IDENTIFYING AND OVERCOMING THE LIES OF DEPRESSION:
LIE #1

In one of my previous blogs I talked about “Wrong Beliefs and Depression:  A Deadly Mix.”  The insidious danger of depression is that it envelopes you in lie after lie, until you don’t know what’s the truth or what to do.  I’m going to use the next several blogs to begin identifying these lies and show how you can overcome them.

 
Because we cover these lies in our book:  Hope Again: A Lifetime Plan for Conquering Depression, the blogs on this subject will be shorter than usual. I encourage you to get the book for a fuller discussion of what depression does to a person.  

Let’s begin this study with what I believe is the worst lie of all.  So many depressed people have said this to me over the years, even Christians who are at church every week:  “Mark, I just don’t believe God loves me.”  There’s more to it than that, of course.  Other phrases that go along with it are: “I’m not worthy of God’s love;” or, “I’m not doing anything for God and I feel like such a failure.”  The list goes on and on, but you get the picture.  

The interesting thing about these people is that they have no problem believing God loves everyone else!  They are allowing their lack of self-esteem and the negative emotions swirling about them to define their relationship with God!  

If you have read much of our writings, you know Bruce and I have placed the Word of God as our ultimate authority.  Not culture, not the opinions of others, and CERTAINLY NOT our emotions!  So, let’s see what the Bible has to say about you and God’s love:  

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV84) 

Are you a part of the world?  Of course you are!  This verse makes you a promise, a fact you can stake your life on:  God loves YOU and wants to have fellowship with you forever.  

Take a moment to say no to the negative emotions and yes to the promise of God in this passage.  Thank God for His love, and live in that love every day.