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Go to your health professional to determine if you have an actual
health deficiency such as anemia, high blood pressure, heart
problems, cancer, etc. Remember: (if you are diagnosed with
depression), depression is not an illness in and of itself.
It's important to get to the root of the problem. However, depression
is often treated with drugs that may have serious side effects, when
there may be other issues to consider.
- Even if there is a health deficiency you will now need to apply some
discipline in your life for your overall health. Do the following to
please the Lord and according to your physical ability:
a. Seek God FIRST upon arising. Offer yourself to Him to change
your thinking. Use Romans 12:1-2
as the promise for this. Then trust
He will do it.
b. Drink a MINIMUM of eight glasses of good water every day.
c. Eat nourishing food
lots of fresh fruits and vegetables
at
regular times.
d. Exercise on a regular basis
preferably outdoors.
e. Breathe deep of the fresh air
thanking God for the
privilege.
f. Get into the sunshine
open up the windows
lift the
shades
go outside.
g. Be faithful and diligent in getting 7 8 hours of sleep
every night. Regulate your going to bed time and your getting
up time. Work at keeping it the same on a continuous basis. This is
vital.
Ask someone you know and trust to help you plan and monitor your
schedule until it becomes a habit. Thats what Christian helpers are
for. (see Hebrews 10:24)
God Himself plans and schedules and you are created in His image. God
requires that you order your life so there will be no time for
self-pity.
Recognize factors that feed depression and stay away
from them: (see Hebrews 5:14)
a.
nursing a grudge |
b.
self-pity |
c.
gripe sessions |
|
d.
brooding |
e.
over-eating |
f.
refusal to eat |
|
g.
bitterness |
h.
despair |
i.
envy |
|
j.
sleep loss |
k.
procrastination |
l.
any life dominating sin e.g. drugs,
alcohol, sexual perversion, etc. |
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(The subject of life dominating sins will be
covered in another lesson.)
Make a list of all the things you know you ought to do
but havent done because you havent felt like it, e.g. read your
Bible, do the ironing, clean the house, etc. Get to work doing them
for the following reasons:
a. To please God (see Colossians
3:23)
b. Because it needs doing. Dont put it off to a more
convenient time.
c. To help others who are depending
on you e.g. spouse, boss, children, etc.
DO NOT FEAR or concern yourself about the future. Avoid
further depression in the same way you handled the present situation:
a. By doing whatever God requires in any low period of your life whether
you feel like it or not.
b. Schedule your life and stick to it no
matter how you feel. (See James
1:22-25)
Pay particular attention to the following on a daily
basis:
a. Pray faithfully. (1
Thessalonians 5:17)
b. Confess your sins to the Lord and to those against whom you
have sinned. (1 John 1:9; James 5:16)
c. Be diligent in the study, meditation and memorization of Gods
Word. (Psalm
119:11)
d. Stay in regular fellowship with Godly believers (Hebrews 10:23-25)
e. As a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, minister to others
consistently. (1 Peter 4:8-10)
Dont expect immediate change. You are not taking a drug that changes
you. You are putting on new habit patterns and putting
off old habit patterns. This takes time. Be encouraged. As you do
what God wants you to do to please Him, these blessings will follow:
- He will bless you.
- He will strengthen you.
- He will eventually change your feelings.
Pray the following prayer (or a similar prayer to this) on a daily
basis:
"Dear Heavenly Father,
I honor You as my sovereign Lord. I acknowledge that You are always
present with me. You are the only all powerful and only wise God. You are
kind and loving in all Your ways. I love you and I thank You that I am
united with Christ and am spiritually alive in Him. I choose not to love
the world, and I crucify the flesh and all its passions.
I thank You for the life that I now have in Christ, and I ask You to
fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I may live my life free from sin. I
declare my dependence upon You, and I take my stand against Satan and all
his lying ways. I choose to believe the truth, and I refuse to be
discouraged. You are the God of all hope, and I am confident that You will
meet my needs as I seek to live according to Your Word. I express with
confidence that I can live a responsible life through Christ who
strengthens me.
I put on the whole armor of God (do this
by applying the previous lesson on the armor according to Ephesians
6:10-18). I submit my body as a
living sacrifice and renew my mind by the living Word of God in order that
I may prove that the will of God is good, acceptable and perfect. I ask
these things and thank You that you have provided them in the precious
name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen." |