Everything we could ever need for life and complete devotion to God has already been deposited inside us by his divine power. For all this has been lavished upon us through the rich experience of knowing him … As a result, he has given us magnificent promises … so that through the power of these tremendous promises we can partner with the God’s own nature. 1 Peter 1:3-4
This may sound so obvious you’d wonder why I bother mentioning it at all. But there are far too many Christians who, when reminded that they are supposed to be walking in joy and peace and hope, feel a sort of despair, or else they feel a huge burden – “I know I’m supposed to be that way and I try and try.” So I think it’s worth mentioning the obvious.
If we want joy, peace, and hope, the way to get it is by prayer, seeking God, and worship. There is no formula that can compare with this because God is the God of Hope, He’s the God of Peace, He’s the God of Joy. Outside of Him, it’s practically cruel to expect ourselves to have any of these fruits (results) of the Holy Spirit’s presence.
But God promises us Hope, Peace, and Joy. And like all of God’s promises, they come by us focusing on Him: A lot of God’s promises are found right in the Bible. Write them down on a list or memorize them so you can recite them over and over…especially when you aren’t feeling very peaceful, joyful or hopeful. The point isn’t the method, it’s that we meditate on God’s promises and focus on Him and His promises often.
Secondly, we need to change our minds about joylessness, grumbling, complaining, hopelessness, and peacelessness. They are not just unfortunate, they make us miserable and miserable to be around. They are the prayer language of hell. They are accusations against our God that He’s doing a bad job. Rather than bringing us closer to Jesus, which is the solution to all of this, they drive us further away.
When we feel overwhelmed with despair or depression, we need to use that as our cue to talk ourselves toward hope: Tell yourself again and again to hope in God. The depressed psalmist did this repeatedly:
“So I speak over my heartbroken soul, “Take courage…Why would you be depressed? Why would you sink into despair? Just keep hoping and waiting on God, your Savior. For no matter what, I will still sing with praise, for living before his face is my saving grace! Here I am depressed and downcast. Yet I will still remember you as I ponder… the mountains of your awesome presence. (Ps. 42:4-6)
In that context Phil 4:8 takes on a whole new dimension: Dwell on these things: “Keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always.”
That’s the way to be when we’re facing problems. Think about it from a completely different dimension. Look at it the way God looks at it. Talk about it the way He talks about it. Think about it the way He thinks about it. This opens our life for a completely different conversation with the Father as we reframe our life right now in the context of Who God is and what God is establishing in our life.