Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.—Psalms 42:11 (KJV)
Depressed, despondent, dejected, discouraged, full of worry, and fear…these words describe the emotional state of many Believers in the world today…but there is hope!!
Hope? Yes, hope! But! No buts! (Arguments are useless)
God’s word is clear that Jesus came to clear the way to God and to give hope when we are hopeless! Regardless of our personal experiences, the Word is true and effective! Please do not try to minimize the reality of God’s word to the existence of your reality!
Okay, enough fussing, here is what I mean…
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”—John 3:16 (KJV)
This verse tells us that God’s love for us prompted His plan and purpose for us. If we simply relegate it to going to heaven, we rob ourselves of its power! God gave Jesus so we will not be defeated by the devil. Adam gave up his place as ruler here on earth, (yes, I said it), thereby giving control to Satan.
God sent Jesus as Savior to redeem us back (Galatians 3:13), and give us an opportunity to live on this earth as He intended before the fall. However it is our responsibility to BELIEVE! Look at that verse again, I think we get the giving of His Son but do we get the “whosoever believeth”? There is no limit to God’s love and forgiveness but there can be a limit to our experience of it…we have to believe.
My friend this is important! When we are going through the circumstances of life, we have to believe the scriptures as truth. We cannot afford the luxury of mental accent and simply mouthing the words “I believe.” Our belief in ‘God means what He says,’ will take us a long way towards changing our current reality. We often feel like, “if it is in my life, God intended it to be there.” That is like saying, “if God wanted me saved, he would save me!” What? No real Christian believes that!! We know we have to believe and receive, to be saved!
Therefore, if we recognize the necessity of our believing the Gospel to experience the gift of salvation, we should also recognize that it takes the same belief to see the undesirable conditions of our lives changed to the glory of God. Please hear me!
Depression or hopelessness is a symbol of defeat and Believers are not defeated!!!
Jesus said John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
If it steals, kills or destroys…it is not from God. If it gives life, especially abundant life, embrace it as part of the blessing of God! Do you have?
- A good marriage,
- Income to meet your needs,
- Peace of mind,
- Love in your home,
- Good friends,
- Food, clothing and shelter,
- Good health…then praise God for it!
If any of those things are lacking in your life, then find scriptures that promise them and claim them as your own. It is not God’s will for us to be lacking in any area of our lives (2 Peter 1:3). Please do not give up or give in; we absolutely can have abundant life! I believe that is what He was saying in John 3:16; “…have everlasting life.” Surely, we will have eternal life, but we are spirit…we will live forever anyway, heaven or hell. I believe He was talking about the Believer’s quality of life here.
Although, sickness, disease, poverty, bondage of all types and fear, is not the will of God for us…we are responsible to secure those things He has provided for our lives. If you need to go to court, legal help is available but you have to get an attorney or you will be unrepresented. When sick, if you don’t go to a doctor, you will remain ignorant of your condition and possibly miss an opportunity for healing (more on this later). If you have money available to you and do not use it for the things you need or want, you will go lacking.
God wants us to use those things He has provided for us to live the life He intended. When we do, we remove the elements that breed the hopelessness that the devil wants us to have…tell the devil NO! Have faith and hope in God…and stop the crying!
Read my post on The Believer’s Benefits for more!
Have Faith1st
©2012 Faith1st Ministries
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Sebastian is a Christian, Author and Church Leadership trainer. His ministry calling, love for God, and His people; has led him into ministry of all types for over thirty years. He and his wife enjoy helping people in their walk of faith and finding solutions to the struggles of life, especially in the area of healing and marriage. Faith1st Blog is designed to open and continue the discussion on the subject of biblical "faith" as a "living" element of the Christian life. - "the just shall live by faith" - Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38 (KJV).
Faith1st Ministries 
I love this Sebastian! God has been revealing so much to me in this area, and this is yet another confirmation! We are never hopeless when we hope in Christ! http://lifeofministermom.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/the-hope-that-doesnt-disappoint/
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You are so right! Thank God for His revelation of His Word! God bless you! –Sebastian
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Dear Sebastion,
In John 14:27, Jesus tells His apostles, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled. Neither let it be afraid.”
Thus, Jesus left a commandment to guard one’s own heart. But how does one guard his heart?
The scripture just before this tells us that the Comforter would be sent to the apostles to bring to their remembrance whatsoever things Jesus had said.
This means that the Comforter would be reminding them of all the commandments of the Lord so that, when their hearts condemned them, they would be able to see the place where they were failing to love their neighbors as themselves, correct their courses, and continue their joyful with God.
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Hello…thank you for your input on this post! You make a good point on John 14…thank you for expressing it. Blessings to you!
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Oh, this is Excellent (again)! I watch Daystar network for Christian programming, and Marcus Lamb (founder/president) was just saying yesterday that we must not “declare our circumstances, trials, feelings–but rather declare our faith in God, Who is our Source, our Provision, our Victory!” Thank you Sebastian for your wonderful messages! God bless you abundantly.
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Caddo, thank you again for your encouraging words! I believe the scriptures declare that those who have ears should “hear what the Spirit says to the Church.” I believe that God is speaking and giving direction to his people…this is why I am not trying to be theologically astute, but rather to give the messages that I believe God is speaking in this hour! Thank you again…Bless you!
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Yes Sebastian what you said there for me ticks all the boxes ,God wants us to live a fulfilled life and in victory with Him. Satan wants for us to live in defeat and vulnerability all day long ,without hope! As you say why should we live as if satan has a chance?
Keep up the good work Sebastian
blessings
Ron
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Yes Ron, we have the victory already and should live like it!! Thanks for the input!
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Amen! Great Post, Sebastian. Believe – then do not waiver!
God Bless You,
Dei
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🙂 Our pastor, Drew Koen, at Hope Community Church is currently teaching on this very subject. The Lord’s promises to us are sure and irrevocable, but we must claim them in unwavering Faith. That the Lord expects us to do our part to secure what He has promised us by speaking and acting on our Faith, which also increases our Faith by exercizing it, and by perservering in it without allowing ourselves to give up. “The Just shall live by Faith.” “We live by Faith, not by sight.” ‘It is the evidence of things hoped for; the assurance (and substance) of things unseen.’ Be blessed forever while you walk with the Lord. He will never leave us nor forsake us.
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Hello 237! Thanks to you and your pastor for enlightening the Body on Faith! I believe if the “just” should live by it, then we should know as much as possible about how to live by it! Thanks again for checking in and adding to the discussion. Blessings to you, yours and your pastor!
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Excellent post my friend. And if you don’t mind I would like to add that we blame the enemy for allot of things and we know his only mission is to steal, kill and destroy but we as Christians have to stop giving the enemy permission in our lives. We far to often allow him to come into our homes our thoughts and we give him the foot-hole that he needs to come in. If we would be on our post like Ezekiel was then we can see the enemy coming and began to warn the people. I think I better stop writing because this could end up being a sermon in itself. God bless you and thank you again for visiting and commenting on my post again today.
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Thank you Desiray for making that point! I believe the Lord meant it when He said; “Behold I give unto you power…over all the power of the enemy…” (Luke 10:19). If that power is available to us, then we should use it often! Thanks for the input. Blessing to you!
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Hi It`s so nice to have people concerned and inquiring after me, that is so lovely ,and be assured of my appreciation.We only have to look around us and see Gods wonderful provision for us , that we should never doubt His care and provisiion So lets not take all this for granted eg. like people like you who show you care !
blessings
Ron
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Hello Ron…yes we all should be concerned about our spiritual siblings and not take it for granted! You are my brother and I love you and pray God’s best for you and yours! –Sebastian
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Well I have to agree with you Sebastian, and Carole in the UK… I believe what you both shared is spot on ‘Please do not try to minimize the reality of God’s word to the existence of your reality’.
You are both right we do already have all that is needed to live victorous Christian lives, yes when we are Born again of God’s seed 1John3:1-11(9) we have the power not to sin but how many continue to and do not accept they have been set free from sin’s slavery and even say they will sin till they die so confessing and believing that what Jesus said was not really true for them.
John 8:34-36 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to itforever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Christian Love Anne
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Great point again Anne! Thank you for sharing it. Blessings!
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Powerful food for thought, Sebastian, especially when you state, ‘Please do not try to minimize the reality of God’s word to the existence of your reality’. Too many times as children of God, we pray the problem, rather than praying the outcome, according to the promises of God. That is why we need to continually saturate ourselves in the Word.
I pray that more in the world will get to know that if it steals, kills or destroys…it is not from God, we will then here less of the question ‘Why did God let it happen’, even from those in the Body of Christ..
Another great article, Sebastian.
If you get time please blog hop over to The Faith Lounge, as my last post was on a similar theme to yours here – http://www.thefaithlounge.com
Rich blessings, Carole
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Thanks Carole! You are correct! Our God is a problem solver and has given us answers to life’s issues–the Word of the Living God! When we pray, either for ourselves or others, we should start with the answer–which is found among the pages of scripture! Thanks again Carole for such timely input and I will check out your latest post. Blessings to you!
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I think crying helps out, too, when we come to the end of ourselves and find that we can’t live without God.
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Hello TJ…very nice to have you check in! It is good for us to reach the end of our own strength because regardless of how strong we may think we are, we need the Lord everyday! Blessings to you and yours each and everyday! Please keep checking in! — Sebastian
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Hi Sebastian you message is very True and powerful and yes it takes two as you said, God and us and we must choose, the same with marriage if one person does not believe, we cannot force them, and God will not go against anyones free will so once again we must choose to believe and then He empowers us to live out His Truth in our life.
It’s sad when people like the Tax Collector believe they haven’t sinned and don’t need Salvation, they are calling God a Liar 1 John 1:9-10 I have met many like this having been in a Ministry to Atheists and my Mum too is an Atheist and believes the same. But it is just as sad when people reject Scripture and continue to sin and hurt God yet still claim they are Born again of God’s seed, the Scriptures refute this error as you can see below. Its interesting but sad how many would rather ignore Scripture, abuse those who present God’s Truth or dismiss them, read other Scripture with their own understanding or out of context to justify their error, trust in their feelings or agree to disagree , instead of seeking Jesus our only Teacher for His Truth.
1John 3: 1-11 ( 4-11 ) Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him is no sin. No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the Children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not Love his brother.
Freedom in Christ Jesus agrees with Scripture but people would prefer to believe what they want to accept…. sad but true.
Christian Love Anne
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Anne, thank you for your input on this matter! It is true that the child of God should live a life pleasing to God. I always enjoy your input to the conversation! Blessings to you and Ron!
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Yes, I agree with the Word and you, there is no reason for is as believers to be down, depressed, or doubtful! We have Jesus, the Word, and God’s promises for success, want is more than that. If we get that revelation, we would never have a down day, because we have and know our hope. Thanks for the word!
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You’re welcome Jill! Your comments are both welcomed and appreciated! It must be known and believed that we have a hope–regardless of the circumstances! Thank you again!
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