Letter to the Depressed & Discouraged
- Finding your deliverance in remembering all that He has done for you
This week, I spent some time trying to clean the mess in my writing office. Oh boy!!! You know how it is for the writer; over time paper and reference sheets start to collect everywhere, along with chicken-scratched notes written on everything from the grocery list to the napkins from the deli. What a mess! And yet, I dare not throw out any of these precious things, because you never know when a revelation that the Lord gave to you several years ago, may be just the thing He wants to encourage you with today.
Well, as I was cleaning, I found one such encouragement. It was a paper-clipped-together, hard copy of a letter I wrote about five years ago to a friend of one of my daughters. This precious young person was struggling with a hurting heart and inner depression, and had some real misunderstandings about our good, good Father and His Word. I was given the opportunity to write to this young person to encourage them in their faith during their difficult time.
After finding this old letter, I decided to take some time to read it again myself. So, I plopped in my comfy chair, with a cup of ice-cold mountain water, and spent some time revisiting this anointed letter. It was so encouraging, even to me, that I decided to post it for the sake of others who may be also struggling in the area of depression and discouragement. I have edited the original letter to protect information that may have been too personal to share, but the Godly wisdom and teaching is powerful and may be just what you need to build your faith and see that spirit of depression or discouragement flee for the hills. So here it is…
Dear (Friend,)
A Christian should be joyful and the happiest person of all. We have so much to live for and be thankful for. So, if you are depressed or discouraged, and struggling with your faith, it is good to try to get to the bottom of what may be causing the depression, and transform it into encouraging faith and freedom. I am absolutely certain that you would like to feel different on your insides and not be so down trodden in your mind and emotions.
The Word of God teaches us a simple principle and it helps reveal to us what is going on in our insides. Jesus said, “...What you say flows from what is in your heart.” - Luke 6:45 (NLT) So, when you are feeling depressed and discouraged, you might want to check out what you have been saying out loud. The things you are saying might be an obvious give-away for what has taken up residence in your heart. Even by saying, “I feel depressed” or “I am so discouraged,” something has just been revealed about what you believe or don’t believe in your heart. Most Christians feel depressed or discouraged, because they believe their prayers have gone unanswered, or they have placed more faith in their own ability to solve their problems than trusting in God. This always leads to failed solutions.
What is needed, first of all, (dear Friend,) is healing for your heart. Your broken heart is getting in the way of you receiving all that you truly want to receive from your Heavenly Father. These Scriptures ought to encourage you…
“A broken reed He will not break [off] And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish
[He will not harm those who are weak and suffering]; He will faithfully bring forth justice.” - Isaiah 42:3 AMP
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.” - Psalm 34:18 NASB
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds [curing their pains and their sorrows].” - Psalm 147:3 AMPC
These promises alone are enough to encourage your heart to believe that God wants your heart well, which will eventually lead to a better confession...one that does not include depressive or discouraged words, but words that are powerful, faith-filled, and hope-inspired.
Now...if you will permit me to continue to teach you a few more things, and you are willing to keep on reading these words and meditating on them (that means mulling it over, and over, and over, in your mind until it deposits as a good revelation in your heart), I promise that your heart will start melting in the loving, nail-pierced hands of Jesus, and you will begin to see your Heavenly Father as the loving God He has always been to you. Already in the Spirit, I am seeing the pains you’ve carried all these years, pouring out and off of your heart, like the cleansing of a cool shower on a hot day. Receive that for your healing, even right now!
Before we continue though, I’d like you to envision yourself being hugged and do not read this letter as if it were a finger-wagging session. You may have already received an unhealthy dose of finger-wagging religion in the past, and that is not God’s heart. All true Christians live under the love of the Father, and serve and obey willingly under the love of the Father, not under the false pretenses of an “improve yourself” type religion. Being a Christian (or Christ-One) is a vital relationship in unity with the Father, Spirit and the Son. It is, what I call, a “Love-Faith” relationship with the God of the universe and His Son. It is a relationship that functions and flows through the Holy Spirit that He places inside of you at your new birth. The Holy Spirit lived inside of Jesus and now He lives inside of you.
What I am about to share with you is not about “self” improvement. God knows that you cannot improve yourself, that is why God sent Jesus to the cross in order to give you the death you deserved through the body of another. God has already done everything to improve you by placing you in a new birth through His resurrected Son. With the right gospel truth, you will come to see this amazing thing God has done for you and believe it in your heart. God is not expecting you to love Him without a full revelation of His love for you. Out of that revelation, you will automatically fall in love with Him...no effort needed, I promise!
In the Proverbs, the Lord warns us about how important our hearts are, and the reason why. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (NLT) If what is in our heart determines the course of our life, then it makes sense to take an inventory of what is in our heart. For example, if let’s say “Pride” is in a persons heart, then their life will be characterized by that pride. Let say, for instance, that someone’s heart is full of hurt and pain, then their life will be characterized by that hurt and pain. I think you probably can see the truth of this in the people’s lives around you, and even in your own life. Someone once said to me that, “Hurting people...Hurt people.” Would you agree with that? I see it everywhere I go.
Now, later in this letter, I’m going to tell you one of the best revelations God has ever shown me regarding our hearts and lives, and the truth of who we are in Christ, as believers. But before I do that, I want to lay a biblical foundation regarding your heart. If God expects you to guard your heart, then it would be a good idea to know a few things about it...don’t you think!
Your heart is the place where you believe. All believing springs from the place of your heart, not from your mind. Now the mind and the thoughts we think do actually feed our hearts; either with lies (which are birthed from the devil and his deceptions) or with the truth (the Truth as it is in Jesus and the confirmed Word of God.) When I was a teenager, I thought that my mind was where believing was. As I got older and more versed in the Word, I discovered differently.
Now, I’m going to take these next verses temporarily out of their context to prove a point to you, that all believing is from the heart. Take a look...
“...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." - Romans 10:9-11 NASB
So it is true...with the heart a person believes! Let’s keep in mind that the context of this verse is in reference to believing the truth about Jesus Christ, but it reveals where believing takes place...which is in our heart. However, you understand that the reverse is also true. If we believe something wrongly, we are believing wrongly in our heart, because that is the place where believing happens. According to Proverbs 4:23 that can affect the course of our life, either for good or not so good.
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” - Proverbs 4:23 NLT
I hope you are starting to see that perhaps what your heart has believed all these years is affecting your life. Misconceptions or things you may have come to know incorrectly about God has affected your soul, which includes you mind, your will (the decision maker) and your emotions (or inner feelings), and could very well be the cause of that depression you feel. If you truly want to be free of the depression and pains, you need to let a truthful understanding of God’s Word take root in your heart and replace the misinformation that has spoiled your faith. As you’ll see in a moment, God’s Word is a seed. And just like what happens when you plant a seed in the ground and it grows in to a tree or a bush, the Word of God understood has the power inherent in it to bring about a harvest of deliverance and salvation. (The Greek word for “salvation” means a complete and total wholeness for your spirit, mind, will, emotions and your physical body.)
You need to be aware (my dear Friend,) that God has indeed given you feelings, but your feelings can be easily swayed by external circumstances and also lying voices of the enemy in your head. Feelings, however, are not truth. The spirit of depression and discouragement attacks our mind, which filters down into our emotions, and will lead to symptoms in our physical body, if not eradicated by the Truth. Yes, there is a real evil spirit attacking the thoughts of your mind, which is affecting your emotions. Only the Word of God is truth and only the Word of God and the power of the Spirit can deliver us from an evil spirit of depression and discouragement. In the natural realm, there may be facts that are staring us in the face, but everything in the natural earth or sense realm (what you can see, hear, taste, touch & smell) is subject to change. Let me show you...
“For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” - 2 Corinthians 4:18-19 NASB
There is the blessed truth...everything that can be seen or felt in this natural realm, things you may be currently struggling with, are all temporary and can be changed. Your feelings can be changed. Your choice to cooperate with depression can be changed. It can all be changed by the truth, the eternal, unchanging Word of God. All temporary earthly things, this includes thoughts and emotions and circumstances, can all be changed, but God’s true Word will never be changed. Look...
“Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.” - Psalm 119:89 NASB
“But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” - 1 Peter 1:25 NASB
(My dear Friend,) it seems prudent, to discover the truth as God sees it, so you can line up your feelings with what is really true. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus is explaining the parable of the four soils to His disciples. I’m going to guess that you are familiar with the story. Here it is...give it a reading.
“Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.
Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.
The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.” - Luke 8:11-15 NASB
This parable proves how powerful the Word of God can be when the heart believes it. Notice that the devil is actively trying to take the Word away from our heart. Why??? It is because the Word has power, and when it touches the heart of a believer, faith happens. When faith happens, the promises in the Word of God become real. In the natural, a heart attack is designed to render a body useless and dead, but if those electrified paddles are applied to the heart, salvation is achieved and the person regains their life. So think of God’s Word like those electrified paddles that send a shock wave of life back into our hearts. Look at how the Lord delivers us...
“Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses.
He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare His works with rejoicing.” - Psalm 107:19-22 NKJV
The people of the Bible saw Jesus as the Great Physician, and the Word is His medicine. He is the Word that God sent to heal...Jesus, The Word made flesh (John 1:14.) Let’s swallow His Word and the promises of God every day of our life. The Bible says to meditate in the Word day and night. The average Christian eats three meals a day, so we should be consuming God’s Word at least that often, if not more so. Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”This is our food, and our very life...Let’s not starve to death!
Now, most sincere Christians want to be the good soil; those who let the Word of God soak into their hearts and allow it’s power to determine the course of their life. This is the essence of believing right...holding tightly onto the Word of God, until it bears fruit or becomes the reality of our lives. Notice that the last little word in the text of Luke 8:11-15 is … “perseverance” or patience.
“But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.” - Luke 8:15 NASB
Holding onto the truth of Gods Word is like fastening a death-grip on it and not letting the devil steal it away. It takes patience...lots of patience and determined perseverance!The Scripture says to “hold it fast,” that means holding on to a promise in God’s Word for longer than a few minutes or a few days. I have been holding tightly to a promise for the past 12 years. The devil fights hard, but I’m not letting go of that promise until it comes to pass and bears the fruit that God promises. The devil is the liar, not God! God’s Word will come to pass for me, because God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19.) I will get my promise, if I resist the devil with my faith and do not give in. I’m a tough gal, and though the devil fights hard to steal from me...I fight harder. I am a bit stubborn that way.
I believe you are just as strong deep inside of you, because you have the Lion of Judah living on the inside. You have the determination to grasp Gods Word for yourself, and to hold it tightly until your faith has seen Gods Word become real in your life. If you are truly a believer, you possess the strength of Jesus inside of you through the Holy Spirit who takes a hold of the promises with you, because He can only bear witness to the Truth. God’s Word is Truth, and when you cling to that, even though you may feel you are weak...He is strong in you (2 Corinthians 12:10).
In the previous parable the seed is Gods Word. But, in this next story, Jesus explains that the light on the lamp-stand is also the Word of God, and that it is meant to be heard (or seen, as it were.) Yes, the Word of God is both a seed and a light.This time, I would like for you take note of the last thing Jesus tells His disciples in this passage...
“Now no one lights a lamp and then covers it with a container [to hide it], or puts it under a bed; instead, he puts it on a lamp-stand, so that those who come in may see the light.
For there is nothing hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come out into the open.
So be careful how you listen; for whoever has [a teachable heart], to him more [understanding] will be given; and whoever does not have [a longing for truth], even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.” - Luke 8:16-18 AMP
Wow...did you catch that? Be careful “how” you listen! When we have a teachable heart, we gain more understanding from God. If you are still reading this and letting your heart take it all in, you will come away from this letter with great understanding from God. However, those who do not have a heart to be taught by God’s Word, even what they think they know is stolen from them. How does this happen??? The parable of the soils told us the answer. Who is the thief?...Yes, that’s right, it is the devil who steals away the Word from you and the understanding of it. Wow!!! I hope you are in the mood to defend the Word-Seeds that God is planting in your heart right now as you read this letter. Satan is waiting, even as you are reading this letter, to steal these Words from you. Be strong and brave and don’t let him have them. You should keep this letter and read it over yourself daily, if necessary, until your heart is healed by the Word.
So, not only should we have a teachable heart, but there are other places in the Scripture where we are also exhorted to be careful “what” we hear. The right message will either build your faith and understanding of the truth or cause you to have a shipwreck of faith. My purpose, (dear Friend,) is to help open your eyes to truth, so you can see that trusting in Christ through the promises in the Word will not leave you disappointed in life. But, I also want to help you see that the Lord is not disappointed with you in your weakness, either. The sooner you see the truth and believe it with your heart, the sooner you will experience true joy and freedom from your hurts and pains.
So lets review what we’ve learned together thus far:
1. Our hearts are precious, and we need to guard our heart, especially against wrong belief.
2. What we believe is contained in our heart, therefore, it makes sense to guard our heart diligently.
3. God’s Eternal Word is the only thing that stands as truth, and everything else is subject to change and can be overcome by faith in God’s unchanging promises.
4. Being “good soil” is being teachable and holding tightly to God’s Word, being careful how we listen and letting God’s Word touch us with the Truth. Being “good soil” also means that we are being careful “what” we listen to...only His Truth will help us.
So, now on to some truth. One of the wrong thoughts that can feed your depression is doubt in God’s perfect and consistent love for you. God has always loved you perfectly, whether you deserved it or not.Below are some powerful Scriptures that reveal the love of God. However, you can be told these things, but until you decide that you are going to believe them by faith, it won’t help you much. I have confidence that if you keep reading these Scriptures to yourself and speak them over yourself, instead of speaking about how depressed you are, I guarantee you will begin to feel God’s love all over you and you won’t question it again.
"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” - John 15:13 NASB
“But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:8 AMP
“But God, being [so very] rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us, even when we were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of our sins, He made us [spiritually] alive together with Christ (for by His grace—His undeserved favor and mercy—you have been saved from God’s judgment).” - Ephesians 2:4-5 AMP
“See what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown to us, that we would [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are!” - 1 John 3:1a AMP
“By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” - 1 John 4:9-10 NASB
Now, I don’t know very much at all about the totality of your life experience, but I can say this… From the Word of God, it seems absolutely clear to me how much God loves you now, and has loved you long before you were ever born. I don’t have to know much about you at all to know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God loves you. Why? Because your worthiness is not the issue, but His willingness to love you, anyway.
(My dear Friend,) if you believe that God’s Word is infallible and that God is incapable of lying, there is no reason whatsoever to doubt His love. You need to remove from your thinking that your life experiences, or even your past or future mistakes, affect His love for you in the slightest degree. We have no business comparing God’s love to our failed relationships in the human realm. God’s love is not like that at all. His love is perfect and never fluctuates. It is steadfast and immovable, because pure love is His inner character and person. I know you may have been hurt by people really close to you, but that is only a reflection of how unreliable human love is without the love of Christ flowing from within a person. I hope this is making sense to you. God’s love for you has been demonstrated for you in the removal of your sin, your guilt, and your shame, by the blood of Jesus. In fact, it is God’s will that you know...that you know...that you know... the love of Christ for you. Do you get it??? He “wants” you to know how much He loves you...it’s His written will.
“May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality],
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love,
be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love];
and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].” - Ephesians 3:16-19 AMP
You see, no matter what has happened in your life, God through Jesus Christ has loved you more than you can imagine. God is just as sad as you have been over the things that have been unpleasant in your life. It was never God’s plan that His precious human children (His Creation) would have to suffer. I want to help you understand something about the world and circumstances in life that seem to be against us. So let’s go back to the Garden of Eden.
Adam was created by God and clothed with God’s glory and given authority over everything on this earth. When Satan came to Adam & Eve, his tactic was to get them to doubt the Word of God...sound familiar??? Satan has not changed. He tempted them to doubt the goodness of God, causing them to think that God had held something back from them. They did not need to be like God, as Satan had suggested, because God had already made them in His Own image. They were already like God. What a trick!
Today, the devil is still trying to steal the identity of the children of God through lies and deception. His aim is to get us to doubt the goodness and compassion of God, to question our full redemption and unity with Christ, and then tempt us to distrust the love of God and His promises in the Word to us. This is why we must know who we are, now that God has placed us in Christ; what the promises are, what our inheritance is, and what kind of power we have in Christ’s name. (My Dear Friend,) the only reason you may still find yourself depressed, is simply because you may have a lack of knowledge in these truths about your new identity in Christ. Don’t feel that you are all alone here. This is a giant problem, across the board, in most of the members of the Body of Christ and in the churches today.
Now, back to my point! So, when Adam chose to believe Satan’s word over God’s Word, he not only brought sin (that outlaw spirit) into the world and into every human born of Adam’s seed, but he also forfeited the glory of God (hence the nakedness), and lost his authority over the earth to the thief...the devil. Notice what the Word of God call the devil now…
“in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” - 2 Corinthians 4:4 (NASB)
God’s Word calls him the “god of this world.” Much to many people’s surprise, it is the devil who is in charge on this earth. His occupation is to keep people blinded from the good news of all Christ has done for us. Whatever Christ has done must be super awesome, or the devil would have no reason to try to keep it a secret. Why is this important??? It is because we need to realize that God is not behind all the trouble in the world, nor is He behind all the personal circumstances that don’t work out for our good. Look...God is actually looking out for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28)His Spirit, that is in every true believer, is helping you when you are weak. He’s praying on your behalf according to God’s will, so your prayers get answered. Isn’t that awesome! Check it out…
“In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” - Romans 8:26-28 (NASB)
(Dear Friend), you need to start believing that God has got your back! He even sets His angels charge over you to keep you safe in all of your ways. (Psalm 91:11) So lets just look at the few obvious ways that God has demonstrated His love toward you in addition to His Son’s death on the cross in substitution for your sin.
Other ways God has loved you and looked out for your good:
1. You were born...alive! Two out of my three children almost died in child-birthing, yet God was gracious.
2. You have been fed...probably every day, every meal!
3. You were born in America, which is still a free country.
4. You’ve had the luxury of being able to study and get an education...it is a privilege some people in other countries don’t have.
5. You have a natural family...maybe your family doesn’t always get along or isn’t perfect, but it’s better than having no family, because you were completely abandoned. Remember that “Hurting people – Hurt people!” Let that sink into your heart of compassion. Every person who is set in your life is there for a purpose. How do you know if you haven’t been given the privilege of bringing one of your family members to Christ. God has forgiven you of all your sin. Consider that the troubled people in your family need that Good News, too! The blood of Jesus was shed for all. Remember that un-forgiveness is bondage, but forgiveness is liberating, both for you and the people you forgive. The Word of God says...
“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” - 1 Peter 4:8
6. As a believer, you are part of the biggest family in the world...God’s family. And everyone in this family is reborn with the true nature of the Loving Heavenly Father and filled with His love nature! That’s excellent!
7. You are special to God and He created you for a purpose and a destiny, and has good things planned for you to do. God may anoint you to lead a church full of people as their pastor, or as aworship leader. Maybe you’ll grow up to create a product that actually helps humanity. God knows what He’s created you for, and He wants you to know all about His awesome plans for you. This is why He gave you the Holy Spirit to guide you.
Clearly, you can fill in the blanks. God has blessed you in more ways than this tiny little list...and you know it! When depression and discouragement reigns over you, it may be because you are choosing to focus on the negative aspects of your life, instead of seeing God’s hand in keeping you blessed. Have you begun to thank Him for every little blessing? Even the seemingly insignificant details of your life are blessed. In fact, since you are a believer in Christ, the word says…
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,” - Ephesians 1:3 (NASB)
Look at that!!! (Dear Friend,) you are not lacking in one single blessing, now that you are in Jesus. You need to put your faith in that. Every promise in the Bible comes directly from God, and is a “yes and amen” for you because you are a child of God.You will receive His promises when you choose to believe them!
“For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are [all answered] “Yes.” So through Him we say our “Amen” to the glory of God.” - 2 Corinthians 1:20 AMP
So every promise in the Scripture belongs to the believer who will take it by faith. Would you like to know how to receive those promises? The answer is found in 2 Peter 1.
“To those who have received and possess [by God’s will] a precious faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
Grace and peace [that special sense of spiritual well-being] be multiplied to you in the [true, intimate] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
For by these He has bestowed on us His precious and magnificent promises [of inexpressible value], so that by them you may escape from the immoral freedom that is in the world because of disreputable desire, and become sharers of the divine nature.”
- 2 Peter 1:1b-4 AMP
We have the ability to become a partaker of the divine nature of Jesus. We actually already possess it, because we are joined to Him through His death, burial, and resurrection. Do you want more grace (His unearned favor and blessings)? Do you want more peace in your life, instead of unrest and depression? The Scripture tells you what you need. These things are multiplied as we grow in the true knowledge of God and Christ. We become a partaker of His promises through a true knowledge of Him. It behooves us, then, to make it our business to learn everything we can about Christ by studying the Word of God. He has bestowed on us these precious promises. However, if you don’t know what promises you have from God, which are found by reading His Word, it is hard to believe for them with your faith...right? People don’t see their prayers answered many times, because they simply don’t know the promises of God that He has already made available to them. They continue to beg God for what He has already given them through the promises of His Word.
Do you remember the earlier discussion about how Satan gained access to Adam’s dominion over the earth and his authority? Did you know that the Word of God states that Jesus actually came to destroy the works of the devil? As a believer...look at what Jesus did to get you out of the grip of the devil.
“...giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints (God’s people) in the Light.
For He has rescued us and has drawn us to Himself from the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption [because of His sacrifice, resulting in] the forgiveness of our sins [and the cancellation of sins’ penalty].” - Colossians 1:12-14 AMP
This details just how much God has loved you...If you truly believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, then you are saved...forever. It is settled in heaven. Your name is written in the book of life and won’t be blotted out. Period!!! As it involves the devil...Jesus rescued you from Satan’s dominion. You are no longer in Satan’s power or grasp, unless you allow him to operate in your life. Submitting to the devil is as simple as distrusting or not believing something God has said. I know that may seem harsh, but it’s true. That is how Adam & Eve were duped in the Garden. What is also true, is that as you believed in Jesus and accepted Him as your substitute and Savior, God picked you up out of Satan’s kingdom and transferred you into Jesus’ Kingdom.
Whether you know it or not, when you were physically born, you were born a sinner. Why??? Because you were born of Adams family (the Adam’s Family...that’s funny!!!). Sin came into the human race because of Adam. Check it out…
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all people [no one being able to stop it or escape its power], because they all sinned.” - Romans 5:12 AMP
“For just as through one man’s disobedience [his failure to hear, his carelessness] the many were made sinners…” - Romans 5:19a AMP
The simple fact is that every human who was born of the original seed of Adam, was born a sinner. This confuses many people, because their understanding of sin is based upon the bad things people do. The bad things people do are a result of, or an effect of, what they are on the inside. The Bible describes sin more often as a noun, than an action word. That means you were a sinner long before you ever committed one little tiny sin. Sin, the noun, is described in the Word as lawlessness, or you could say that it was the rebellious nature that entered mankind when Adam disobeyed. God so love mankind, yet hated the sin nature. How could God, who is love, deal with sin and remove it, without hurting mankind that He loved? Mankind was now destined to punishment and death, because of his disobedience.
Someone described it this way...Let’s say one of your parents had cancer. You hate the cancer, because you know that it is killing your loved one. You love your parent, but hate the cancer. You would want to do anything to remove the cancer without hurting your loved one. This is what God did! He figured out a way to remove the cancer of sin without hurting the creation He loved. He would step in the place of the wrath against sin and die in our place, thus removing that cancerous sin nature that was killing his creation. Many call this the “Divine Exchange.” He exchanged His life for ours. He exchanged His goodness and righteousness with our sin. Jesus took the punishment for our sin and guilt and shame, and our sicknesses and diseases upon His own body and suffered the wrath of God against sin. In exchange, He made us righteous, though we did nothing righteous.
“For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.” - Romans 5:19 (NASB)
You may have heard this message before, but I am reminding you of it again, because it’s important that you start believing that God is not mad at you any more and never will be, again. God was mad at sin when Jesus suffered on the cross for your sin and transgressions. You never felt that wrath, because Jesus took it for you. The above verse is a really awesome promise... that the “many,” (notice it didn’t say all people,) but “the many” would be made righteous...or completely in right standing and favor with God. Who are the “many”?
“For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” - Romans 5:17 (NASB)
The “many” include those who receive the abundance of grace and the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. Righteousness is a gift! A gift is to be received! Have you truly received this gift, (dear Friend?) Have you said… “Lord, thank you for making me righteous. I receive your righteousness, and I am going to live the rest of my life believing that I am righteous. I am not a sinner anymore, because my sin nature has been taken away by Jesus’ sacrifice on my behalf. He paid with His blood for every transgression I would ever make in my entire life. I’m going to stop living with a guilty conscience and start living free in the knowledge that you have taken my sin completely away. I am the righteousness of God in Christ!” If you have not made this your confession, then do it now. Say it now, out-loud...yes, I said, OUT-LOUD. Tell the Lord you believe it. If He said it, then you must believe it, otherwise you are agreeing with Satan.
I want to be sure you are convinced, and the only way to be convinced is to see it in the Word. So take a look at these Scriptures:
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” - 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB)
“but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” - 1 John 1:7 (NASB)
My (Dear young Friend,) you are completely cleansed by the blood of Jesus and the Lord, Himself, has made you righteous. There was a time before Jesus came, when God was remembering the sins of mankind and the sins of the people of the nation of Israel.
“And they do not consider in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness. Now their deeds are all around them; they are before My face.” - Hosea 7:2 (NASB)
“Do not be angry beyond measure, LORD; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are all your people.” - Isaiah 64:9 (NASB)
But, now that Christ has come and shed His blood for the sins of all mankind, God is not angry anymore. In fact, He is perfectly satisfied with Jesus’ sacrifice and obedience. These Scriptures describe what God has done and how He views our sin now. Be convinced and completely encouraged…
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” - Psalm 103:12 (NASB)
“I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” - Isaiah 43:25 (NASB)
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” - Hebrews 8:12 (KJV)
“Then he says, "I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds." - Hebrews 10:17 (NLT)
Wow!!! God is no longer keeping a record of your sins, (my dear Friend.) I think it’s time you live in this freedom and relax in Jesus. Now, way back at the beginning, I told you that I would tell you one of my greatest revelations. Here it is…Jesus told us that through faith, something truly amazing would happen…
“When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” - John 14:20 (NLT)
“But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.” - 1Corinthians 6:17 (NIV)
“But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and
redemption, so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD." - 1 Corinthians 1:30-31 (NASB)
(Dear Friend,) this is you...in Christ Jesus. When you believed and became born again, God placed you in Christ. When He looks at Christ, He sees you. When He looks at you, He sees Christ. You are 100% in a unified existence with the Father, the Spirit and the Son. Jesus said in John 14:20, that the Father resides in Him. God placed you inside Jesus, and the Spirit of Jesus lives inside of you. This is an awesome revelation, if you can get a hold of it. This is why every blessing Jesus has belongs to you. Perhaps you haven’t felt that way in your experience, but be honest...is it because you haven’t started believing this yet? You could start today.
In Christ, every promise God has made, you can lay claim to through prayer, because God sees you in Christ. It is as if Christ Himself is asking for the promise. We know Christ got every one of His prayers answered. You can too, if you believe you are in Christ and Christ is in you by the Spirit. I hope this is making sense, because it can change the way you think, which will completely change your life. I teach my children as they see themselves in Christ, they don’t have to worry about whether they might sin. I tell them, Jesus will never lead you to sin, so depend on Him to live through you righteously. If you can see the picture and believe that when God has placed you in Christ, all of that worry and doubt and depression will never come back. You are as righteous as Jesus, and His Holy Spirit live in you. Remember that it is demon spirits that oppress, and Jesus has come to destroy the works of the devil. We are not in Satan’s dominion or authority, anymore. Jesus is not worried...Jesus is not depressed...Jesus is not suicidal...and neither are you in Him!!! Jesus has perfect love and perfect forgiveness and perfect righteousness...and so do you, child of God!
I understand that life has been a bit unfair to you in the past, but the Lord has a bright future for you. This is awesome Scriptural advise...
“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” - Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT)
Yes...thus far, the life you have lived may not have been what you might have dreamed of, but that can be changed. The people in your life may have wounded you, but it’s time to move on, forgetting the past, and forgive them. Peter once asked Jesus:
“Then Peter came to him and asked, "Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?" “No, not seven times," Jesus replied, "but seventy times seven!” - Matthew 18:21-22 (NLT)
Is Jesus being unfair? No, Jesus is illustrating what God is like. God has demonstrated the ultimate heart of forgiveness. He is the true wounded party! How would you feel if your creation turned on you and refused to love you, or appreciate you, or even be willing to receive from you. God has been wounded more collectively by humanity than any of us will ever be wounded personally. And yet, He not only forgave, but He swallowed up the punishment in His own person for the crimes humanity cruelly leveled against Him.
What is more awesome, though, is now that you are in Christ, you have His unlimited love and unlimited ability to forgive residing inside of you. It is for you to draw upon, and then share that love and forgiveness with those who have wounded you. I can tell you that this faith for forgiveness works, as I have been able to miraculously forgive many who have wounded me over the years; those who were supposed to have loved me, but chose to hurt me. We can choose not to be wounded in our heart, anymore. The power is present within us to forgive. Rely on it! Forgive (those who have hurt you). Release forgiveness to anyone who has wounded you.
“Freely you have received, freely give.” - Matthew 10:8b
I hope your heart is healing as the balm of His Word is becoming medicine for you. In Christ you have so much, and it’s time to start embracing it all. In Christ you have abundant life, unspeakable joy, the fullness of His grace, and His peace. Why don’t you step out in faith and start living the abundant life you already have...
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” - John 10:10 (NASB)
“and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.” - 1 Peter 1:8-9 (NASB)
“For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” - John 1:16 (NASB)
“Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:7 (NLT)
I hope now, as I have devoted much time to bringing you the true Gospel of Grace and Peace in your Savior, Jesus Christ, you are willing to change your mind about some of the ways you have wrongly believed in the past, and start applying your faith to what God says is true about you. It is going to take a bit of effort on your part to believe correctly, if you really want to see your life be better and much happier. Once again, I want to clarify. I am not suggesting you place your effort into improving your own life, but rather that you place your effort in defending God’s truth in your heart. The only fight Jesus requires of us is to “fight the good fight of faith” - 1 Timothy 6:12. It seem that the devil has had many years to feed you lies. Now, it is time to fight to believe what is right...what God says is true about you in Christ.
Now, I want to come back to the “parable of the soils” for a moment:
“Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.
Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.
The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.” - Luke 8:11-15 (NASB)
Notice, that there was also a rocky soil. These people believe for awhile, but their perseverance is lacking. When troubles come, they stop believing the Word they’ve heard. These are the kind of people that believe a truth for a bit, but if it takes too long for the promise to come to pass, they give up. Don’t give up on God’s Word, (my dear Friend.) It will come to pass and bear fruit. Every year in our orchard, we get fruit. If we water and the sun comes out...fruit! However, we have to water for quite some time before we see the fruit. In the Bible, the Word is compared to water. Keep watering yourself with the Word and fruit will come. It is a “God-Guarantee.”
“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” - Colossians 3:1-3 (NASB)
Remember that I taught you, that your heart is where you believe and where faith is generated. But I also said, that your mind and what goes into it, is what feeds your heart and will most definitely affect the course of your life. Many young people, like yourself, have fallen into the trap of feeding their minds with evil, anxiety, stress & violence. The third soil in the parable were those people who were so taken over by worries and pleasures of the earth, that God’s Word was choked out and they didn’t receive the fruit they were hoping for. In other words, God’s promises didn’t work for them. Having your mind so full of negative things leaves no room for the promises of God.
If you are going to take seriously everything the Lord has shown you in this letter and you really want your heart to be healed, you won’t want to continue to let all of those earthly traps choke out God’s Word and ruin your faith in it. What you let into your mind through media, gaming, idle talk with friends, literature, music, etc., is going to affect your heart, and will test and shake your faith. You may discover that God’s Word isn’t bearing fruit in your life, because you have set your mind on the things of the earth. I am learning myself to keep my mind focused on Jesus and His Kingdom purpose. Our new family motto is to become Kingdom Mission Minded. The mission of the Kingdom is this…
“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” - 1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NIV)
The Kingdom Mission is that God desires that all people receive that free gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus, and that people come to the knowledge of the truth. When you become Kingdom Mission Minded and follow Jesus in what He is doing, you simply don’t have enough time in the day to be busy with the earthly things. This letter you are reading is fulfilling the purpose of God that you “come to a knowledge of the truth.” What I have set my mind on for the past week has been seeking what the Spirit wanted to say to you, and studying the Word, so I was prepared to deliver God’s message of truth to you. Other than my normal daily chores, I haven’t had much time for anything else. The Mission of the Kingdom is important, and it is not only fun, but fulfilling to be a part of it. When we set our minds on things above, life is more enjoyable.
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” - Philippians 4:8-9 (ESV)
The Lord is gracious and gives us an awesome list of the kinds of things to set our minds on. I know that leaves out a very large portion of the things young people are engage in, but I will challenge you to see if you can find things to do that qualify. There are clean things to watch. There are clean games to play. There is a lot to do in this earth that qualifies under that very respectable list and won’t soil your clean conscience. Everyone has to make their own choices about what they think is best for them, but I’ll tell you that whatever is not true is going to hurt your faith. What ever has no honor with it (honor from the Lord), is not worth doing. Whatever is unjust, is going to get someone hurt. Whatever is impure is going to ruin lives. Whatever is not lovely or love giving is just hatred and that just makes people’s hearts hurt even worse. Whatever is not commendable or has a bad report attached to it is not worth considering or wasting a thought on. It’s just bad, you know! Whatever is not excellent is just inferior and unworthy for your time, attention or money. If there is anything that is not worthy of praise...this means praise of the Father...then why do it? Join us in doing the things that matter and count for eternity.
There is really only one thing that is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise...and that is Jesus! Hallelujah!!! The Word of God tells us that if we use our time on this earth to follow Him, we will not walk in darkness and we will have the Light of life. I want that!...I hope you do too.
“Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” - John 8:12 (NASB)
When you find yourself bored, because the world’s gadgets are not going to bring you satisfaction, (I’m sure by now, you’ve probably already figured that out,)dust off that Bible and begin to study it, not just casually read it, but really dig in. There is treasure to be found for those who are willing to dig. Not only that, but you will be equipping yourself for joining the ranks of those who are fulfilling the Kingdom Mission. You don’t think I came up with all this wealth of knowledge by myself, do you? The Holy Spirit inside you is the best teacher and He doesn’t even need special letters to follow His name.
The next best thing to do, is to figure out how the Lord has gifted you and begin to serve the Lord by serving people. You can start right where you are, serving the people around you with a new heart of love and energy that will leave them dumbfounded, and wondering what good thing just happened to you. Then you can tell them that the Lord changed your life with this blessed letter of God’s love. We are told that our lives are not to be lived for ourselves. That is why people who are self-absorbed or self-focused are the most cranky and unhappy people. I’m sure you don’t want to end up in the society of crab-apples.
“and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” - 2 Corinthians 5:15 (NASB)
Serving others with the gifts and talents the Holy Spirit of Christ imparts to you is the greatest thrill. I have spent several days and countless hours serving you with the loving and empowering Word of God, and it has been awesome. I firmly believe that this is going to change your life. I tell you, the enemy didn’t want you to have this treasure, because he broke my computer. I’m finishing this letter in the most uncomfortable chair at my husband’s office, and my butt hurts. Wow! But, you are worth it...because you are a precious child of God and my dear friend in Christ.
I would like to pray for you:
“Father, I ask in Jesus name that you bless (my dear Friend) with a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of you. I cast out every spirit of fear and doubt, and the spirits of bitterness and depression from this young person’s heart. I believe you will increase their faith in this precious Word that you have sent. I believe Your Word has been Medicine to this hurting heart and that you have healed them of all past hurts and pains, and removed the spirit of bitterness and depression far from them. Thank you for removing all their sin, and restoring them to righteousness as it is in Christ. Thank you for giving (my dear Friend)Your salvation and for giving them a new heart...the heart of Jesus. May they move great mountains with their faith, and become a devoted bond-servant to you and achieve great things for your Kingdom purpose. I ask you to begin to lay up in their spirit the great destiny purpose you have for them and make your gifts known to them. Lord protect them from wrong doctrine and wrong thoughts of you, and provide them with teachers who will build their faith and their understanding of you. Thank you for allowing me to bless this wonderful young person. In Jesus name...Amen.”
(Dear Friend), here is another hug for you...hug, hug, hug! I have one last special Scripture to bless you with. I speak this over you with joy and I believe God is smiling at you for having finished this really long letter. Thank you again for letting me encourage your faith.
Sincerely,
Eileen Jacobs
“For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs." - Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT)
Yes...that was an incredible letter. I am sometimes surprised, and also ministered to, when I get to re-read some of the prophetic words that the Lord has delivered to others through my writing. I thank the Lord for the courage to be submitted to deliver such powerful, life-changing messages to those who will hear the compelling words of the Lord to them. With that being said, I pray that if you have suffered under the demonic pressure of the spirit of depression or discouragement, I pray that this letter was exactly the truth that you needed to redirect your life towards the One who saves and delivers us from Satan’s authority and dominion. I break that evil power over your mind and heart, in the Name of Jesus, and I release you to His loving hands of mercy and grace.
If you are reading this and it has really ministered to you, but you have never asked Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of your life, I want to share with you, right now, how you can do that.
You simply need to believe in your heart that Jesus willingly went to die on a cross 2000+ years ago, in order to free you from your sin nature and from the punishment due you for every sin you’ve ever committed or ever will commit. When He had finished the work in dying in your place for the sins you’ve committed, God raised Him from the dead in order to declare you justified (which means...not guilty any more!) If you will believe that with your heart, then declare it with your mouth. Just repeat this simple prayer...
Say…
“Heavenly Father, I thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross in my place. I believe that you raised Him from the dead, and I am no longer guilty for any of my sins. I receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Thank you that I am saved, and that I am in right standing with you for eternity.”
“if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation.
For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will not be disappointed [in his expectations].”
For there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile; for the same Lord is Lord over all [of us], and [He is] abounding in riches (blessings) for all who call on Him [in faith and prayer].
For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord [in prayer] will be saved.” - Romans 10:9-13 (AMP)
Now that, Dear Friends, is grace!
written by
Eileen R. Jacobs (August 2022)
Copyright © 2022 Eileen Jacobs Ministries. All rights reserved.
Note:
One last note...if today you received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, we encourage you to write the date down somewhere important to you. Many people like to write the date of their salvation on the inside cover of their Bible. I can’t stress enough how important this is to do. Not only does it help you remember the day you became a Child of God, but it is a marker of your New Birth like a birth certificate, which is a legal proof of your existence. This marker is important because, whether you know it or not, there actually is a devil. Since he is a spirit, he has an ability to speak to our minds by way of deceptive thoughts. I can almost guarantee that there will come a time when a suggestive thought will come to your mind that will cause you to question whether you are really saved or not. This is where that date recorded or marker or New Birth certificate becomes important. You can simply go back to your Bible or wherever you wrote it down, and remind yourself or say to the devil...”Nope, you’re wrong! This date is the day I received Jesus, the day of my New Birth, the day I became a Child of God, the day I was saved, the day my name was written in the Lamb’s book of life...end of discussion!”
Finally, we would love to know that you have joined the family of God. We are so excited for you and we want to keep you in our prayers. Email us to let us know!
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