God’s remedy for depression (4)

Let God give you new direction. God told Elijah to go to the desert of Damascus and anoint a new king and also a new prophet to take his place (see vv. 15-17 NIV). In other words, He gave Elijah a new assignment. Try to avoid spending too much time focused on self-pity. Get your eyes off yourself and start looking at the needs of others. Try to get involved in their lives through a ministry where you’re giving out and God is giving through you. If you are constantly looking at yourself, you will get discouraged. “Do not be interested only in your own life, but be interested in the lives of others” (Philippians 2:4 NCV). You say, “But I’ve failed badly and disappointed myself. Surely God must be disappointed with me too.” Disappointment only happens when someone expects you to do something different from what you do. Jesus knew Peter would deny Him, but He called him anyway. Why? Because He knew Peter would learn and grow through the experience and go on to even greater things. God wants to give you a new purpose and a new direction. He is not finished with you. Maybe you blew it. Big deal! If you let Him, God will pick you up and help you to start over. One mistake—or one hundred—doesn’t render you useless for life. Today, God wants to lift you out of your depression. He can help you. He can change you. You don’t have to go through life being manipulated by your emotions. Your emotions can be affected by your thoughts, and with God’s help, you can change how you think and what you think about!