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The Antidote for Anxiety and Depression: Trust in Abba Father’s Care – Pt 4

You Can Trust the Lord With All Your Heart!

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.  

– Proverbs 3:5-6

When I applied to attend university to pursue my first degree, I had no idea how I would finance it. When I got accepted to the university, I was so stricken by anxiety and depression (which was usually my first response) because I knew that there was no way I could have afforded to go. On the other hand, there was a flood of excitement that drowned all my thoughts that God was unable to provide everything I needed to attend university and complete the degree. As a matter of fact, I had such complete trust in Him (which I didn’t always have but over the years I’ve learnt to trust Him) that I decided to take time out to seek His guidance for my new journey.

In so doing. I felt the Holy Spirit’s leading to do things that to the natural man was considered imprudent. I didn’t understand it all nonetheless I purposed in my heart to trust in the Lord. I was directed to give away many of my personal belongings. Some things I didn’t remember that I had and others I considered insignificant. I didn’t just give them to anyone but I was told by the Holy Spirit to whom to give what. To my amazement they were all things that all of those persons needed at the time. I thought that was just like “…God to choose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise…” (1 Corinthians 1:27a).

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Biographical Study of the Life of Joseph

TEXT: GENESIS 37 – 50

INTRODUCTION

This study shows how Joseph’s life went from “Riches to Rags to Riches”.  It is also designed to teach how the characters of total forgiveness and unconditional love can be built and developed in one’s life.

Joseph, as a type of Christ, like many other types in the Old Testament, was a “shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the thing” (“not the realities themselves – Hebrews 10:1 NIV).

Joseph was a type of Christ in many ways, but here I want to emphasize it particularly in the way he became a victim of his brothers’ jealousy and cruelty.  The attitude that his brothers had towards him is precisely the way men looked at Jesus.  There emerged in the life of Jesus a conspiracy to set Him at naught.  This happened when Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot.  Judas went to the priests of Israel, who took Jesus to Herod, then to Pilot.  The whole thing was a conspiracy.  Similarly, Joseph’s brothers, when they saw him coming said among themselves, “let us slay him” (Genesis 37:20).  He was sold into slavery and later rose to an important position in the Egyptian government.

Joseph was a young man who was born of a father and mother who loved him very much.  In fact, he was his father’s favourite son.

His name means “may God add” and indeed God did add to his life.  There was also something at work in his life that was wonderful and positive, a gift that God gave him.  

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Worship – Pt 5

WHAT HINDERS OUR WORSHIP

Worship that honours God flows from a life that is open and in tune with Him, but there are times when we allow all kinds of things to obstruct and hinder that.  Some people seem to think that worship happens the moment the minister announces the first hymn or song on a Sunday morning.  An honest appraisal of what constitutes real worship places the responsibility firmly on us as individuals – not on a style of worship or a particular leader.

We therefore must be prepared to examine our hearts before a Holy God and identify those things which would hinder or prevent us bringing a praise offering to the Lord.

Such questions as “Is my attitude wrong?”  “What am I expecting God to do this morning?”  And “What am I prepared to give to Him today?”  All demand honest answers if we are to be clean and open channels for worship to flow.

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Worship – Pt 4

THE PLACE OF BOTH THE SPIRIT AND THE WORD IN WORSHIP

We need to understand these two (2) dimensions:  What is the place of the Spirit and the Word in worship?  Sometimes I hear people say, “If only we could have longer times of worship without preaching.  But according to the Scripture, preaching is worship. Paul says, “Be filled with the Spirit!  Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and Spiritual songs.  Sing and make music in hearts to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:18-19).  In this case, the Spirit produces worship, but then we read, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and Spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16).  Here the Word produces worship.  So New Testament worship is always in Spirit and Truth.

THE SPIRIT IN WORSHIP

The natural result if the Spirit filled life is worship.  When the apostles were baptized in the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, they spoke in tongues and glorified God. Tongues release our heart to worship and help us to express our deepest feelings to God.

The Greek word translated, ‘worship’ in John 4 is ‘proskuneo’ which means to come towards, to kiss.  This implies great intimacy.  When Paul says, “We … are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3), he used the word, latreuo.  This word has nothing to do with expressing intimacy.  Rather it is about worshipping God in everything that we do.  So we need the help of the Spirit to express intimacy with God in our worship times, and in the way we live with others.

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Worship – Pt 3

JESUS EXPLAINS WORSHIP IN THE BOOK OF ST. JOHN 4: 1-26

THE TRUE NATURE OF WORSHIP (1-10)

In the time of Jesus, the Jews and Samaritans did not get along too well – which is why the Samaritan woman was so astounded when Jesus asked for a drink of water.  When Jesus put His finger on an area of personal need in her life, she realized that He was a prophet and began to engage Him in a religious discussion.  We do not know whether she asked her questions out of curiousity or genuine interest, but we do know that Jesus’ answer tell us what worship is really all about.

WORSHIP IS NOT LIMITED TO A PLACE! (V.20-21)

The woman wanted to know where people should go to worship God.  At that time the Samaritans and Jews both followed the Law of Moses but disagreed about where to worship.  The Samaritans said that true worship should take place on Mount Gerizim near Shechem, whereas the Jews favoured Mount Zion in Jerusalem.  There was a certain amount of logic in both arguments.  God had revealed Himself to Moses on Mount Gerizim but He had spoken a bit later about worship on Mount Zion.  So there was tension between the two nations.

The focus on a place for worship was an old covenant idea.  When Jesus told the woman, ‘It is not important where you worship’, He was pointing to a New Covenant arrangement which superseded the Old.  Sometimes we can get sentimental about places.  Maybe we remember the building where our Church first started, or where God met with us powerfully.  We must be careful not to build a shrine to it.  Rather, we must remember that we can worship God anywhere.

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Worship – Pt 2

WHAT IS WORSHIP?

We have a problem understanding what worship is.  Why?  Because we English speakers are limited by our vocabulary.  You see, when the Old Testament speaks about people rejoicing before God, we translate this as ‘praise’ or ‘worship’.  We do not realize that in the original Hebrew there are lots of words for worship and that they all have different shades of meaning.

W. Tozer called worship ‘the missing jewel of the church’. Each Hebrew word for worship is like one facet of that jewel and together they bring the sort of colour, sparkle and rich variety that we should see reflected in our personal and corporate times of worship. It may sound uninspiring to go through these words, but I assure us that it is not.  If we know what they mean, see them in their context and meditate on them, we will have a broader understanding of what worship is all about – and that should make us a better worshipper.

True worship springs from deep within the heart and is expressed in our relationship with God and also with others.  It should actually affect everything that we do – in church life and outside it.  We worship God and work out that worship by loving one another.  If we are critical or negative with others, we are not really expressing our worship to God.  So a good definition of worship is: ‘loving God in the presence of His people and loving God’s people in the presence of God.’

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Worship – Pt 1

INTRODUCTION

As human beings, we were created by God to worship Him and to have fellowship with Him. Worship prepares us for an outpouring of the Spirit in us as individuals, in our churches and in our nations.

Paul recognized a basic need in man – the need to worship.  God gave mankind a capacity for worship but man rebelled and tried to fill that vacuum with anything other than God Himself.  Rather than worship the Living God, man chose not to acknowledge or give thanks to Him – with catastrophic consequences (Romans 1:21-24).

Man was made for a relationship with God and God wants to receive His worship.

Worship becomes more meaningful as we meditate on scriptures and apply what we discover to our lives.

We will never get our work right until we get our worship right. This means that effective service is rooted in a heart that is overflowing with love for the Lord.

Our aim in worship is to please God – nothing more, nothing less.  (To put a smile on God’s face).  To give Him pleasure and joy as He sees His children giving Him His rightful place in their lives.

Worship should cost us something (Hebrews 13:15).  Sacrifice implies giving something that is costly – self-denial, tithes and offering, obedience, and total commitment in our lifestyles.

As we bless the Lord in our worship, so by His Spirit He lifts our hearts and reminds us that we are His children.

The word worship in the English Language is a derivative of an Anglo-Saxon word Wercscipe, which simply means, “to appreciate the worth of”.  It is used to express value that is on an object or a person.  Therefore, when we worship something or someone, we lavish our love, attention and praise in that particular direction, whether it is our wife, our husband, our children, a close friend, or even a car!  So when we talk of worshipping God, we imply that we are appreciating His worth in all that we do in order to communicate our love for Him.

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My Personal Experience with Mental Health Issues

My principal qualification for addressing the subject of ‘Mental Health Issues” isn’t my degrees, my involvement in varies aspects of Ministry, my many voluntary Youth Work, my being the President of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Schools Guidance Counsellors Association or the many years as a Teacher, and now Guidance Counsellor in one of the Secondary Schools in SVG. It is my own history of struggles.  

I had been a depression-prone, anxiety-prone, emotionally-fragile person who sometimes found it a lot easier to encourage others than to encourage myself. I’m a soldier in the army of Christ who marches with a limp. Yet I’m still in the fight, only by the grace of God.

Therefore, I am not sharing with you from a pre-eminent perspective, as someone who has apprehended life but as someone who is zealous to transmit what sustains and empowers me. For a few years now I have been inspired to share my story and to be an advocate for Mental Health. However, because of the stigma attached to Mental Health I was afraid but I believe that the time has come for me to do whatever it will take to sensitize our people about Mental Health. Hence, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you my story.

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Understanding and Overcoming Eating Disorders

Introduction

Song on Anorexia Nervosa

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wECFdIOvaCo&list=PLYEhyAvxUjMqs8cXT0Gh_k5jKEW0tuzwo&index=1

What are Eating Disorders?

Eating disorders are characterized by a persistent disturbance of eating or eating-related behaviour that results in the altered consumption or absorption of food and that significantly impairs physical health or psychosocial functioning.

Diagnostic criteria are provided for pica, rumination disorder, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder (DSM V, 2013, p. 329).

According to National Institute of Mental Health: The eating disorders anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder, and their variants, all feature serious disturbances in eating behaviour and weight regulation. They are associated with a wide range of adverse psychological, physical, and social consequences.

A person with an eating disorder may start out just eating smaller or larger amounts of food, but at some point, their urge to eat less or more spirals out of control. Severe distress or concern about body weight or shape, or extreme efforts to manage weight or food intake, also may characterize an eating disorder.

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Understanding and Overcoming Depression

Introduction

What is Depression? 

Depression is a serious medical illness marked by feelings of sadness, irritable mood, emptiness, hopelessness or despair, accompanied by somatic and cognitive changes that significantly affect the individual’s capacity to function.

Depression is an “inexpressible sadness”. There is a vast difference between feeling sad and being depressed. It is normal for people to feel “down” or have the “blues” when they experience a sad circumstance such as the death of a loved one or friend, the loss of a job, a divorce, separation or some other significant loss. However, anyone who experiences continued depression without any recognizable cause should know that this may be a warning sign of major depression.

Depression is a global problem. It affects an estimated one in 15 adults (6.7%) in any given year.  One in six people around the world will suffer from major depression at some point during their lives. Depression is the most frequently occurring and debilitating psychiatric disorder, causing more disability than any other mental illness. It has been estimated that by 2020 depression will be the greatest disability worldwide.

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