CATEGORY: Depression and Faith
Is That A Thermometer In Your Mouth?
How To Tell When There's An Infection In Your Heart When a young child acts cranky or listless, his or her mom normally pops a thermometer into the kid's mouth or scans the child’s forehead with a device that reveals the body’s temperature. If the temp is...
Is The Cross of Christ Comforting You?
Nothing is more comforting than the gospel of Jesus Christ. According to several respected authors, the key to enjoying and celebrating that gospel is preaching it to ourselves. Preaching the gospel to ourselves is a spiritual discipline that is both proactive and...
SUFFERING IS NEVER FOR NOTHING
It's one thing to read a person's take on suffering who has a solid grasp of the Bible's teaching on the subject. It's another thing altogether, and a far better thing, to read an author whose personal experience of deep suffering complemented her deep...
COMFORTS AND CHALLENGES IN GOD’S WORD
The first part of this post may encourage you. The second half may challenge you. 6 Promises to Encourage Us As We Serve God When we open God's Word, we often yearn for truths and texts that encourage us. Reasons for needing God's comfort or sustenance vary,...
Lord, Will These Descents Into Depression Ever End?
If you struggle with recurring episodes of depression, what characterizes you when the darkness settles in? What could you say to a friend to describe the experience? If you're a family member or close friend of a depression-prone person, what symptoms do you...
When You Are “Seeing Red,” Don’t Go To Bed!
A story revealing a vital biblical principle for handling conflict in relationships Scene 1: Ryan's Steakhouse, Columbia, South Carolina Late 1980s Dolly and I sat across the table from Bob and Nancy (not their real names), a winsome couple from our...
A Reassuring Truth for a Tense Father-Daughter Relationship
Do you recall a time when unrestrained joy filled your soul to the brim? Who or what generated such exuberance? Have you gleaned a truth from God's Word that burst through your mind, flooding your heart to such extent that you cried aloud with joy and uttered...
What Truth About God Offers the Most Comfort When You Suffer?
Have you experienced severe suffering and pain that wasn't a direct consequence of a mistake you made or a sinful choice? When you are hurting, what insights about God, gleaned from His Word, provide the most sustenance? Have you ever struggled to reconcile how...
How To Fight Depression, Temptation and Erroneous Thinking
Who do you most rely on for speaking God's truth into your mind and heart? Is it a loyal, but honest, accountability partner? A dedicated pastor who studies diligently for every sermon he delivers? A best-selling author who feeds your soul through his or her...
Can I Serve Others Effectively When I’m Depressed?
A biblical strategy for alleviating depression or discouragement. When we are hurting, whether it is debilitating physical pain or emotional affliction, such as severe depression, we are self-centered. When depression envelops me, I usually think of others only in...
Divine Curriculum: Sharp Turns, Steep Hills On God’s Racecourse
Can stress that's caused by work overload and schedule imbalance turn out for our good? How does God redeem burnout? What can we learn from mental, emotional and physical exhaustion? In what sense is a stressful situation a means of God's grace? Those questions...
A Story of Eternal Perspective: Fruitfulness of A Single Seed
In your ministry of Bible teaching, preaching or personal evangelism, does it ever seem that, instead of fruitfulness, your branches are bare? Does discouragement dog you because you can't see results from your ministry endeavors, or because someone unfairly...
