Behold

Matt.11:28(TLB) Come to me and I will give you rest—all of you who work so hard beneath a heavy yoke. Wear my yoke—for it fits perfectly—and let me teach you; for I am gentle and humble, and you shall find rest for your souls; for I give you only light burdens.”

A lady called me at least twenty-four times in the early hours of the morning. I did not pick the calls. Later in the day, I returned the call and she was telling me,‘God said you should do this, God said…’. I listened to her and it birthed a huge burden because I knew she was snapping. However, when people refuse to listen, there is only so much you can do to help them. Issues of clinical depression should be handled by specialists. Which is why we are setting up support groups in the church that are connected with professional bodies outside of the church. So that the Name of God will not be brought to disrepute. There are so many Christians committing suicide, even after fasting and praying. Something is wrong with that.

A very popular man of God that I really respect, lost his son. The young man shot himself. We love to pray with people, we love to see miracles happen. God created everything including the hormones and chemicals in our brains and bodies. We have people that have gone mad and by the grace of God we have prayed with them and God has healed them. They are well today. I have seen that happen. So, I do not have a problem with praying. However, I am saying if you need help, get help. There are a lot of clinical psychologists who are trained from highly respected Christians institutions. So, their counsel is going to come from a biblical standpoint.

To cheer up when one is depressed, the first thing is to admit how you feel, the second thing is to find a safe place,  and the third thing is to turn your attention to God. We see all these steps in the story of Hannah (1 Sam.1:1-18, please read). Romans 12:1-2 (MSG) “…Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering….  Fix your attention on God.  You’ll be changed from the inside out..” (emphasis added).   When we fix our attention on God, we will be changed from inside out. A lot of the time, we are trying to change things from outside in – eating food, playing games, sleeping off, dressing up, shopping, watching TV. But God is saying, when we fix our attention on Him we will be changed from inside out. When God says fix your attention, it means you get to decide where your attention goes. Meaning you are responsible for where your focus is. You cannot give your attention to two things. This means how you feel is affected by what direction you choose to face.

Prayer (song): Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace. Amen!