From the Cross: Depression

by David Chadwick

Depression. Feeling of despondency and dejection. Hopelessness and despair.

What causes depression? Many factors. Usually it comes from a severe disappointment in life. Things like a painful rejection from a spouse, getting fired from a job, the death of someone you love. Generally, the severity of the pain in depression is commensurate with the loss. In other words, the greater the loss, usually the greater the pain. The perfect storm of depression often leads people to wrestling with self-image and asking the question, “What’s wrong with me?”

A great biblical example of this is Elijah. He had just conquered 400 godless prophets on top of Mt. Carmel. Elijah had great expectation that the Israelites would take this monumental victory and lead a righteous rebellion to overthrow the evil King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. But the people did not rise up to finish the conquest and in turn, Jezebel put out a declarative order to have Elijah killed within 24 hours.

Elijah went from expecting to see a royal overthrow by the people of Israel only to find out that his neck was in a royal noose. So, he fled. Elijah ran and ran for miles and hours until he finally collapsed under a broom tree where he begged God to take him home. He wanted God to take him out of his misery. Friends, this is true depression.

God, in his grace, began to restore Elijah by putting him to sleep, awakening him to feed him, giving him water, putting him back to sleep and then commissioning him back into his calling as a prophet of God. Notice God cared first for his body, then his soul (1 Kings 18,19).

There are times when we shouldn't over spiritualize cures for depression. Sleep, eating right, lots of water, and more sleep can greatly help depression.

But especially don’t forget the last step…God called Elijah to get back to work.

Read and reread Isaiah 58:10. If you’re depressed, go serve the poor. Give them food. Hand out hope. Give someone a blessing. Watch as your depression lifts like the noonday sun. There are so many people out there who are worse off than you are. GO and give your life away and watch as you become free!  It’s a promise of God’s Word.

Today’s Prayer of Confession: Father God, deliver me from evil. Remove depression and replace it with HOPE (James 4:10). And find a place where I can go serve someone else in need. And give them HOPE!

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For more insight on today’s topic check out Moving Beyond Anxiety by David Chadwick. In his book, David shares 12 ways you can overcome life’s fears and worries—all of which come straight from Scripture.

Order or download your free PDF by clicking here.

From the Cross: Pride

by David Chadwick

Pride is today’s sin that some of our congregation brought forward to lay at the foot of the cross last April during our Easter Service of Darkness. Pride is the belief that we are the master of our own destiny. It is the belief that we know better than God.

The most important verse in the Bible about pride may be Proverbs 16:18 which says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Sin is sin, but THE major sin of all may be human pride. It is what caused Adam and Eve to rebel against God. Pride caused the devil to become the devil (Isaiah 14:13-14). It is the one sin that is unforgivable and will send you straight to hell.

Pride is the ultimate dismissal of grace because it makes you think that you can earn your salvation through your own good works and human efforts. Pride keeps you from seeing your own sin and receiving the grace of Jesus because you never think you need it.

The antidote to pride is humility. A teachable spirit. Where I know God is God and I am not and most of my problems come when I am not discerning the difference between the two extremes.

So, how do you know if you’ve conquered pride once you lay it before Jesus at the foot of the wonderful cross? Generally, you’ll have great thanksgiving in your heart. You will look around you and recognize that only God could have established such a beautiful creation. We are the ones who have messed it up. It’s our sin that has contributed to a less than perfect order. You’ll find yourself surrendered and aware that it is an absolute privilege to be a part of God’s story and to be able to experience the gifts that exist in his creation even in the midst of sin and brokenness.

Your perspective changes when pride is broken. You will begin to love to worship the Lord. You will be glad for every opportunity you have to sit at his feet, to gather with other believers, to pray, to worship corporately with other believers in the house of the Lord (Psalm 122:1-2). You will love to sing to him and praise him for creating you, giving you life, and awakening you to salvation!

You will begin to see that all of life is a gift. Eternal life is a gift. When this happens, you will know that pride has been eliminated from your life!

Today’s Prayer of Confession: Father God, deliver me from evil. Remove pride and replace it with HUMILITY (James 4:10).

From the Cross: Fear

by David Chadwick

If the definition of anxiety is the belief that something bad MAY happen to you, then fear is the belief that something bad WILL happen to you.

Today’s topic is fear. It’s another stronghold that plagues this broken world.

The same studies about anxiety apply to fear as well. 90% of all fears will never actually happen to you. Fear is a worthless emotion. According to the Bible, it’s an evil spirit as well. Paul says that God did not give us a spirit of fear or timidity (2 Timothy 1:7).

As a side note, some fear is valuable. The Bible encourages us to exercise fear of the Lord! A healthy fear can also lead you to prepare for or avoid potentially destructive situations. It can prompt you to make sure you have enough food and water before a storm comes. It can lead you to be cautious against things like robbery. This can be good.

But relentless, demonic fears about things that will most likely never happen will rob your life of joy, peace, and meaning. And paralyze your soul.

The Bible’s one continual antidote to fear is God’s presence. Only as you abide in his presence can you truly know that he is with you, in you, guiding you, fighting for you, and protecting you in every situation. Spend some time meditating in verses like Deuteronomy 3:22, Joshua 1:9, Psalm 23, Matthew 28:18-20, 2 Thessalonians 3:16, and Hebrews 13:5-6.

There are well over 100 times in the Bible where God commands his people to “Fear not.” Peace comes into our hearts when we know that HE controls everything in the universe and our fears are robbing us of shalom, wholeness and peace.

The bottom line question is this: What is your mind set on? Things above or things below. Are you focused on the size of your giant or the size of your God? Are you constantly thinking about the size of your mountain or walking in faith for your mountain to move? There are only two options. Either God is in control of everything - every atom, every second, every day, every month, every year, or he is not. Either you trust him like a child or you are full of fear. Which one is it?

Today’s Prayer of Confession: Father God, deliver me from evil. Remove fear and replace it with COURAGE (Joshua 1:9).

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For more insight on the topics of fear and anxiety, check out Moving Beyond Anxiety by David Chadwick. In his book, David shares 12 ways you can overcome life’s fears and worries—all of which come straight from Scripture.

Order or download your free PDF by clicking here.