As an ordained minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with an earned Bachelor of Divinity Degree, I have served in Christian ministry since 1978, including service as a pastor, Christian educator, author, newspaper columnist, and Biblical Counselor.
Psalm 18:30 says, “As for God, his way is perfect: The word of the Lord is tried.” Yes, God’s Word is tried and proven to be perfect. When you apply God’s Word; it works. Not sometimes, not most of the time, BUT EVERY TIME. And no matter who you are, what you've done, or what challenges you face in life, if you’ll daily apply proper principles of truth to your life, IT WILL WORK FOR YOU. ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEED!
NOTE: All Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version. All Charts, Illustrations, and Book Cover designs are created by Gary E. Williams. © Copyright. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means---electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or any other---except for brief quotations in printed reviews---without the prior written permission of Gary E. Williams.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
What Is Biblical Counseling?
There is a great deal of confusion regarding the true definition of "Biblical" counseling. Many counselors call themselves "Biblical" or "Christian" but in reality use secular theories of human behavior, rather than God's Word, to help people handle the difficulties of life. Under such circumstances the Word of God is compromised and Scripture alone is no longer accepted as the final authority. Instead, it becomes a mere ornament in the counseling process.The following ESSENTIAL characteristics are representative of true Biblical counseling and are strictly adhered to by Amazing Grace Ministries.
1) THE ABSOLUTE AUTHORTIY OF SCRIPTURE. Genuine Biblical counseling represents the fact that the Bible itself is sufficient for counseling. The Bible is, in and of itself, sufficiently adequate to deal with the human mind, emotions and spirit. As a result, a methodology for helping people change their attitudes and behavior should only be developed from the Bible.
2) THE ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. Genuine Biblical counseling must uphold the absolute sovereign power of God. That is, God is in complete control of every single atom in the universe and presides in authority over all human events; past, present, and future. Since God is sovereign, He has absolute capacity to change peoples' lives.
3) REDEMPTION ORIENTED. Genuine Biblical counseling must seek to restore the relationship between God and men by leading them to find "newness in life" in Jesus Christ, by trusting Him as Savoir and Lord, understanding that men and women cannot be helped in any fundamental and permanent sense apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of His Holy Word. Only Jesus can heal, deliver, transform, restore and strengthen the counselee, as the counselee surrenders the whole of his/her life to Him. (Galatians 2:20)
4) BIBLE DEFINED COMPETENCE. Genuine Biblical counseling must firmly believe that it is not the counselor's professional knowledge, degrees, certification, or governmental licensing that is responsible for effecting change in the life of the counselee. Rather, it is the knowledge of Scripture, combined with Divine wisdom and experience, as well as the genuine desire to help others, that creates competency in the Biblical counselor, all under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
5) NO FEES CHARGED. Gary Williams, as the founder of Amazing Grace Ministries, is dedicated to the belief and principle that Biblical counseling should be a ministry, not a business! Therefore, those who have no resources to help or contribute to the work of this ministry should not hesitate to request help. In addition, we also believe that those who can, should prayerfully consider how they may be able to help us in our ongoing efforts to help others, in whatever way the Lord should lead them.
FOUR BIBLICAL TRUTHS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE
The FIRST Biblical truth we will discuss, is that YOU OWN NOTHING! That’s right, you don’t own one thing; not even your life! Understand, most of our problems in life come as a result of a sense of loss. It can be a loss of health, death of a loved one, loss of a relationship, loss of finances, loss of career, etc.But the truth is, YOU CAN’T LOSE WHAT YOU DON’T OWN! And the real truth is, YOU DON’T OWN A THING! Your LIFE isn’t yours. Your SOUL isn’t yours. Your TIME isn’t yours. Your SPOUSE isn’t yours. Your CHILDREN aren’t yours. Your PROPERTY isn’t yours. Your MONEY isn’t yours. Your HEALTH isn’t yours. It is all in God’s hands and control because it all belongs to God! You simply have been granted stewardship over these things for just a short period of time.This is a reality that we must learn to mentally condition ourselves to accept. And the logic that necessarily follows this truth is that you cannot lose what you do not own. As God’s people, our attitudes about life MUST conform to Scripture. When Job had lost it all; I mean absolutely everything; his attitude was fully expressed by his statement, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).Until we learn to develop a REAL godly outlook on life (not the outlook of most professing Christians in America today), our mental health will continue to suffer.It has been said, “We are either in the midst of a trial, coming out of a trial, or heading into a trial.” LIFE HAPPENS. And it “happens” to all of us. That’s not even in question. The question is, “How are we to react when it does happen?”The “key” to good mental health, comes from learning how to properly interpret the events of our life. And this first step in the transforming of our mind comes when we begin to accept the reality that God is the creator and owner of ALL things. And as a result, He has the right to give, and take, as it pleases Him.Let’s look to a couple of places in Scripture that speak to what I’ve just stated. In Romans 11:33-36, the Bible says, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? Or who hast first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.”Colossians 1:16 says, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and for him.” You see, God owns it all. And He doesn’t owe us anything.EVERYTHING was created by Him and for Him. Whatever blessings we receive at the hand of God are undeserved and unmerited. Everything we have and enjoy, temporal and eternal, flows from the grace and mercy of Almighty God.And even though it is quite true that it is not easy to adopt this attitude about our life and our “losses” in life, it is necessary; it is Biblical. This renewing of our mind is the essential first step in learning how to maintain a mentally healthy perspective about our life. This is the cornerstone from which every other attitude about our life must be measured.
CONTENTMENT. This is the SECOND principle we must grasp. And what a key it is to achieving a fulfilled and blessed life!It has been said that the richest person on earth is the person who doesn’t want anything. The Bible tells us in 1 Timothy 6:6, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” A person may be a millionaire and not be content with what he has; having an appetite to always want more. There are untold numbers of folks who have everything that the world has to offer--money, success, fame, popularity--and yet, life has no meaningful purpose for them and they are miserable. Some eventually take their own lives.Contentment does not come as a result of what you have or own. It comes from an attitude that what you have is enough! You don’t want more. You don’t need more. What God has provided is sufficient blessing for you to be content with His provision.The truth is, many of our problems in life we bring upon ourselves. That’s right. When we buy into the world’s ideology of how our lifestyle should look, how our career should look, how our relationships should look, how our body should look, and how our bank account should look, we set ourselves up for discontentment. However, when we as God’s people, shift our focus to delighting ourselves in the Lord, and our primary goal is to live a godly life, we become content with the most basic provisions. Interesting how that works.But when godliness ceases to be our focus, no matter what we have, what we have accomplished, or what we have acquired, it is never enough. Discontentment follows. And discontentment is a trigger for depression.One of the problems we find among the Christian culture in America, is that professing Christians have an entitlement mentality. For some reason, they believe God owes them some things. They live with the attitude that if they try to live right--go to church, teach a Sunday School class, sing in the choir, put money in the offering plate--in return God must give them what they believe they are entitled to. And if God doesn’t deliver by “overnight delivery,” then God isn’t fair, life isn’t fair, and they emotionally and spiritually set themselves up for depression.Contentment. The truth is, it just doesn’t come naturally. It is a learned behavior that only comes by a “renewing of the mind.” Philippians 4:11 says, “…for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content.” Yes, it must be learned. And it is only learned in the “classroom of life” as we experience God providing for us, as we live for Him. When you begin to trust that God’s promises really are true and reliable, no matter what your circumstances might be, instead of depression, you will experience peace and confidence in God’s decisions for your life, even during the most difficult trials.Consider this. God has promised that He will always provide for your needs (Philippians 4:19). God has promised that His grace will always be sufficient, no matter what it is that you might go through (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). And God has promised for those who love Him, He will work all things together for good in their lives (Romans 8:28). What more could a person want?And what we must do is LEARN to take ownership of these promises of God, and apply them to our every day living, and trust them when times are difficult. THEN we will begin to experience a peace that surpasses all understanding. And this is a peace that will conquer your discontentment.
Now, for our THIRD principle. One of the most ridiculous statements ever uttered from the lips of man is that a person can be so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good. NOT SO! The more heavenly minded a person is the more character they have, the more benevolent they are, the more productive they are, the more useful they are, the better citizen they are, the better spouse they are, the better parent they are, and the greater impact their life will have had when it’s all said and done! I might add, a person that doesn’t look where they are going is a fool!And that brings us to our third principle we will now discuss. You need to live your life LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR FUTURE HOME. That is, LIVE YOUR LIFE FOR THE FINISH LINE! It’s the only guarantee you have! Make no mistake about it, death is a certainty. Eternity is a certainty. With all the marvels of medical science and advancements of 21st century technology, we still have an appointment with death. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” In Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, the Bible tells us, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die” (Emphasis mine). Death is certain; you have an appointment on your calendar with death. You just can’t see the date and time. BUT IT IS THERE! For God’s people, we must begin to focus our attention on our future. When we live life in light of our future, instead of focusing on the trial or ordeal of the present, it will truly transform us emotionally and spiritually.This outlook is what enabled those throughout Church history to endure suffering and persecution for the cause of Christ. It is what has allowed the 165,000 men and women throughout the world, give their lives as martyrs for the cause of Christ in 2006. It is the perspective that will allow another 165,000 men and women be tortured and murdered for the cause of Christ in 2007 and 2008. It is a change in focus that is necessary for us, as God’s people, to endure the trials and sufferings of this life. It is the outlook the Lord desires us to have as we live these brief years on earth. Colossians 3:2 tell us to “Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.”Unfortunately, too many Christians today do not grasp this reality. In the year 2008, I began my 31st year of ministry. God has allowed me to minister, preach, and teach in different places throughout America. And I can tell you with all certainty, that at least 95% of all professing Christians don’t have a heavenly outlook on life. And it simply has never made sense to me. People work, labor, and toil an entire lifetime for something they can’t keep! How does that possibly make sense? Divest yourself of this world and it’s allures and attractions. And invest yourself in your future. This is a decision you will never regret. NOW OR IN ETERNITY.When your hope is in heaven, and your focus is on your future, the trials and ordeals begin to pale greatly in comparison. And depression can‘t establish a foothold in your life. The hymn writer expressed it this way; “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of this earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”
And, the FOURTH principle. It has been said that we live in the most unthankful, ungrateful generation in the history of mankind, even though in this post-modern time we have more food and material wealth than ever in the history of the human race. Whether or not that is true worldwide, I’m not sure. But I certainly believe that it is true in the United States of America. And that brings me to our fourth principle, which is that you need to LEARN TO BE THANKFUL. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, the Bible says, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” A thankful heart is essential if you are going to rise above depression. As a matter of fact, a thankful heart is essential if you are to live a victorious Christian life in any context.If you are trying to live the Christian life without gratitude in your heart for what the Lord has done for you, then you are walking and serving in the flesh. And the flesh has no power whatsoever to gain permanent victory over depression. Drugs won’t do it. Psycho-therapy won’t do it. Nothing you can do with, or to, the flesh will do it. At its root, depression is a spiritual problem. And until you address the spiritual side of depression, victory will not be achieved.And one of the greatest spiritual failures that can be observed in the lives of the majority professing Christians in this country is an unthankful heart. We have a nation filled with people who PICK AND CHOOSE what they wish to be thankful for. They’re thankful for the good times. They’re thankful for the good life. They’re thankful for friends and family. They’re thankful for freedom. Yes, they are thankful for the things that they PERCEIVE AS BLESSINGS. All the time, you hear people say, “The Lord has really blessed me in the past week;” or words to that effect. When you ask them what they mean, you will hear such comments as mentioned above. But how often do you hear someone mention a loss in their life for which they are thankful? My Bible says, “In EVERYTHING give thanks: for THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (Emphasis mine.)Understand, one who is thankful realizes that God has a cause and purpose behind everything that happens in their life. One who is not thankful for the choices and decisions that God has made in his life is one who serves externally, ritualistically, or legalistically. It is mechanical and empty. It is simply going through the motions. A loss of gratitude results in a loss of passion, zeal and fervency for the Lord and for doing His work. There are folks all over this country, including some of the so-called religious leaders, who are some of the most unhappy, murmuring, griping, and complaining people I have ever met. Simply stated, they are not thankful for their ministry, or their lot in life, and do not demonstrate a genuine grateful spirit for the things God has done for them.The truth is, we live in a nation filled with ungrateful, unthankful, and unholy materialists. AND THE CHURCHES ARE FILLED WITH THEM. And too many times it starts from the top down. And it’s not likely to change anytime soon, unless we as God’s people begin to focus on the wonderful and marvelous blessings God bestows on us every day, irrespective of our current circumstances.In Psalm 13:5-6, the Bible says, “But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.” Now hear me well. Most of our unhappiness in life comes as a result of listening to ourselves, instead of listening to God! When you listen to God you become humbled by the reality that God has given you a salvation you DON’T DESERVE, forgiveness of sins YOU DON’T DESERVE, a heavenly home YOU DON’T DESERVE, and yes even many comforts and conveniences YOU DON’T DESERVE. Do you honestly believe for one minute that you deserve the freedoms, comforts, and conveniences that you enjoy, that 90% of the rest of the world’s population know nothing about? Why do you deserve them and they don’t? Do you think that the tens of thousands of Christian folks around the world who are being tortured for their faith right this minute while you read this article, deserve it and you don’t? Has it not dawned on you yet that the GIFT that we were provided on the Cross of Calvary is more than we deserve? I mean, if you lived homeless, starving on the streets, thrown in prison, diagnosed with cancer, or any other thing that you deem to be an awful circumstance, and yet enjoyed forgiveness of sins, a home in heaven, and eternal life with God’s Son, HAVEN’T YOU STILL COME OUT OF THIS THING WITH MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER POSSIBLY DESERVE?So, grow up, cheer up, and look up, and count your many blessings and realize YOU HAVE NO CAUSE WHATSOEVER TO BE DEPRESSED IF YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD. Because, for the child of God, the best is yet to come! SO BE YE THANKFUL!!
By Gary E. Williams, B.D.
1) THE ABSOLUTE AUTHORTIY OF SCRIPTURE. Genuine Biblical counseling represents the fact that the Bible itself is sufficient for counseling. The Bible is, in and of itself, sufficiently adequate to deal with the human mind, emotions and spirit. As a result, a methodology for helping people change their attitudes and behavior should only be developed from the Bible.
2) THE ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. Genuine Biblical counseling must uphold the absolute sovereign power of God. That is, God is in complete control of every single atom in the universe and presides in authority over all human events; past, present, and future. Since God is sovereign, He has absolute capacity to change peoples' lives.
3) REDEMPTION ORIENTED. Genuine Biblical counseling must seek to restore the relationship between God and men by leading them to find "newness in life" in Jesus Christ, by trusting Him as Savoir and Lord, understanding that men and women cannot be helped in any fundamental and permanent sense apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of His Holy Word. Only Jesus can heal, deliver, transform, restore and strengthen the counselee, as the counselee surrenders the whole of his/her life to Him. (Galatians 2:20)
4) BIBLE DEFINED COMPETENCE. Genuine Biblical counseling must firmly believe that it is not the counselor's professional knowledge, degrees, certification, or governmental licensing that is responsible for effecting change in the life of the counselee. Rather, it is the knowledge of Scripture, combined with Divine wisdom and experience, as well as the genuine desire to help others, that creates competency in the Biblical counselor, all under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
5) NO FEES CHARGED. Gary Williams, as the founder of Amazing Grace Ministries, is dedicated to the belief and principle that Biblical counseling should be a ministry, not a business! Therefore, those who have no resources to help or contribute to the work of this ministry should not hesitate to request help. In addition, we also believe that those who can, should prayerfully consider how they may be able to help us in our ongoing efforts to help others, in whatever way the Lord should lead them.
FOUR BIBLICAL TRUTHS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE
The FIRST Biblical truth we will discuss, is that YOU OWN NOTHING! That’s right, you don’t own one thing; not even your life! Understand, most of our problems in life come as a result of a sense of loss. It can be a loss of health, death of a loved one, loss of a relationship, loss of finances, loss of career, etc.But the truth is, YOU CAN’T LOSE WHAT YOU DON’T OWN! And the real truth is, YOU DON’T OWN A THING! Your LIFE isn’t yours. Your SOUL isn’t yours. Your TIME isn’t yours. Your SPOUSE isn’t yours. Your CHILDREN aren’t yours. Your PROPERTY isn’t yours. Your MONEY isn’t yours. Your HEALTH isn’t yours. It is all in God’s hands and control because it all belongs to God! You simply have been granted stewardship over these things for just a short period of time.This is a reality that we must learn to mentally condition ourselves to accept. And the logic that necessarily follows this truth is that you cannot lose what you do not own. As God’s people, our attitudes about life MUST conform to Scripture. When Job had lost it all; I mean absolutely everything; his attitude was fully expressed by his statement, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).Until we learn to develop a REAL godly outlook on life (not the outlook of most professing Christians in America today), our mental health will continue to suffer.It has been said, “We are either in the midst of a trial, coming out of a trial, or heading into a trial.” LIFE HAPPENS. And it “happens” to all of us. That’s not even in question. The question is, “How are we to react when it does happen?”The “key” to good mental health, comes from learning how to properly interpret the events of our life. And this first step in the transforming of our mind comes when we begin to accept the reality that God is the creator and owner of ALL things. And as a result, He has the right to give, and take, as it pleases Him.Let’s look to a couple of places in Scripture that speak to what I’ve just stated. In Romans 11:33-36, the Bible says, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? Or who hast first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.”Colossians 1:16 says, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and for him.” You see, God owns it all. And He doesn’t owe us anything.EVERYTHING was created by Him and for Him. Whatever blessings we receive at the hand of God are undeserved and unmerited. Everything we have and enjoy, temporal and eternal, flows from the grace and mercy of Almighty God.And even though it is quite true that it is not easy to adopt this attitude about our life and our “losses” in life, it is necessary; it is Biblical. This renewing of our mind is the essential first step in learning how to maintain a mentally healthy perspective about our life. This is the cornerstone from which every other attitude about our life must be measured.
CONTENTMENT. This is the SECOND principle we must grasp. And what a key it is to achieving a fulfilled and blessed life!It has been said that the richest person on earth is the person who doesn’t want anything. The Bible tells us in 1 Timothy 6:6, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” A person may be a millionaire and not be content with what he has; having an appetite to always want more. There are untold numbers of folks who have everything that the world has to offer--money, success, fame, popularity--and yet, life has no meaningful purpose for them and they are miserable. Some eventually take their own lives.Contentment does not come as a result of what you have or own. It comes from an attitude that what you have is enough! You don’t want more. You don’t need more. What God has provided is sufficient blessing for you to be content with His provision.The truth is, many of our problems in life we bring upon ourselves. That’s right. When we buy into the world’s ideology of how our lifestyle should look, how our career should look, how our relationships should look, how our body should look, and how our bank account should look, we set ourselves up for discontentment. However, when we as God’s people, shift our focus to delighting ourselves in the Lord, and our primary goal is to live a godly life, we become content with the most basic provisions. Interesting how that works.But when godliness ceases to be our focus, no matter what we have, what we have accomplished, or what we have acquired, it is never enough. Discontentment follows. And discontentment is a trigger for depression.One of the problems we find among the Christian culture in America, is that professing Christians have an entitlement mentality. For some reason, they believe God owes them some things. They live with the attitude that if they try to live right--go to church, teach a Sunday School class, sing in the choir, put money in the offering plate--in return God must give them what they believe they are entitled to. And if God doesn’t deliver by “overnight delivery,” then God isn’t fair, life isn’t fair, and they emotionally and spiritually set themselves up for depression.Contentment. The truth is, it just doesn’t come naturally. It is a learned behavior that only comes by a “renewing of the mind.” Philippians 4:11 says, “…for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content.” Yes, it must be learned. And it is only learned in the “classroom of life” as we experience God providing for us, as we live for Him. When you begin to trust that God’s promises really are true and reliable, no matter what your circumstances might be, instead of depression, you will experience peace and confidence in God’s decisions for your life, even during the most difficult trials.Consider this. God has promised that He will always provide for your needs (Philippians 4:19). God has promised that His grace will always be sufficient, no matter what it is that you might go through (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). And God has promised for those who love Him, He will work all things together for good in their lives (Romans 8:28). What more could a person want?And what we must do is LEARN to take ownership of these promises of God, and apply them to our every day living, and trust them when times are difficult. THEN we will begin to experience a peace that surpasses all understanding. And this is a peace that will conquer your discontentment.
Now, for our THIRD principle. One of the most ridiculous statements ever uttered from the lips of man is that a person can be so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good. NOT SO! The more heavenly minded a person is the more character they have, the more benevolent they are, the more productive they are, the more useful they are, the better citizen they are, the better spouse they are, the better parent they are, and the greater impact their life will have had when it’s all said and done! I might add, a person that doesn’t look where they are going is a fool!And that brings us to our third principle we will now discuss. You need to live your life LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR FUTURE HOME. That is, LIVE YOUR LIFE FOR THE FINISH LINE! It’s the only guarantee you have! Make no mistake about it, death is a certainty. Eternity is a certainty. With all the marvels of medical science and advancements of 21st century technology, we still have an appointment with death. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” In Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, the Bible tells us, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die” (Emphasis mine). Death is certain; you have an appointment on your calendar with death. You just can’t see the date and time. BUT IT IS THERE! For God’s people, we must begin to focus our attention on our future. When we live life in light of our future, instead of focusing on the trial or ordeal of the present, it will truly transform us emotionally and spiritually.This outlook is what enabled those throughout Church history to endure suffering and persecution for the cause of Christ. It is what has allowed the 165,000 men and women throughout the world, give their lives as martyrs for the cause of Christ in 2006. It is the perspective that will allow another 165,000 men and women be tortured and murdered for the cause of Christ in 2007 and 2008. It is a change in focus that is necessary for us, as God’s people, to endure the trials and sufferings of this life. It is the outlook the Lord desires us to have as we live these brief years on earth. Colossians 3:2 tell us to “Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.”Unfortunately, too many Christians today do not grasp this reality. In the year 2008, I began my 31st year of ministry. God has allowed me to minister, preach, and teach in different places throughout America. And I can tell you with all certainty, that at least 95% of all professing Christians don’t have a heavenly outlook on life. And it simply has never made sense to me. People work, labor, and toil an entire lifetime for something they can’t keep! How does that possibly make sense? Divest yourself of this world and it’s allures and attractions. And invest yourself in your future. This is a decision you will never regret. NOW OR IN ETERNITY.When your hope is in heaven, and your focus is on your future, the trials and ordeals begin to pale greatly in comparison. And depression can‘t establish a foothold in your life. The hymn writer expressed it this way; “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of this earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”
And, the FOURTH principle. It has been said that we live in the most unthankful, ungrateful generation in the history of mankind, even though in this post-modern time we have more food and material wealth than ever in the history of the human race. Whether or not that is true worldwide, I’m not sure. But I certainly believe that it is true in the United States of America. And that brings me to our fourth principle, which is that you need to LEARN TO BE THANKFUL. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, the Bible says, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” A thankful heart is essential if you are going to rise above depression. As a matter of fact, a thankful heart is essential if you are to live a victorious Christian life in any context.If you are trying to live the Christian life without gratitude in your heart for what the Lord has done for you, then you are walking and serving in the flesh. And the flesh has no power whatsoever to gain permanent victory over depression. Drugs won’t do it. Psycho-therapy won’t do it. Nothing you can do with, or to, the flesh will do it. At its root, depression is a spiritual problem. And until you address the spiritual side of depression, victory will not be achieved.And one of the greatest spiritual failures that can be observed in the lives of the majority professing Christians in this country is an unthankful heart. We have a nation filled with people who PICK AND CHOOSE what they wish to be thankful for. They’re thankful for the good times. They’re thankful for the good life. They’re thankful for friends and family. They’re thankful for freedom. Yes, they are thankful for the things that they PERCEIVE AS BLESSINGS. All the time, you hear people say, “The Lord has really blessed me in the past week;” or words to that effect. When you ask them what they mean, you will hear such comments as mentioned above. But how often do you hear someone mention a loss in their life for which they are thankful? My Bible says, “In EVERYTHING give thanks: for THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (Emphasis mine.)Understand, one who is thankful realizes that God has a cause and purpose behind everything that happens in their life. One who is not thankful for the choices and decisions that God has made in his life is one who serves externally, ritualistically, or legalistically. It is mechanical and empty. It is simply going through the motions. A loss of gratitude results in a loss of passion, zeal and fervency for the Lord and for doing His work. There are folks all over this country, including some of the so-called religious leaders, who are some of the most unhappy, murmuring, griping, and complaining people I have ever met. Simply stated, they are not thankful for their ministry, or their lot in life, and do not demonstrate a genuine grateful spirit for the things God has done for them.The truth is, we live in a nation filled with ungrateful, unthankful, and unholy materialists. AND THE CHURCHES ARE FILLED WITH THEM. And too many times it starts from the top down. And it’s not likely to change anytime soon, unless we as God’s people begin to focus on the wonderful and marvelous blessings God bestows on us every day, irrespective of our current circumstances.In Psalm 13:5-6, the Bible says, “But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.” Now hear me well. Most of our unhappiness in life comes as a result of listening to ourselves, instead of listening to God! When you listen to God you become humbled by the reality that God has given you a salvation you DON’T DESERVE, forgiveness of sins YOU DON’T DESERVE, a heavenly home YOU DON’T DESERVE, and yes even many comforts and conveniences YOU DON’T DESERVE. Do you honestly believe for one minute that you deserve the freedoms, comforts, and conveniences that you enjoy, that 90% of the rest of the world’s population know nothing about? Why do you deserve them and they don’t? Do you think that the tens of thousands of Christian folks around the world who are being tortured for their faith right this minute while you read this article, deserve it and you don’t? Has it not dawned on you yet that the GIFT that we were provided on the Cross of Calvary is more than we deserve? I mean, if you lived homeless, starving on the streets, thrown in prison, diagnosed with cancer, or any other thing that you deem to be an awful circumstance, and yet enjoyed forgiveness of sins, a home in heaven, and eternal life with God’s Son, HAVEN’T YOU STILL COME OUT OF THIS THING WITH MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER POSSIBLY DESERVE?So, grow up, cheer up, and look up, and count your many blessings and realize YOU HAVE NO CAUSE WHATSOEVER TO BE DEPRESSED IF YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD. Because, for the child of God, the best is yet to come! SO BE YE THANKFUL!!
By Gary E. Williams, B.D.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)