I’ve been dealing with depression recently. I go through these spurts from time to time. When I go through them I feel completely unqualified to be sharing about the need to draw closer to God, since I know I’m doing such a poor job of it myself. Maybe, though, I need to be honest when I’m failing at this trusting God stuff, or feel like I’m failing. After all, I know I’m not alone.
One reason for my social media break is that I often run to forums about my health or depression issues to attempt to find solutions instead of running to God. As I have struggled this week with wrong thoughts, I have really been feeling like God has been telling me to press into him.
I’m not exactly sure what that means, but I’d guess he means I need to trust him and not my circumstances.
I feel him asking me to trust him and not people on the internet or my own means.
I heard a clip of a sermon yesterday by Pastor Steven Furtick who suggested that when we are telling God “Hey, I’m trying,” he is telling us “I don’t need you to try. I need you to trust.”
But there have also been other outcomes, that weren’t my choice, that has strengthened me and taught me and taken me down life-giving paths I never would have chosen on my own. I need to remember those when my days are dark, my heart is heavy, and my mind is jumbled with worries and stress.
This week when I have awoken in the night with a weird symptom and that pounding, suffocating, and overwhelming fear that hits me, I am trying to press into God’s goodness, his desire to prosper me, not harm me, to draw me through the bad moments when I want to be lifted out of them.
So I often I base how well my day is going to go on if I think I had a good nights sleep. God is bigger than a bad night of sleep. I need to trust that I can have a good day whether I’ve had a good night of sleep or not because ultimate rest comes in ultimate trust that God’s got this, no matter what “this” is for each day.
More encouraging or thoughtful words under the theme “Faithfully Thinking”:
The Blessing
Didn’t I Tell You to Let Me Handle It?
The Battle Belongs to the Lord
Reminding Myself of My Word of the Year
More encouraging words from other bloggers:
Boondock Ramblings 
Love that you’re not afraid to open up about your emotions, that’s such a huge step to healing!! I’m the same!!
Steven Furtick is always so motivating, I’ve listened to him for a few years now ❤️
When you said: ‘ultimate rest comes in ultimate trust that God’s got this, no matter what “this” is for each day.’ Such truth!!! Prayers for positive mental health!!
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So I know I’m late to the party. But can I just first of all say, this is the THIRD post I have read in the past two days where I feel like God is speaking directly to me. I guess I need lots of reminders, lol 😉 Secondly, depression is a nasty beast. I am sorry you are dealing with it and I know how it feels. God is right there carrying you! And I know that sometimes when you are in the middle of it, that doesn’t help as much as the person saying it wants it to help. But I am praying for you regardless. God Bless!
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I’m the same way with needing a lot of reminders and I would say that God is indeed sending you a message. I need to read my own post again this week because I am not following my own advice very well. Thank you for the prayers!!
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So sorry to hear about your exhaustion and health problems. That is no fun, especially with children around who always have so much energy. It is hard to keep up with everything. I think we at times, at least some of us, we put so much pressure on ourselves. Sometimes it is okay to just be, whatever it feels good to do, just be that for the day. When ever I start feeling stressed, upset, afraid of the unknown or sad I try to find something to look forward to. That can be as simple as finishing a project, reading anything, planning a small trip or event, and when scared I say the Lord’s prayer. Been a tough month, but I and my family are still together and happy. Each day is a gift when surrounded by the ones we love. I will keep you and yours in my prayers.
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Who knows what’s up with me. It’s always something. I just started taking magnesium at night before bed and it’s been knocking me out for about four hours at a time, which is completely unusual for me. Hopefully getting some sleep will help me some, but I seem to be tired no matter what some days. I have some good days though…even if I feel tired. I’m able to get through and accomplish things I set my mind to doing. We started school this past week and I was able to survive that – even with a teenager rolling his eyes at me. 😉
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Beautiful, Lisa. I, too, struggle with Depression. And, with turning the wrong way. 🙂
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Chelsea! Gosh, where have you been? Where have I been?! A quick look and it appears I somehow unfollowed your blog! Depression sucks, no?! If it would just tell me what days it’s going to hit, that would be nice!
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I’ve been depressed. 😉 I took a sabbatical for the summer.
WP drops me from people’s lists sometimes. I’ll be reading through my favorites and think, “I haven’t heard from X in a while;” lo and behold, I’m not following anymore.
Either that, or people are trying to get rid of me.
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That was a good move. I am blogging but taking a long social media break — other than posting a couple things on my author Instagram. I haven’t been on Facebook in a couple of weeks and am not allowed to look at the news per hubby’s orders but I do peek at that from time to time. I see the world is still a dumpster fire at the moment and log off in less than five minutes 😂
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😀 😀 I wish I had your self-control. I thought to get off everything all summer, and couldn’t actually do it unless we were camping.
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My blood pressure started rising. It was a matter of my health
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Well, that makes sense!
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I sounded so dramatic didn’t I? 🤣🤣But really … it could be a physical thing with the blood pressure but it was also higher after reading and immersing myself in news. Along with diet changes had to come mental ones.
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Trying and not trusting…all of that. I’m walking alongside you in those unsettled moments. Perhaps it’s my footsteps that woke you? Be encouraged, friend. There’s power in His name!🧡
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If your footsteps woke me then I need to be in prayer for you when I wake up! I saw your recent Instagram post and thought “Oh we are on a similar path these days, I think.” I just looked and apparently I got interrupted and didn’t leave you a message of encouragement. I know I got stuck on the words “deadline for book three” because that excited me since I loved book one so much and seriously can NOT wait for your second book! Thank you for the encouragement. Stay strong and hug those beautiful babies of yours. I just love the photos I see of your family you are blessed (remember that when you are also stressed 😉 )
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Thank you Dear Lisa for sharing my post, and for sharing all of your own heartfelt posts. I appreciate your openness so much! I pray that you will feel what a blessing you are as you give of yourself here. It is certainly not easy to share the hard parts of our lives, but I am so grateful that God has woven our paths together in this season. He does hear our every cry and He is right there with us in the middle of the night when those waves wash over us. Amen to this: “ultimate rest comes in ultimate trust that God’s got this.” Oh, may I learn to trust Him more too. Hugs, prayers, and love to you dear sister.
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Thank you, Bettie. I always appreciate your comments. Actually I appreciate so many of those who comment on my blog so I don’t mean to take that away from any others who have commented here as well 😉 (Yes, I am overthinking..again… ha!) I don’t like sharing the hard parts because I feel a little like a whiner, but I try to balance it out with the good stuff too. Sometimes when one of my weird health things wake me up I remember to pray for others. Sometimes (shhh!) I don’t but when I do I try to remember you and some others I know who deal with chronic health issues. I shared that post because it has been helping me this week…even if it doesn’t seem like it 😉
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Oh, I sure understand that part about feeling like a whiner! I usually overthink my words also. But I am grateful that God is bigger than our weaknesses, and He nudges us to just share it anyway. And it is in that place that I feel your honesty is what makes your books and stories so precious too. You share the hard things, but find ways to point the characters back to the Lord. I’m so glad we can pray for each other along these places!
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Thank you, Bettie. I don’t know about this writing thing, but I’m going to keep trying. I guess I feel like I should have a publishing deal to be a real author, but….oh well. It’s fun and I’ll keep plugging away at it. 🙂
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This has been a hard year. It began in January with news our oldest granddaughter (16) had been in an abusive relationship, and this individual had encouraged her to harm herself. She was in the hospital for a time. She has since recovered and doing well. My husband had surgery in March. Plus, he had an accident at work this past Monday and nearly lost a finger. This past spring my homeless brother and wife moved in with us. The same granddaughter fell in the shower and dislocated her hips (she has an autoimmune disorder that makes her joints fragile). Our neighbors and closest friends are both going through serious health problems. Plus all the everyday life occurrences. It’s hard. I don’t always sleep well. My husband has major depression. He takes medication, but is often just not having a good day.
I try to be kind to myself. I read Scripture everyday and write down all the verses that I’ve read in that reading. I have memorized 7 verses that apply to anxiety in this season. I listen with headphones to the sound of rain. I am able to listen to this for free either through YouTube of Amazon Prime Music. The sound of rain is relaxing. I am an avid reader/reviewer/blogger. This keeps my mind busy. I have wonderful friends. Bible Study Fellowship will begin soon with the study of Genesis. I’m not a leader this year but a class member. On those days that my mind wants to focus on the bad stuff, I keep refocuses on the Lord.
I’m praying for you!
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I found 2 misspelled words. I wish this had an edit button. “YouTube or Amazon Prime Music.” “I keep refocusing on the Lord.”
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I know! Isn’t that frustrating when that happens!? No worries. I knew what you meant 🙂
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Whoo. That is a lot for one person to be under. It made me tired just reading it, but then again….I’m always tired. Writing down all those verses and memorizing them is a good idea. I need to get better at that because it does help me. Reading and writing helps me to deal with all the craziness in a healthier way. I will pray for you during this difficult time. I’m so glad you have wonderful friends during this time. That’s something I really crave and have prayed for.
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I just realized I didn’t thank you for your kind words. Thank you again. I really appreciate knowing I’m not alone.
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*calms* not *alms* – LOL
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It’s one of those days for typos..lol. No worries! I read it the way it was supposed to be read 😉
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Lisa, I know you really don’t know me other than being a fellow blogger who just so happens to also be a believer in Christ, so I understand if you don’t want to accept any advice really from a stranger. But I am concerned for you and I understand how difficult it is to fully rely on the Lord. When worries and anxiety threaten to overtake me and consume me (because that’s exactly how it feels), I’ve often turned to prayer and scripture but sometimes even that just doesn’t calm me in the middle of the night when I awaken with panicked thoughts. I’ve found that repeating “Lord, I trust in you” over and over again and meaning it alms me down. At the risk of sounding new age which I am definitely not nor do I advocate for it in any way, it’s almost like a mantra. But it’s really a prayer to our Almighty One True God. It does help me and I go back to sleep with that anxiety lifted.
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I have mantras as well and I know what you mean about not wanting it to sound “new age.” You reminded me of my mom when you said that. She always says that too “I don’t want this to sound all New Age or anything…” I am going to try this as well. I do sometimes wake up with that feeling and say “I rebuke you, Satan. You have no hold on me. Leave me in Jesus’ name.” It often helps.
I’m so tired all of the time. I feel like I’m worthless. I’ve been dieting, but not strict enough, I guess, because the weight is still there. I need to exercise but the mere thought of it makes me so tired and want to cry. I know depression can affect exhaustion as well. It’s hard to tell what is physical and what is mental it seems.
My mom has fibromyalgia and my grandmother had it as well so it is possible I’m dealing with that but I’m also trying to treat my thryoid and…quite frankly I’m sick of my health garbage so I’m also trying to avoid it. 😉
Thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate them.
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Both my sister and my niece have fibro, so I get it. If you have it, it is contributing greatly to the way you feel. Prayers for you!!
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