Category Archives: mental health

Think about the good things

The prophet Ezekiel was one of the people of God who suffered a lot during their time. Compared to Daniel who came with the nobles to Babylon and Jeremiah who was left in Israel to take care of the land, Ezekiel was exiled in Babylon with his fellow Jews. He did not have a good life.

During the Babylonian exile, there were two kinds of crowd surrounding Ezekiel — the denial crowd and the despair crowd. The denial crowd refused to see the catastrophe they were in, while the despair crowd was overwhelmed with devastation — they didn’t think that life was worth living.

“Many times we live like someone from the despair crowd.
We lose hope and we start to slip away
because we focus on all the wrong things.”

Many times we live like someone from the despair crowd. We lose hope and we start to slip away because we focus on all the wrong things. Why was the despair crowd losing hope?

  • They focused so much on the negative.
  • They looked up to people.
  • They lost focus on God.

Read:

Ezekiel 37:1-14

What made Ezekiel different from the denial and despair crowds was that he was grounded in reality. Despite the catastrophe that they were facing, he focused only on the Source of hope. He did not focus on the bad experiences. He did not look at human leaders. He had a vision for his people, and He turned to God amidst all the suffering.

“Despite the catastrophe that
they were facing, he focused only on
the Source of hope.”

How does this relate to you? It all boils down to the things we give our attention to.

When you feel sad after a breakup, oftentimes you choose to listen to Moira’s Paubaya instead of more upbeat music. Did the song make you feel better? Of course not. Most likely you will end up crying all over again.

You are worried about an upcoming exam or interview, but you choose to spend time playing Specimen Zero or Mobile Legends with your friends. “I’m just having some fun before the big day,” you say. But an hour magically turns into overnight with you waking up the next day with bloodshot eyes and a mild headache. Did your kind of fun give you a good score or land you the job you wanted? Maybe not.

Before you watch that TV show, or play that mobile game, or buy that merchandise you’ve been dying to have, remember that whatever you take in reflects on your character. Garbage in, garbage out. So before you even decide on anything, it might be helpful to consider the following criteria based on Philippians 4:8:

  • Is it true?
  • Is it noble?
  • Is it right?
  • Is it pure?
  • Is it lovely?
  • Is it admirable?
  • Is it excellent?
  • Is it praiseworthy?

Remember to dwell on things that are excellent and praiseworthy. Choose to fix your eyes on what is right.

Something to ponder on:

Is it difficult to focus on things that are excellent and praiseworthy? Why? How can you make good choices?

Your emotions are valid

Let’s accept it. We are not always okay. There are some days we just feel like quitting. More often than not, problems in the family, challenges in school, and conflicts with friends take a toll on us. We strive hard to be happy, to overcome, and to achieve, but we just can’t. We lose hope and we just choose to surrender.

But here’s the good news: What you feel is valid. Your happiness, your sadness, your fears, and your worries are all valid. Your emotions are one of the aspects of being human. God loves us so much that when He created us, He gave us free will.

He made us unique,
each with our own personalities, abilities, and emotions.

Jesus, when He was on earth, had emotional struggles too. He knew what it meant to feel pain — He wept when He learned of His friend’s death (Jn 11:35). He got angry when He saw people disrespecting God’s temple. He felt sorrow and was worried for His people so He continuously prayed for them.  Jesus knows what we are going through. In fact, He is so concerned about us that what bothers us bothers Him as well (Mt 9:36).

Read:

2 Cor 4:8-9, Mt 21:12-13, Mt. 9:36

Regret, sorrow, grief, pain, worry, fear. It is normal to feel all these because we are human. It is not a sign of weakness or of impending sin. It is only a natural human response. But when can these emotions be considered sin?

That will be discussed on Week 3 of our devotional plan.

Suggested Music