The massive interest in self-esteem and self-worth exists because it is trying to help us with a real problem. The problem is that we really are not okay. There is no reason why we should feel great a...
The love of God can be a profound answer to just about any human struggle, but sometimes we can use it in such a way that it becomes a watered down version of profoundly rich truth. For example, somet...
Since ancient times, people have bowed down to idols in the appearance of humility and contrition. But their goal wasn’t to be mastered by the idol. People worship to get things. We choose idols in pa...
Shame is life-dominating and stubborn. Once entrenched in your heart and mind, it is a squatter that refuses to leave.
Regarding other people, our problem is that we need them (for ourselves) more than we love them (for the glory of God). The task God sets for us is to need them less and love them more. Instead of loo...
Many depressed people have been hurt and rejected by others. They feel as though basic relational needs have not been met, and they will be stuck in depression until they are. Rejection from parents,...
Life in the kingdom isn’t easy, at least not when we want to share the throne. But
Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance because he shows us both God and our own wretchedness.3 What do you see in your own heart?
If you feel ugly you will experience shame. The two are bound together.
God does not forgive you based on the quality of your confession or your resolve to be a better person. But you keep thinking otherwise. Your standard is what you would do to someone like yourself, an...
For now, what things have you done that you prefer to keep private? What things in your life do you insist on keeping secret? That’s where we will find the shame that is attached to what we do.
Depression: What depressed person doesn’t think of himself or herself as a miserable, unredeemable failure? Anger: As in STAY AWAY or you will see me, and what you see won’t be pretty. Look for the pa...
Your future includes manna. It will come. There is no sense devising future scenarios now because God will do more than you anticipate.
When happy, we possess something we love; when anxious, something we love is at risk; when despondent, something we love has been lost; when angry, something we love is being stolen or kept from us.
When I’m depressed, pain is my friend. I wallow in pain. It’s what I am familiar with. I’ll tell you that I hate my pain and that there is nothing good about it, but I still hold onto it. I’m so dead...
What is shame? You are shunned. Faces are turned away from you. They ignore you, as if you didn’t exist. You are naked. Faces are turne...
What is most important is that you look away from yourself to the true God. No matter who you are or where you are from, you will be able to know him and worship him. And when you worship him, it mean...
To look to Christ to meet our perceived psychological needs is to Christianize our lusts. We are asking God to give us what we want, so we can feel better about ourselves, or so we can have more happi...
This is good news: you don’t have to know the exact cause of suffering in order to find hope and comfort.
Therefore, to fight against hopelessness is to take action in the present. You think that checking off a to-do list is unspiritual? When done by faith, it is heroic. There are paradoxes in depression;...