Depression Self Help Bible Study
Depression self help begins with learning not to put your faith in your feelings. Doing so is the equivalent of building a house on sand instead of rock.
Don’t put your faith in your feelings
God made us as emotional creatures and depression is very much a condition of mood (a pervasive feeling that impacts perception.) But we learn early on in our faith walk that we are not to put our faith in our feelings…In this article on depression help we will explore more lessons on depression self help from the book of Ruth.
During my own Naomi season…
I felt that my life had no meaning. I had been through this depression before and had come out on the other side of this lie and experienced the victory. But this time, I found myself languishing like the cripple at the pool of Bethesda…
I could see the water of healing, but I could not see any way to get myself into that pool. I was focused on my feelings and not on the truth of God’s word and the truth of who God is. I was in anguish. I was without hope…
Depression lies to us…our lives do have meaning!
To feel that my life had no meaning was very different than the truth. God’s word tells us our lives have eternal meaning and purpose. God’s word is our greatest source of depression self help.
Naomi felt like the Lord had made her life very bitter. Indeed she had fixed her eyes on her circumstances and not on her heavenly Father. It is He who is our strength and song. It is He who is the lifter of our countenance. YHVH, He is our depression help!
Our God is the God of restoration
Despite her rather depressing circumstances, God used it all to ultimately restore and reward Naomi and of His people Israel through King David the great grandson of Ruth and Boaz.
Naomi was personally restored through the relationships that God brought into her life through Ruth and Boaz. She was also rewarded with a grandson to care for who’s lineage bore the anointed King David and his eternal throne.
See God’s provision in His Providence
Finally, overcome depression by being willing to see God’s provision to you through His providence…and then, give praise and thanksgiving to God for His daily provision as Naomi finally did. Praise and thanksgiving is a powerful form of depression self help because it fixes our mind on YHVH. After all, God promises to provide for our daily needs, not our wants and desires.
Depression self help means we need to be vigilant about looking for the ways that God fulfills His word in our lives. We must be deliberate about giving thanks to Him…
I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness;
I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High…Psalm 7
Naomi was so full of despair and self loathing that she missed some important signs of hope…signs like the barley harvest that was just beginning as they arrived in Bethlehem. It is also likely that she saw Ruth’s insistence to go to Bethlehem with her as a nuisance rather than as an encouragement.
It was not until Ruth returned with an ephah of barley and a job gleaning in Boaz’s fields, that Naomi recognized and gave thanks for God’s provision. It was then that she began to shed her feelings of despair.
Be vigilant about looking for and acknowledging God’s provision to you every day. Keep your eyes fixed on Him and not your circumstances. For only God knows how He is weaving you and your circumstances into His wonderful tapestry of eternity. Remember God is your depression help.
Surely God’s compassion’s are new every morning; great is His faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23).