God promises that He is there along that path and will guide you each step of the way. But first you have to believe there is a path and you have to know which path you are on.

First of all there are the familiar words of Psalm, twenty-three. And especially, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”, and doesn’t that sound just like depression?

But there are also these words, “Your rod and staff comfort me” What does that mean in today’s vernacular?

Remember, God was speaking to a different culture. They were a farming, sheep herding group of people. And what is used to direct sheep where they are supposed to go?

A rod and a staff. These were sheep herding tools. This was language the people of the time could latch onto and understand what God meant when he referred to them.

The shepherd uses the staff to gently bring a lone sheep back into the fold. The staff guides and protects the sheep when they stray too far and get tangled up in bushes.

He uses the rod to gently part the sheep’s wool to look for wounds much as the Holy Spirit looks for our “wounds”, to expose them and then to heal them.

Maybe today a rod and a staff might be God’s word and the leading of the Holy Spirit. These are the the means by which God directs us today .

He goes on to say we don’t have to be afraid of evil, in this case depression, because God is with us and His word guides us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

You are not in this battle alone. God promises that He is there with you on this walk through the valley, just like he was for me.

Your job is to just follow. And that is done by believing God does what He says He will do.

A Beth Moore study I was in years ago still reverberates for me. During that study, we memorized these statements which pretty much summed up the entire study. I suggest you write these down somewhere and say them often:

God is who he says he is.

God can do what he says he can do.

I am who God says I am.

God’s word is alive and living in me.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Staying on the path to recovery means believing every day that we are getting better. It means believing that God will do what he says he can do because he is who he says he is.

Who do you say he is today? Are you willing to believe God is on this path with you and you need to fear your depression anymore?

God bless and have a good day.

The post, “Do you know the path you are on?” appeared first on thegiftofdepression.com.