interaction are all helpful in combating the blues. Today I’d like to focus less on the physical aspect, and consider the spiritual.
Recite God’s word-especially His promises – During bouts of depression or the blues, our thoughts and our comments take on a negative tone. Yet God’s promises are always Yes! And Amen! “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
By reciting His promises, we prophesy over ourselves and come into agreement with God’s truth, which encourages our spirit and uplifts our heart. The very act of speaking God’s word builds our own faith (“Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17)
When we pray God’s words, it helps us to agree with and live in the safety of His promises. God tells us in 1 John 5:14, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
By reciting and praying His promises, we are implicitly telling God, “I trust you and believe what you have said, and I surrender to what you want to do in my life by agreeing with what you’ve already said.”
Reciting God’s promises lets us operate from a place of victory. God cannot and will not lie. We can stand on what He has said. Praying His promises aligns our heart and our will with God’s. Scripture tells us in Romans 8:31, that if God is for us, who can be against us? In other words, what God says is the only thing that matters. Praying God’s promises also reminds our enemy who our God is! Now those are some fighting words!
When we struggle with stress and even depression, we very easily can begin feeling overwhelmed, and often indecisive. Psalms 32:8 encourages us, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.” When we pray God’s promises back to Him, we are in essence giving Him our permission to teach and instruct us in our current situations.
During stressful times, or bouts with depression, our ability to think clearly is often compromised. As such, you may have difficulty recalling some of God’s promises that would bring comfort and encouragement to you right now. There are over 7000 promises in scripture.
Here are a few of my favorites:
- “God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that He should change His mind” (Numbers 23:19).
- “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7 NIV).
- “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)
- “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
- “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6 NIV)
- “I will be your God through all your lifetime, yes, even when your hair is white with age. I made you and I will care for you. I will carry you along and be your Savior.” (Isaiah 46:4 TLB)
- “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save me.” (Psalm 138:7)
I learned the importance of writing down and then reciting God’s truth during a heart-wrenching season in my life when my very life was being ravaged with illness. I wrote out verses that provided comfort and encouragement, then stuck them all over my room as visual reminders of God’s promises to me.
What are some of your favorite promises of God?
