The Plan

The Plan

God made everything for a purpose. Even those things we perceive as “bad”. The larvae of flies, clean up waste products. Fevers kill invading germs. They are even finding that the waves of chicken pox that children went through each year kept adults from getting shingles, a much worse disease. When God created us, He knew we would live in a fallen world, so he equipped us with defenses to help us overcome.

If a general perceives that his army is loosing a battle, he will call for a retreat. He pulls back, gives his men a chance to rest, rethinks his strategy and tries to gather re-enforcement and supplies. A retreat can be a good thing, but if he stays in retreat, he will loose the war.

Depression is a God given, physical response to trauma that allows us to pull back, rest, regroup, gather resources and focus on the problem at hand. Depression can be a good thing, but God does not intend for you to stay there.

The mind is like the earth. If you walk over it once, there is little evidence you were ever there. However if you take the same path over and over again, it becomes a well established path. Eventually, it can become a deep rut that you fall into and need help getting out. This is when depression becomes a trap.

The number one priority to overcome depression is to retrain your brain. Instead of going down that path every time those negative thoughts float by, you have to consciously choose to go a different way.

The revelation that changed my life was that I had the ability to choose my thoughts! In fact, I have a duty to choose my thoughts! I'm not sure if this idea had never been presented to me before, or if I just hadn't caught it, but I honestly thought that every thought that came into my brain was something I had to listen to. Amazing!

But how do you do that??? Think about an elephant. What kind of a tail does it have? What color is it? How are it's feet shaped? How does it sound? How big are it's ears?

Now, don't think about an elephant … I said, DON'T think about an elephant. Don't think about an elephant!

Were you able to not think about elephants? Unless you know the secret, there is no way you can do it.

Now, think about a kitten. Think about how soft it is. Think about how a kitten loves to play with yarn or chase a bug. How does it sound?

Are you thinking about an elephant now? No, because you replaced that thought with another one.

Over the next seven weeks, we will practice ways to retrain your brain. This will involve every aspect of your life, spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, social, career and finances.

When using a new recipe, a good cook will often has to make some decisions. She asks, “Do I have this ingredient?” and if not, “Can I get it or make substitutions?” “Are there ingredients I want to make substitutions or adjustments for?” (such as honey for sugar or using less salt). Once these decisions are made, the cook will gather the ingredients and try the recipe. It may not work well. If it doesn't and she still wants to make the recipe, she will go over everything that she did to see what might be improved the next time she tries it. Sometimes it may take several tries before she gets it right, or she may decide that recipe just isn't for her.

Seven Weeks to a Happier You is like a recipe. God created each of us uniquely. What works for one person may not work for another person. As you go through the 7 weeks, ask God how to make it work for you and what substitutions or adjustments you need to make. Once you have made these decisions, you have to make the commitment to follow the plan all the way through. If the cook only puts the flour and the yeast together when making bread and quits, the bread never gets made. You may find that you get sidetracked while in this process. Don't get discouraged! Just go back and try again!

Warning:

If you are on meds for depression, do not quit taking them without consulting your doctor. Many drugs have severe withdrawal symptoms. Quitting cold turkey could derail your attempt to conquer depression and could even kill you. Unless you are 100% sure that God has told you to get off them now, don't do it!

Many years ago, I started learning about how Jesus took 39 stripes on His back. Through His wounds, the Bible says, we were healed. (I Peter 2:24) I was having great difficulty breathing, but I refused to take meds because I felt taking them would be denying my conviction that the Bible was true. At one point, I told my pastor that I was trying to stand in faith, but I had been struggling for a long time. He said, “Honey, your problem is that you know the asthma better than you know God. Go ahead and take the medicine. It will give you a chance to focus on God. The more you know Him, the less you will need that medicine.” He was right. I still take some OTC meds for asthma, but I don't need the heavy duty meds that I once used just to get to the “50% of my lung capacity” point and I almost always breathe at 100%.

If you are on meds, it is probably wise to just stay on them for now. Retrain your brain, then slowly back off the meds under your doctor's supervision.

Ready to make the commitment to God's Emotional Boot Camp? I can't promise you will never experience any more periods of depression. But by the end of the seven weeks, you will have the tools to effectively deal with it.