You are my God, and I will give you thanks. You are my God; I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.
Psalm 118:28-29 CSB
Getting On With Your Kingdom Work
I’m going to get a shirt that says, “The Meds Are Working.”
And when I do I’m going to stand on stage and tell women that I love God, I believe God, I trust God, and I’m surrendered to God the best I know how to be. I’m also taking medication for anxiety and depression because my brain tried to bring me down. It will be a freedom call: Life is hard enough! Who needs a false burden?
And then I’m going to tell women that THE MEDS ARE WORKING! Praise God, thank God, I am now able to get on with my Kingdom work!
Here’s the thing: God is not going to let my brain issues stop the good works He planned in advance for me to do. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit is my advocate and my helper, and He advocated for me and then helped me find a good doctor who is helping me with the dark places of my brain.
He is so good and faithful!
Don’t let anyone replace God’s voice or His authority over you. He comes to set captives free, to bind up wounds, and to heal the broken-hearted. He doesn’t operate in shame but in love and sacrifice and gentleness, ever wooing us closer to His Father heart.
We praise you, God! We exalt you!
Where do you need help? Where do you need an advocate? Where do you need mercy and grace? He is with you and for you and you can push out the voices that try to condemn you or judge you and go right to God, who sits on a throne of grace, and say, “God, help. What do you say? You see me, every tangled up part of me, and I need you and I would like a way through.” He hears your cry. Thank you, God, that you hear us! Thank you that you love us right in the middle of our junk.
Surrender your fears. Surrender the voices that aren’t of God. Surrender your heart and your mind and your soul and cry out to Him because He cares for you.
And He has work for you to do. It’s time to get to it.
Where are you struggling to surrender to God? What’s standing in the way of your Kingdom work? What can you praise God for today?
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Leave a Comment
This message was such a blessing to me this morning! I too am dealing with the voices in my head that are trying to keep me from what God has for me. This really helped. Thank you and Bless you!
I’m so glad it encouraged you today!
Thank you for lifting God up in His role of Advocate, for trumpeting His mercy and grace here today! Truly, we are not forsaken in the midst of our “junk,” and even our faulty thinking will not be victorious!
My husband has been sick for two years now with something the doctors can’t really figure out. But we have walked in this bondage I believe you are talking about where others says the healing has to be a “miracle healing” or he isn’t standing in faith. We’ve finally been able to realize, God can work in any way He chooses, and His ultimate desire is freedom in both thought and physical body. So yes, yes to all of this.
Rachel.
Praying for you both sweet sister! May God send His healing touch on your husband. Prayers for peace & comfort for your weary souls. May you feel His loving arms surrounding you always.
(((((Hugs)))))
This was very encouraging! I definetely need to surrender a specific area to God. Thank you!
Sarah Mae,
So glad God guided you to a good doctor. I’ve been praying for you sweet sister. We don’t often think of God as an advocate. This world is noisy & very distracting. It is time we turned down those voices & raised ours in praise of a loving God who cares for & loves His people. He has freed us from the slavery of sin & now it is our turn to do the good work He planned for us. Cry out to God get the help you need & start doing the Kingdom work He planned for you. Prayers for every one today. Have a blessed Palm Sunday. Rest in His arms & enjoy His Whispers of Rest to you.
Blessings 🙂
Thank you so much for this. I fought my anxiety and depression for so long, refusing to go on medication. This year it began to cause me debilitating physical symptoms that I couldn’t ignore. I’ve now been on medication for 2 months and I feel like myself again. I praise God for bringing me to that place where I had no other option but to accept the help that He had for me. Now I can focus on the important work He has called me to do without my brain getting in the way!
Sarah,
I chuckled lightly when I read your words today.
I am 100% in the same boat with you. We are those *special disciples that God calls to do His work.
I have anxiety and depression. I take meds. I feel good this spring. I am weak and strong in Him and with Him.
Happy Palm Sunday! May we always welcome Him into our hearts, and look for Him to ride by or walk by us.
In Christ, Jennifer
I’m right there with you both!! On meds and thank God He lead me to a great doctor!! I need to surrender an area of my life to Him so I can get to work doing what He has called me to do!! I need prayers… thanks!!! God Bless you ladies!!!Enjoy Palm Sunday!!!!
“weak and strong in Him and with Him” YES!
Me too, GOD is good to provide!
Thank you for this message today. I have been on meds for depression and felt like something was wrong with me as a Christian because many well meaning friends said I just needed to trust God and that He would take away the depression. I did pray and I still had the darkness and sadness that overwhelmed me at times. I am grateful for a doctor who helped me and for the meds that have worked. I need one of those t shirts also! God bless you for sharing.
I am proud of you for listening to your doctor!! Folks who haven’t experienced depression do not understand how debilitating it can be, and it has NOTHING to do with how much you pray about it! It is a chemical imbalance in your brain, and you have absolutely nothing to feel ashamed about. I thank the Lord for modern medicine every day! You are doing the right thing!!
Thank you for your openness and honesty about your struggles. I too have struggled for years with anxiety and depression. It is so hard sometimes to turn to God in the midst of darkness, but He has said that Hos grace is sufficient for us, for His power is made perfect in weakness.
Oh, Sarah Mae, thank you for your message. I have been battling severe anxiety (OCD) for a huge chunk of my life. I’m in the middle of it now as I started a new job, and I’m scared to death of messing up, making mistakes and getting fired. I’m marinating in God’s Word everyday and praying hard, but I would love it if you and the (in)courage team would pray for me?
Thank you, thank you for sharing your story!! I am encouraged that I’m not alone in this. I have a dear hubby, family, and friends who are standing in the gap with me, but I’m happy to know there are others who have walked or who are walking this difficult walk.
Praise God from Whom all Blessings flow!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this Sarah! Thank you for reminding us, again, of God’s precious promises! Our ears, eyes, minds, and spirits need to be reminded of these great truths. If God be for us, who can be against us? Such encouragement! Thank you so much!!
Now that is a “me too” movement that I would stand up for! It’s amazing how much education is still needed in the body of Christ. I’ve noticed that if I tell people that I am in treatment for PTSD there is usually an uncomfortable silence but if I tell them I am in treatment for a brain injury (hello?!!! Same thing people) they are compassionate. I need one of those shirts too.
Sarah Mae, your words are beautiful and reaffirming to those of us who love the Lord and deal with a chemical imbalance in the brain. Hallelujah! God has used meds and a good dr. To balance out the dark and sad places, but the enemy tries to use certain thoughts as a counter attack. Well-meaning people who think you have to have more faith, or are anti-meds,etc. thank you for the reminder that God heals with many different means, and He works all things together for our good and His glory!
Thank you for bringing mental illness and faith together for others to see! I am considering starting a blog on how God brought me back to life after 2 years in solitude and my own personal hell. Christians need to know that God didn’t say it would be easy. He said he would be there with us through all trials and tribulations. Also healing comes in his perfect timing! Thank you for being honest about being a Christian and being sick!
Yes, yes, and yes!! I could also proudly wear this shirt! I am so very grateful that the Lord brought me out of the deep, dark hole that I was in two years ago, and He has used meds, a wonderful Christian counselor, and the love of family and friends to do that. Keep speaking your truth, friend!!
Again.. I’m thankful your transparency. I’ve had to cycle on and off meds for anxiety & depression. Always trying to keep it hush for fear of what other believers would say. For those who have never experienced this I say Praise the Lord!….I pray you never do. And for those of us that do I’m thankful the Lord has given man the knowledge of medications & professionals who can help those of us that have had this experience work through the dark places that the enemy tries to use to hold us back. I’m believing one day I will be delivered of those things…so in the mean time I walk in faith. Grace!….so thankful for His Grace that continues to sanctify me in doses He knows I can withstand.
Thank you, Sarah Mae. I want one of those shirts – and the bravery it would take to wear it. Your sisters out here taking medication for ADHD are right there with you, too! What many don’t know is that for ADHD or anxiety or depression (etc!), the meds never work alone. We have so much work we have to do along with them, right? And God is the Master who uses them to heal and help us and He is ALWAYS working on, for, and with us so we can walk in the truth of His freedom and do the work He has created us to do. For women with ADHD (which very often causes anxiety and depression because our brains make so many normal things so stinkin’ hard!!!) the right meds can be a lifesaver, but we often feel guilty for needing them because we’ve been told forever just to be more disciplined and do all the things right! But that’s sort of like telling someone who needs glasses just to squint more! So amen and praise God for His grace and mercy and provision. For doctors and friends and family members who support the work God is doing in and through us. He is GOOD.
Thank you for being so brave. Yes, a thousand times, yes, to health. I struggled with depression for 37 years and finally found out what it was and got the help I needed. Once I started the meds, it was like seeing the world in color for the very first time. I struggled with anxiety for a time too and the meds have made me appreciate life so much more.
Thank you! I tried to fight depression and anxiety on my own for years, thinking I just wasn’t trusting God enough. Finally I got to the place where God led me- to my doctor!
If you ever find that t-shirt, can I have one too? I struggled for years with depression which led to OCD. I prayed so very hard to get better, and thought I was not very faithful because I just couldn’t trust God, no matter how hard I tried. I finally decided to try meds, and now I am learning who I really am. That would be a woman who does trust God, who is still sort of crazy, and who can radiate joy most days of the week. God could have healed me, but He chose to let me remain weak.
I’m happy to hear you have found relief ! I’m sure you’re pleased with your dr. Too but as a backup I’d like to reccomend a holistic dr. of psychiatry that is ace at using both natural and medical modalities to treat depression and anxiety. She will also help ween you off the meds when you’ve come to that place in time, when your body and mind are ready! She is excellent!! Her name is Dr. Kelly Brogan in NYC but I believe will work with you from a distance too! Please keep her in mind!!
Good for you , praise the Lord for His goodness. I always tell people to take medicine if they need to, although I do believe in healing. He has the way we need.