If there was a part in my life that is my least favorite, it was the time 2 years ago when I battled with depression. I hated every single thing happening in my life. And if I weren’t a Christian then, I would have thought of suicide. (Yes, depression is real and it can kill). As I child, I battled with bouts of depression many times and had actually intended to commit suicide in grade school. I didn’t know what I was thinking, I was just feeling hopeless. I can’t even remember now why I thought of doing that. And fast forward to the time I met the Lord, I was met with people from the Bible who were just like me. What??? Noah, Elijah, Jeremiah. These guys. They felt some type of hopelessness I felt. The kind of hopelessness you actually want to die.
Today, I want to share with you about Jeremiah in Lamentations 3.
Read Lamentations 3:1-20. Stop right there at verse 20. And I want you to imagine with me how awful Jeremiah must have been feeling at this time. He was physically feeling wasted away (v 4), he was blaming God for what was happening (v 7-9) as if God was blocking his prayers, he was insecure and bitter (v 10-15). Finally in verse 20, “I will never forget this awful time…” His self-talk is definitely bringing him on a downward spiral making him more depressed than he already was!
You see, this is what happens to us when we think of thoughts that aren’t aligned to God’s ways. When our mindset is filled with negative things, there is no way our words and actions will be godly and lead to positive response.
“This is hopeless.”
“How can I ever get my 1st sale?”
“I will never be good at this.”
“I don’t have time. I don’t have money.”
“I always fail. I am such a failure.”
Oh well, if these are your words, time to make some changes in your MINDSET. Look at how Jeremiah ended this chapter.
21 Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:
22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends![a]
His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”
How beautiful is this. WE HAVE HOPE IN HIM! I hope today, you were reminded to have hope in the Lord. Stop focusing on your problems and start focusing on Jesus. It is not like your situation will change instantly, but your words and actions will. Your response to trials will be different and people will see Jesus shining in your life. Isn’t that what God want anyway?
How are you going to change your self-talk so your mindset can change too?
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