• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

West Park Baptist Church

  • I’m New
    • I’m New
    • About Us
    • Core Values
    • What We Believe
    • Our Staff
    • Times & Directions
    • FAQs
  • Ministries
    • Adults
      • Adult Bible Fellowships
        • Groups List
      • Growth Groups
        • Groups List
      • Training Classes
      • Women
        • The Mom’s Chair
      • Men
      • Senior Adults
        • Senior Adult Luncheon (FEAST)
        • Golden Heirs
        • Mt Pisgah Scripture Printing
        • Resources
      • International Friends
        • ESL / English Classes
    • Students
      • College
      • High School
      • Middle School
    • Children
      • Nursery
      • Preschool
      • Elementary
      • First Steps
      • Awana
      • Parent’s Day Out
    • Disabilities
      • How do I volunteer?
    • Global Missions
      • Missions Conference
      • Go Trips
    • Prayer
      • Request Prayer
    • Worship Ministry
      • Worship Team
      • Media Team
  • Community Care Ministry
    • Adult Education
    • Biblical Counseling
    • Bread of Life Food Pantry
    • DivorceCare
    • Furniture Ministry
    • GriefShare
    • Local Partners
      • Boys & Girls Club
      • Knox Area Rescue Ministries
      • Serenity House
    • Our Journey of Hope – Cancer Care
    • Renewal
    • Request Prayer
    • Resource Call Line
  • Resources
    • Messages
    • The Pulse Newsletter
    • West Park’s Blog – Get Inspired!
    • Podcasts
    • RightNow Media
    • West Park Connections
      • Log in to West Park Connections
  • Events
    • Event Registration
  • Giving
    • Give Online
  • Contact Us

depression

April 30, 2020 By Joe

Dealing with Depression and Anxiety

Written by James Lynch (4/29/2020)

This current season of difficulty and uncertainty with the Covid-19 crisis has brought many challenges for all Americans, and believers in Christ are not exempt. We watch the same news reports, we hear the same controversies, we experience many of the same hardships that the rest of the world is going through currently. The coronavirus is, of course, a health concern, but the measures that have been taken to slow the spread of the disease have caused additional stress to many. This is a perfect environment for anxiety and depression to take root and grow. So, how can believers cope with these challenges and uncertainties? In this article, I would like to talk about these very real battles in which many believers find themselves in their daily lives.

First, let me state clearly that anxiety, depression, and other mental and emotional disorders like them are real. It is unfortunate that many who suffer from these conditions have often been ignored, dismissed, or even chastised by other Christians for feelings that they seem to have no control over. If you have ever been treated that way by another believer, please allow me to apologize for their ignorance. There has been a culture in many Bible-believing churches that seems to give a message that real Christians do not have problems and are always happy. This is simply not scriptural! David spoke of feelings that we would call depression: “Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck.  I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.” Psalm 69:1-3.

In fact, there are other examples of God’s servants in scripture struggling with both anxiety and depression. Daniel was anxious at what God was showing him about future events (Daniel 7:15), and even the Apostle Paul wrote this to the Corinthian church in his second letter, “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.” II Cor.1:8

Let’s take a moment and consider what anxiety and depression are, and why I have linked the two in this article. Anxiety is basically worry. Modern psychology has a term G.A.D. or Generalized Anxiety Disorder. It is characterized by constant worry, often about things that are unlikely to happen. Depression is a persistent sadness or depressed mood. The reason I wanted to talk about them both is because they often go together, and both can cause a person to lose interest in normal activities causing serious disruption in every area of life. Anxiety can show itself in many different ways. A person can be withdrawn and fearful as a result of anxiety, another may resort to excessive efforts to control everything and everyone around them in an effort to keep their worries from being realized. This can result in obsessive behaviors or unreasonable demands and angry outbursts toward others. Depression often comes into play because the anxiety causes behaviors with negative results. The fearful person is depressed because they begin to lose hope living in a constant state of worry and fear. The controlling person ruins relationships, and eventually realizes that they cannot control everything, and they lose hope as well. Both these conditions can bring a person to a place of hopelessness, and that is an extremely dangerous place to be.

As you can see, these conditions can seem overly complicated and they can have far-reaching consequences to those who suffer with them, as well as those who are around them. The fact is, they are not really complicated at all, but they are difficult to work through. If you know and love someone who has one or both of these challenges, please be patient and prayerful. You need the power of God to navigate through these issues, especially if you have never struggled with anything like this yourself. If you are a generally positive person, it may be hard to imagine why someone cannot just “ tough it out” or “get over it”. You do not have to understand to empathize, and you do not have to understand to pray. Ask God for wisdom, believing that He will give it to you (James 1:5-7).

If you are a person who fights feelings of anxiety and depression, let me tell you that there is hope! That hope is in non-other than Jesus Christ. It is not in a medication or a human counselor, but it is in Christ Himself. Don’t misunderstand, there may be a place for medicine and there is certainly a place for counseling, but the only true and lasting hope is in the person and work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If you believe that, you can move toward a road to recovery, because that road is a walk of faith.

I cannot possibly explain all the principles you need to follow in an article. Each person and their experience are unique, but the basic problem and solution are the same. So, I will share just a few basic truths and some action points to begin with.

Four Vital Truths for battling Negative Emotions

  1. You are not in this alone. 1Co 10:13a … “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man”…  Many others have and are where you are.
  2. God will make a way out. 1Co10:13b … ”God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” Even though it may not feel like it, God has promised to make a way for you to endure.
  3. The feelings of anxiety and depression are not necessarily sin, but how you manage them is where the temptation lies. This is an especially important point. This is not to blame you for the feeling of anxiety, depression, or any other feeling. However, you are responsible for how you respond to the temptation. You may have never thought of your anxiety as a temptation, but that is exactly what it is.
  4. The “way of escape” is the path to enduring the temptation without giving in to it. Not necessarily the removal of the temptation itself…” that you may be able to endure it.”

Action Points for Dealing with Negative Emotions

  1. Recognize that this is a battle that must be fought by faith. Faith chooses God’s truth over present feelings. Rom 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Faith is the believing response to God’s revealed Word. Just as David believed that God would fight for him against Goliath, despite all his physical senses telling him otherwise, you must learn to choose to believe God over your emotions.
  2. Make a list with two columns. In the first column, write the specific things that cause anxiety and fear in your heart. In the second column record passages from scripture that reveal what God says about those things, or just worry in general.
  3. Pray through your list, confessing your unbelief to God and asking Him to grant you faith to believe what He has said. Every time you find yourself slipping into anxiety, take it to Him in prayer (Philippians 4:6).
  4. If anxiety or depression has a grip on you that you are having trouble getting free from, please contact the church for counseling help. One of the ways that we love one another is to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). We are the body of Christ, and when one member hurts, the whole body hurts with you. You are not alone. You have brothers and sisters who love you.

Filed Under: Counsel for the Heart Tagged With: anxiety, covid19, depression, emotional disorders, fear, generalized anxiety disorder, mental disorders

April 27, 2020 By Joe

Counsel for the Heart (Introduction)

Years ago during seminary I attended a church that memorized scripture together over the course of one year. Of all the excellent content I received in seminary, that year of memorizing scripture was one of the things that most rooted me in the Faith.

Consider what has helped you to grow most as a Christian. What would you attribute to your endurance in following Jesus?

No doubt if you traced those lines of help and influencers down to the source you would see again and again God’s Word has been your lifeline.

Over the course of the next couple of weeks I will be writing a new devotional series called “Counsel for the Heart.” Each weekday I will focus on a common area of heart need that is commonly coming up in biblical counseling during Covid19. Fear, anxiety and worry, depression, anger, addictions, feelings of abandonment by God, and so much more comes up as people have reached out to me and others. As much as we tire of hearing about Covid19, it has provided many opportunities for us to renew our faith and come back to confidence in God by His Word.

In addition to my devotion series you will see accompanying articles written by the biblical counselors of our church. They want all of us to see that life is blessed as we submit to the Lord Jesus and live in obedience to Him.

Above all we know that God’s Word is life-giving! And as I conclude this brief introduction of the series I invite you to memorize a passage with me this week. Work on these verses, meditating on them, asking the Holy Spirit to help you internalize the message. You and I will need this passage always, but especially for times of fear that come up out of seemingly nowhere. I will write more about fear tomorrow and the rest of this week.

Hebrews 13:5–6

[5] Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” [6] So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?” (ESV)

Getting to the Heart:

In this section each day I will ask a question or two or offer a reflection of my own for you to meditate on. For today, consider what this verse says: we can put our confidence in either money or God. One of the draws of money is that if we just get enough of it we can potentially live without fear. The Bible says that is a false assurance. Why?

  • Why is trusting in what money can provide a dangerous hope?
  • According to these verses, how do we know we can trust the Lord?

Prayer: 

Holy Lord, Maker of every human heart, we seek Your blessing on your Word in our lives. Your Word leads to life! To whom else can we go but You? Please use this series on Counsel for the Heart to bring about good in our lives. Please change us to be like our beloved Lord Jesus. Help us by Your Holy Spirit to walk in Your Word with faith. Lift up those who are struggling and tempted by sin. Lead none of us into temptation. You are worthy of our undivided hearts, Father, and we give ourselves again to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Worship in Song:

Christ Our Glory

I’ve had this song on repeat recently. It has gospel-rich truths in it, and these lines stick in my head:

“Our rest is in heaven, our rest is not here
Then why should we tremble when trials draw near?
Be still and remember the worst that can come
But shortens our journey and hastens us home”

Filed Under: Articles, Bible Study, Counsel for the Heart Tagged With: abandonment, addictions, anger, anxiety, Bible, biblical counseling, counsel, covid19, depression, fear, God's Word, worry

Primary Sidebar

Upcoming Events

Sunday Morning Schedule
Worship Service – 10:30am
Service is online only
Livestreamed here

 

 

 

Our Weekly Newsletter

The Pulse Newsletter

Subscribe to The Pulse

 

Recent Message Series

The King’s Mission

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Footer

Our Church

Times & Directions
About Us
Our Staff
Contact Us
West Park Connections
Campus Map
Weather Alerts

Get Involved

Life@WestPark
Bible Studies
Groups

RightNow Media

Giving
Employment

Search Our Site

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 | West Park Baptist Church | 8833 Middlebrook Pike | Knoxville TN 37923 | 865-690-0031 | Privacy Policy