08/08/2019
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:2)
Jesus was able to endure because He had a vision of JOY. The joy of the Lord is our strength! He was looking beyond the temporal and into the reality of what His suffering was going to accomplish for all men.
You may or may not know the source of your depression and confusion, but the source of your victory is the joy of the Lord. There are times when you have to WILL yourself into that place. It is called 'the sacrifice of praise' in one verse. It is called 'holding fast our confession,' in another. Paul exhorts the believers to 'rejoice always, and again I say rejoice.'
The symptoms of depression and fear are almost always the result of broken focus and broken communion with the Lord. The cares of this world choke the Word. But...the Greater One lives in you and you can STIR YOURSELF UP in the Lord. Smith Wigglesworth used to say, 'If the Spirit doesn't move me, I move the Spirit.' And he would dance and praise until he had reached a place of joy and victory.
Fear is faith working in reverse. If we could say that there is a positive in fear, it would be by realizing that you have faith, but it is focused on the wrong things. You are thinking on the wrong things, speaking of the wrong things and acting as if those things were true. Turn fear around! Let His Word be the source of your thoughts, words and actions. You were created to believe God! Do it!
Focus your thoughts. Only speak words of life. Look beyond the temporal into the eternal and PRAISE Him. No human emotion can defeat you in the presence of a joyful spirit.
