Christianity Oasis Forum

[wantHistouch]

Hello ElvinH,

God bless you and your wife abundantly. I am truly sorry for your loss and for the sad news you received. Keep being strong, keep holding unto God. Please remember in your eyes you are ElvinH but in God's eyes you are his hero, his child so he will surely come to help you in times of your trouble. The Psalmist prayed this in Psalm 94: 17-19
17 Unless the Lord had given me help I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. 18 When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy."
Psalm 71-19-2119 Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, you who have done great things. Who is like you, God? 20 Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. 21 You will increase my honor and comfort me once more."
Pray in the Spirit (James 5: 13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray) and the Spirit also comforts us. Release all your burden to Jesus as he said "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest". Keep being strong ElvinH all the bible heros (Job, David, Jeremiah ... ) did what you are doing - they kept holding onto God in their trouble. So keep holding onto God and God has his providence for you even in such hard times. I also pray this for myself. I pray that God gives you and your wife the strength and wisdom to pass the tough time you are going through and refresh you with a spirit of joy. I pray God intervene in your situation, and surely He can, blessed be His name forever and ever. God bless you again.

[mlg]

Hey ElvinH,

I definitely will continue to pray for you and your lovely wife.

Take care

[ElvinH]

It has been a year since I posted this about my depression. Well it hasn't got any better. Except I did get a job " Praise God " but it is a very hard job. There are days, almost daily, where it is hard for me to function at my job. I wake up shaking and in fear, I try so hard to put my faith in God, but it is hard to get rid of those bad thoughts that the devil puts in my mind. I'm still facing issues in my life that could be devastating not only for my self but my family. I would like to ask for prayers to have a peace in my mind and that this attack that has come against my and myself would be resolved and go away forever. Thank You my friends for your thoughts and prayers.

[marnigal]

Hi ElvinH,

I struggle with anxiety and depression too, and can understand your pain. Good for you in finding and keeping a job in the midst of this, it is not easy. A favourite Bible verse that continues to encourage me is from John 1:3-5 (The Message) "Everything was created through Him - not one thing! - came into being without Him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn't put it out."

I offer you a few things that help me in my depression and maybe you can take something from it. Food plays a powerful role; make sure you are eating whole, real food (meat and veggies) and possibly gluten could be trouble for you, as it is for many ... depression is caused by eating food that is not good for you. I have been eating paleo for over 2 years now, and I've experienced massive improvements with depression.

See if you can find a time and a space where you can relax. Yoga, meditating/prayer, going for a walk, ... wherever you can practice 'turning off' your mind and just resting. I used to go, go, go and go some more, but we need rest.

I lift you in prayer to receive God's protection and hope you continue to see His light.

[ElvinH]

Thank you so much for your response. I haven't posted much if any over the last year. It's been a very bad last year and this year started out with my sister passing away suddenly. On top of that even though I am working the money is very tight still.

It helps me to write posts and to read what people write back. I express my feelings to my family and even though they are patient with me and listen I know they are tired of me always being so down. My wife tells me to have faith and believe that God will take care of us and that there is no reason to have fear and depression if we trust in Him. She is my Rock because I see that faith in her, but I am having such a hard time getting my mind focused upon God. If I could just turn everything over to him my life would be so much more peacful . I would like to ask everyone that reads this to pray that I would have peace of mind and unstoppable Faith.

[marnigal]

I think that those of us who struggle with depression have a unique faith ... just because the depression doesn't lift, we still choose our faith in God. I don't think it's a black and white situation, where if we just have faith and trust, the depression will disappear. Depression also have physical roots, such as hormone imbalances, food sensitivities. It's also about dealing with deeply held thought patterns that we're often not aware of that can be impacting our 'mood'. Don't be too hard on yourself, as often that is part of the cause for depression. You're not alone!

[daybyday]

Lord our healer, hear our cries and deliver us from whatever it is you know we need to be free and whole

[Shanna5]

Hi ElvinH,
I am a new member today. Your post is the first one I read. I have had some really low points in life these last three years. I truly know how you feel. I will pray for you and your family that God would pour his peace down upon you. Keep your eyes lifted up, praise God through your circumstance. God inhabits the praises of his people. Where there is light the darkness has to flee. Usher God into your atmosphere. May God continue to bless you and you family. You are victorious in Christ.

[ElvinH]

It has been over a year since I posted anything here. I really appreciate all the comments and prayers and my prayers go out to all of you suffering the same as myself. I wish I could say things have gotten better but they haven't. I really hate being negative or havering negative thoughts but it seems like I just can't shake this demon of negativity. What could I be doing wrong. I love God, I pray to God all the time for help for freedom from depression, fear and anxiety. My wife tells me to read the bible but for some reason when I read the bible nothing sticks in my mind I do better listening to bible. She doesn't feel this is the same as reading the bible but I'm not a reader, it's a struggle for me to read the bible and I hate that. I would love to be able to read the word and it speak to me the way I hear ministers talk about how the word speaks to them. It just doesn't work for me. I think part of the reason is I have to many thoughts going on in my mind and I am unable to settle down to just absorb the word. I really need prayer that God would help me in this issue. I know two of my main issues that is causing a big part of my problems, money and work. I'm thankful that I have a job but I feel imprisioned by it and I don't feel this is what I was created to do. That is part of the frustration, wanting to do Gods will for my life and not doing it or knowing what he wants me to do.
Money is another issue, I make just enough to get by each month but that's it. In my mind I hate that money is a controlling factor in my life. When I look back at my life it is always money that is controlling things.it should be God and not the all mighty dollar. What ever happened to the year of Jubilee where all debt is forgiven and you start fresh again. At my age I see no end to debt and work is in my future until God takes me home.

I really want to know that when I stand in front of the great white throne of God I've done what he wanted me to do while I was here on this planet. I don't want to be on my death bed wishing I had just done something else with my life. I want a fulfillment in my life. I want to feel I am in that grove that God created for me in my life. I would guess that the majority of people feel the way I do. I've meet people that are in what I call the grove. Doing the path God has for them. You can tell when you meet those people. Everything goes right for them and they are happy with what they are doing. To them work doesn't seem like work. What they are doing for a living is enjoyable. In turn for the most part money seems to flow their way as well.
As I re read what I've written I can hear my wife say " complain, complain and not be thankful to God for anything" and she may be right, LOL. It just helps to get all this off my chest since I really have no one else except God to talk with and you my friends. I Am thankful to God for several things, health ( even though my mind needs a lot of work ), I have a job, a wife, two great sons and grandkids, ( better not forget the daughter-in-laws ), a roof over my head and a 20 year old car I can get around in.
Well this was really long so I guess I better go for now. Again I thank all of you for your prayers hopefully God will heal my mind. And situation soon and I can get back to normal the way I was several years ago.
God Bless you all.

[dema]

Let it go. Really give it to God. And open your mind and heart to the answer being unexpected. There are many answers. Sometimes we fashion a set of answers and don't see other possibilities. Perhaps you should sell your house and move into an apartment but that isn't within your scope. Perhaps you should take an opportunity that just seems ridiculous.

It doesn't matter if you read the Bible or listen to it. If listening works, then it works. The fact that your wife says there is a particular way makes me think even more that you have perhaps limited your possibilities.

Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson declared bankruptcy. That may be what you consider to be an unacceptable option. Moving to where you don't need a car might be another. I don't know your situation.

Pray first by yourself and later with your wife. Open your heart to WHATEVER God says. Often people think they aren't hearing because they don't want to believe what they are hearing. And in blocking that one thing off, they block all connection with God off.

Let it go. Give it to God. All of it, money, job, depression - let it go. Turn on the tapes for a while - maybe Psalms or the 8th chapter of Romans - and then turn them off and pray and then listen. Be still. Do this several times in a week. Actually every week. And be willing to listen.

If a voice tells you to paint yourself red and walk naked down the street - well, I'm sure that isn't God. But if with peace you are told to go minister to a tribe in Africa - think about it. . I don't think that is what you will hear. But the point is, that I think that you may have shut off God when he said something that you or your wife really couldn't accept as being from God. God shakes us up. He really does. No red paint, but he still shakes us up.

[ElvinH]

Thank you so much for your words, you sound very knowledgeable. I guess what you are saying I actually know deep inside. I have heard so many ministers talk the way you do. I will tell you that back in 2011 I thought God wanted me to start a magazine. I prayed about it, my wife prayed about it and we both felt that's what God wanted me to do. We also needed a certain amount of money to start it and we had the money we needed but 2 years later it failed. That was a big disappointment. Then I was awakened one night and I heard a voice tell me to write a book. It may sound silly but I actually heard a soft voice. It told me what to call the book and a prayer to put in the book. It took me about a year to write it even though it's only 24 pages. I had it printed and have given it to several people. The ones I have given it to have told me that it has been a real blessing in their life. They also asked me for other copies to give to people they know that need a blessing. That's been over a year ago and it just seems like it's not going anywhere. I guess I feel if I was suppose to write it just for one of those people it was worth it.
It just seems like even though I think I'm doing what God wants, nothing seems to be working out. Which leaves me in doubt of whether I'm actually hearing God or not.

I'm going to take your advice and keep listening. Thank You for writing.

[dema]

We never know how important what we do - little things - can be. Or seldom I should say. There are so many stories of the person who was contemplating suicide or just in a really tough place and later they talk about what saved them. So often it was something that the other person never knew. I helped a young woman get treatment for dyslexia once. It was no big deal to me. Later when she wrote a letter in the school newspaper about how I was the reason she had succeeded, it took me days to remember who she was.

Sometimes it takes a village to accomplish a goal. To encourage a great evangelist or a great teacher. We don't know what role we play in that kind of thing.

Sometimes God lets us know. But sometimes he does not. And we do the best we can and hope that we are hearing right.

God bless.