Hi HandMeDown, I'll tell ya something that I have been telling peoplea lot, so it will sound like a broken record to some, but I think it's very important.
In a 4 year period (from 89 to 93), my brother, my son and my Father died. It was devestating, to say the least. However, God pulled me through. I often didn't "feel" like He was pulling me through, but I can see now that He did. I only wish I knew then what I know now.
Fst forward to the present. My last year and a half has been one of what seems like complete financial failure. I started my consulting business in Jan of 2002, and I am only now getting to the point where I can pay all my bills. Last year, thinsg were so bad, I wound up not even making enough to have to pay taxes. I was dirt poor. It was only by the grace of God and the kindness of my mother, family and friends that I was not living on the streets.
And man, did Satan use that against me. He kept throwing thoughts of depression at me, trying to convince me that I was a loser and a complete failure. To the naked eye, it sure seemed like those things were true. Many time, I "felt" completely and utterly worthless.
But you know what I have learned in the past year and a half? That you can't trust your feelings and emotions all the time. Emotions and feelings are often not indicators of the truth at all, and they are a tool Satan uses against us in an attempt to defeat us.
But here's the glorious truth: that born again Christians are not defeated at all; in fact, the bible tells us that Christ has already given us victory, which Jesus won at the cross. If you are a born again Christian, you ahve the Holy Spirit living within you...God live sthrough you if you let him. Christians are lacking in nothing, absolutely nothing. 2 Cor. 5:17 tells us that "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, all things are made new". As a Christian, you are complete in Christ, and have all his tools available at your disposal to live a victorious life.
So what do I do? How do I combat these thoughts? It's actually a lot more simple than trying to "work through" them. I look past teh physical circumstances and the emotions and the feelings, and I focus my eyes on the truth in Christ Jesus. I recognize them for their source, that it is Satan trying to derail me. I say "Devil, I know that's you, because it ain't from the Lord, and it ain't from me. I am not a hopeless loser. I am not a failure. My Lord tells me that I am a winner, that I am complete in Christ, and that I already have the victory. Thanks Lord for everything you have given me!"
And that's not some "spiritual pep talk" or some "power of positive thinking". All I am doing is stating the truth; deciding to stand firm on who the Lord says I really am.
Please consider all these things. They are true, and will help.
God bless you,
Michael Bain