Promises for Depression.

Are you suffering from depression?  When my husband was very ill, the doctor told me I was in a depresion, I didn't even know it, so I think from that experience that there are different levels of depression.  But whatever level it might be, it is serious enough to seek help and what better place than to the Lord that loves us and doesn't want us weighed down with depression.  So with that said let's check out some promises on this subject.

Psalm 34:17  "The righteous cry out,  and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles."

Psalm 147:3  "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

Isaiah 41:10  "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Isaiah 51:11 "The ransomed of the Lord will return.  They will enter zion with singing;  Everlasting joy will crown their heads.  Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away."

Don't you think those promises should be enough to chase the blues away.  God always hears us when we cry out to Him.  He will heal our brokenness and bind up where we are wounded.  He will uphold us with His righteous right hand, and we will end up with sorrow and sighing fleeing away.  What an awesome God He is.  Grandma Joan

Promises to be filled with joy.

I think this is a subject that all that read can use a little more of.  I know I can use more joy in my life. How about you?  I kind of touched on what brings me joy when I make scarves and give them to the ladies in the church that God impresses me to give them to. This last week at church I found two more ladies to give them to.  To give brings me joy and makes me friends too.  I never expect anything back, which I guess is the reason for the joy.  I know there are many reasons for joy so let's see what the Bible says about joy.

Psalm 5:11  "But let all those that put their trust in thee: Let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest them:  Let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee."

John 15:11 & 12  "These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy will be full.  This is My commandment that ye love one another as I have loved you."

Psalm 16:11  "You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy;  at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Psalm 90:14  "Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days."

Can you shout for joy, sometimes I can, not all the time though.  I need to pray more for the joy that these verses promise us.  Loving others brings joy and in Your presence is fullness of joy, which I believe brings the greatest joy, by staying in His presence all day long, because it brings victory over our failures, and victory brings joy.  Having Christ show us the path of life and knowing we are walking in it has to bring absolute joy and His unfailing love should make us sing for joy shouldn't it.?  I hope my promises that I am sharing, are bringing you hope and joy in your life.  They mean so much to me.  Grandma Joan

Promises for Courage and Confidence.

I like to apply these promises to my own life and I hope you don't mind.  Sometimes I really need them.  Right now I could use some Courage and Confidence.  How about you?  Sometimes I think it takes a lot of Courage to be Confident.  You can think about that for a moment.  I have never been an overly confident person and for me to be really confident, I believe will really take some courage.  Let's see what the Bible says about this.

Deuteronomy 31:6  "Moses said, 'Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified...for the Lord your God goes with you;  He will never leave you or forsake you."

Jeremiah 32:17  "Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heaven and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm.  There is nothing too hard for You."

2 Chronicles 20:15  "Thus says the Lord to you, 'do not be afraid or dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's."

Does that give you courage and confidence?  It should, I want to remember these verses when I am challenged to do something that takes courage and confidence.  I like that verse that says, 'He will never leave me or forsake me.'  It seems like I have to cry out to Him quite often when things don't seem to go like we planned, but He always has a solution and usually it is a simple one that didn't even enter my mind.  It is so good to have a powerful God to turn too in our troubles, isn't it?  Grandma Joan

Promises for those who have fears.

I will admit that I have a few fears but none of them are something I dread.  I fear snakes and spiders and a lot of women do that so I don't think it's unusual.  I am afraid of heights, very afraid of heights, so much so that my legs start paining when I am up high.  So I try not to do heights.  However, a plane ride is a fearful thing to me and I just have to think about something else when I'm up there. Then when that 'German Wing' went down because the pilot wanted to kill himself, that did it for me.  Don't know if I will ever fly again.  I had just done a long flight from Miami to Seattle and I could almost feel the fright that those poor people had on that plane when they realized what was happening.  Fear is not good and I know that God can do away with our fears because we had a black snake come into our motor home this past summer in Missouri, and it startled me pretty bad but we never saw him again, and my fears went away and I don't know where he went but I'm sure he went out.  I know if I had to fly again, I probably would do it and would be OK with it.  God does take care of our fears.  Here's some promises:

Psalm 27:1  "The Lord is my light and my salvation;  Whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life;  Of whom shall I be afraid?" NKJV

Psalm 34:7  "The Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them."  NKJV

Isaiah 41:10  "Fear not, for I am with you;  be not dismayed for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."  NKJV

Yes, He does take care of our fears, but I would never be presumptuous enough to do something that I didn't need to do just to see if God has taken my fears away.  I don't believe in presuming on His mercy.  He has been very merciful to me and I know He will be to you too.  Just trust Him.  Grandma Joan

Promises about Friendship.

I use to be an outgoing person when my husband and I were involved it lots of church activities, but as we got older and things started happening to our health, we both just slipped out of sight after so many years of fellowshipping and serving others.  Just recently I learned a good lesson about making friends, and I love to do it and it makes others happy.  I make beautiful scarves out of lace and people just love them.  I use to sell them but recently I have decided to give them away to see the joy on peoples faces.  For ladies only, of course, but you could give one to a man for his wife, which I plan to do this week.  Putting self out of sight and not expecting anything in return is a wonderful way to make friends and see the joy it brings.  So let's see some promises.

Proverbs 18:24  "A man (or woman) who has friends must himself (herself) be friendly.  There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."NKJV

Proverbs 17:17  "A friend loves at all times." NIV

Romans 12:10  "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves." NIV

Do these promises sound like a good way to make friends?  I think so and really, truly, it works.  I already have quite a few ladies wearing my pretty scarves at church but there are lots more that don't have one.  I'll keep working on it, I usually wait until God impresses me to give to the right person. I'm sure you have something you can do to make friends, this is just one thing.  Grandma Joan

Promises for those who feel forsaken.

I know what it feels like to not 'belong'.  I spent several years taking care of my husband and not being able to get to church often and not having a whole lot of fellowship from any Christian friends that could have encouraged me, so I sort of know what it feels like to feel forsaken.  Everyone needs friends and the more the better.  Then this past September my son came to live with me and he has an outgoing spirit and is friendly and started taking me to church and he was making friends and it spilled off on me and now I have quite a few friends and no longer feel forsaken.  I am lonely a lot but God usually supplies me with things to do that help the loneliness.  This is one of the things I can do to help others and fill my time and it draws me closer to God which is the best part.  So for those of you who feel forsaken, here are some promises.

Deuteronomy 31:6  "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you, He will never leave you or forsake you."  NKJV

Psalm 9:10  "Those who know Your name, will trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You."NIV

So is it possible to not feel forsaken? Yes, it is.  I don't feel that way any more.  I have allowed people to get close to me, am not afraid of people any more and yes, God has done a lot of healing for me and He will do it for you too.  Grandma Joan  (Comments are welcome and so are questions)

Promises for those suffering grief.

"Do you see my tears, God?"  I am sure there are a lot of sorrowing people that have asked that question.  Grief is so hard to bear and there are several things that cause us to grieve extensively.  I really don't need to name them, you know who you are and how weighed down with grief you are.  I am just a servant of God to help wipe away all those tears and sometimes I wish someone would have wiped away mine.  My latest grief was my husbands passing.  It's been three and a half years and  let me tell you I still grieve though silently and no one knows the heart ache except those going through it.  I want to share some promises regarding our tears and grief.

Psalm 56:8  "You keep track of all my sorrows.  You have collected all my tears in your bottle.  You have recorded each one in your book."  (NLT)

Psalm 34:18  "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (NLT)

Revelation 21:4  "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, not crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things have passed away."

These are great promises aren't they, He does wipe away the tears and saves us when we are crushed in spirit.  We just have to believe His promises and He fulfills them.  It is always His will to comfort the sorrowing and He surely has done that for me and He will do that for you too.  Grandma Joan