Depression

I’ve never had anything really bad happen to me. My parents are together, and my family is still alive. We have a house that doesn’t leak and good food. All my limbs work. I’ve never been physically abused. I didn’t really have any legitimate reason to be depressed. But any reason is good enough for a girl who will believe the lies of the Devil and of her own filthy heart.

I have been homeschooled all my life, and for a time I really wanted to go to public school. I didn’t understand why my mom wanted to spend time with us when she could have been doing other stuff in peace and quiet, or why my dad spent so much money on Christian curriculum when he could have sent us to the school that he already paid for in taxes. I wanted to be around peers all the time and show the world how smart I was.

Anyway, when I was about eleven years old, my “best friend” moved away. She wasn’t a very good friend to me at all, but we were close. My parents did not tell me that her family was moving because they were so sad about it that they didn’t want me to grieve for any longer than I had to. However, I was mad at them for not telling me when I heard about it from another already distant friend. Even more than that, I was mad at my friend who was moving because she hadn’t told me either, nor did she seem in the least bit sad about leaving. (Her parents told her not to tell anyone until it had been announced.)

I had a big pitty-party and would even cry when I thought about how “I didn’t have any friends my age.” Even after my Bible teacher taught a lesson on depression, I didn’t realize how selfish I was being. I liked to think that depression was a disease that I had, and kept planning to slip out my window to run away at night. I thought that maybe my parents would miss me, or even be really sad, and in some sick way, that thought comforted me. (Please bear in mind that I was only 11.) The point is that I was proud and selfish, and that I didn’t care about anyone but myself. I was not trusting God to know and do what was best for me, nor was I content with the circumstances He had placed me in.

After a few months I sort of stopped meditating on the thought that “I didn’t have any friends my age,” mostly because I was actually part of a large group of homeschoolers who were all close to my age. Later, I started reading my Bible and praying regularly, but I still felt depressed sometimes when I thought about all my mistakes, shortcomings, and the petty injustices done to me.

I read the novel Christy, by Catherine Marshall when I was about twelve years old. One of the characters in the book was raped. (I would be more specific, but I don’t want to spoil it for you in case you want to read it.) Anyway, I knew that I was really blessed to have a discerning father and a caring mother. I had an appreciation for my family, my church, and the life that God has graciously given me. That helped me to realize that happiness is a choice.

The only thing holding me back from my own joy was my own controllable thoughts. When I focus on how big my problems are, I feel depressed. When I focus on truths about God, I feel joy and peace. Knowing that the God who created the universe loves me, a filthy, selfish, proud, and rotten sinner, enough send His only son, Jesus, who became the very sin He abhorred and abstained from His whole life, to die an excruciating death on the cross, just so that I can be with Him in Heaven instead of perishing forever in Hell gives me joy and peace of overwhelming doses. All this to say, don’t believe lies that will hurt you. Whatever problems you are facing are not too big for God.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Philippians 4:4-8

“Eat or Drink”

Whether, therefore, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. ~1 Corinthians 10:31

What does it mean to do all to the glory of God?
The Greek word “δόξα” or doxa is where we get the word glory from. It could also mean renown or praiseworthiness. In other words, everything we do should reflect the praiseworthiness of God.
Genesis 1:27 says that God created us in His image. We bore His glory. When sin and death came into the world through disobedience, the image we bore was mared. We could no longer resemble the holiness of God.
But God loved the world so much that He poured out the wrath and punishment for our sins on His Son so that we could have fellowship with Him if we repent.(John 3:16)
By God’s grace and through faith in what Jesus did for us, we can once again bare the glory of God. That is God’s ultimate will for the life of every human. He wants us to reflect His praiseworthiness in everything we do. How, specifically, can we carry this out? How exactly does one eat to the glory of God?

Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. Philipians 1:11

Well, when Jesus came to earth, he lived in a human body for thirty-three years. He ate and drank. Jesus is God. He is the coloring page we are to trace in our lives. We must mimic Him to bare His glory.
If you want to act like someone, but don’t know them, you will not do a very good job. You have to know what they’ve done, how that person thinks, what they like, and what they don’t like. God gave us the whole Bible to teach us these things about Himself and specifically what His Son did to save us.
To glorify God we must become like Jesus. It really is that simple.

I urge you

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.~Romans 12:1

If you have truly presented your body to God as a living sacrifice, then I urge you to be careful what you do with God’s hands, be careful what you hear with God’s ears, be careful what you see with God’s eyes, be careful where you go with God’s feet, and be very careful what you say with God’s mouth. Your body doesn’t belong to you anymore.

Is solitude necessary for people to achieve their most important goals?

Solitude is necessary to achieve some goals. Whether they are the most important depends on one’s priorities. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Albert Einstein needed solitude to achieve their goals. My most important goal requires a measure of solitude.

Mozart composed numerous works of musical art, most of which was probably done in solitude. However, we don’t really know if that was his most important goal.

Einstein came up with most of his theories and formulas while daydreaming in solitude. Whether that was his foremost priority isn’t known.

My most important goal is to become like Jesus, which takes a lot of solitary soul searching, prayer, and meditation on Scripture.

Everyone has different priorities and goals, but many of them require solitude.