Uh.. you need H O P E today and I know where to find H O P E today.

I've not seen any years where hope needed to make a come back more than these years. Have you?

Ever sailed on the sea? Ever felt down? The height of the wave can determine the depth of the salty-trough or valley following it.

Factoid: There is a national blindness here today, and we are internally self-destructing because of our wickedness. Help is there for ya, freedom can be had, and hope can make a comeback. Many out there are feelin' desperate. They're lookin' for some relief during this season. How do you spell real relief? Like this.. Jesus.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is now the second-leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 10 and 34. And since 2000, the suicide rate has nearly tripled for young teen girls. They've been hopeless and need a relationship with Christ!

You know that.. not to tactfully share the Gospel message with people can be a sin ..one of omission.

America’s youth are dealing with depression and anxiety like never before. Hey, I lived through the wild sixties and am sayin' this.

What is it that permeates their lives today? It is a nagging sense of hopelessness. People are afraid, are pessimistically-divided (with social media etc. they keep throwin' lots of fuel on already existing fires in our society). They are empty, are isolated "for safety's sake". They are lonely, are down, and are guilty today.

It's kinda hard to go on breathing without hope inside.

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” ~ Jesus, Matthew 11:28-30

In 2019, nearly 50,000 people in the United States died from opioid-involved overdoses. The misuse of and addiction to opioids—including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl—is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total "economic burden" of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year. It's still a huge Western problem, but you can turn, trust and come to Christ the ultimate Solution.. or you can come back to God for his free forgiveness. Ask. Yep, right here and now.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon suffered from severe depression over and over again.. deep troughs due to his gout. He had travel away to the South of france on purpose, for health and yet the gout finally killed him.

There can be some spiritual reasons, mental reasons, and there can be chemical reasons for how down you feel. See a sound doctor and a spiritually healthy pastor too.

I can’t stand depression -- it is an enemy, not your friend. Never let it drive you away from God, but closer to God, and closer to a healthy local (Bible teaching) church with a sound pastor as well. Run to, not away from God. 

Someone has described this phenomenon in nautical terms, "The height of the wave determines the depth of the valley that follows it". And the opposite is also true, sometimes the depth of the valley is a promise of the blessing to come. How many of you know life is lived in a rhythm? There's a rhythm about life. Let's get to understand that when it comes to what we're talking about today. You remember when the Lord Jesus was baptized and God broke heaven's silence and said, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased". And the next verse says, "And Satan took him to the wilderness and tempted him for forty days". After a major mountaintop experience, we need to be ready to face the valley. We were not created to live on the mountain all the time. We weren't created to live in the valley all the time. Life has rhythm to it. Can I get a witness? Everybody got that? The expectations.

Now, let's talk about the elimination of depression. Are you mourning a loss? Are you mourning some? It one day will be gone, believer. So many great people have suffered with the same thing that you suffer with. God's word--wisely apply it daily. There are some things you can do.

Life indeed has some dips and a rhythm to it, but here are 3 things you can do about it. 

1.) God wants to reveal to, and relieve you of depression. All believers eventually will be. Based on the story of Job, I want to suggest that you reveal honestly your depression to the people that you trust. The thing about Job was this, he didn't hide his feelings. Listen to these words from Job 7:11, "Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul". Job said, "I'm not gonna keep this to myself. Here's what's going on in my life". Find somebody you trust and let it all out. Be honest about what you're feeling. You say, "Well, I'm", Get over it. Find somebody you trust and tell them what's going on in your life. Even in the doing of that, you will feel better.

2.) God want you to submit to God's word, to resist the enemy and your depression. Please do NOT.. not go get some help. Find good medical help. Depression is something to be concerned with, it’s something to fight. Please listen to me today. Depression is not anything to mess with. Don't let its foot in the door. Don't let anything happen that would cause it to get worse if there's something you can do to cause it to get better. Fight it. Don't coddle it, treat it as an enemy.

3.) God wants you to research some on your depression. I read this from a doctor by the name of Dan Phillips he said, "You should probably see a good doctor. I mean, I don't mean for happy pills. I do not mean for psychological treatment. I mean to eliminate the possibility of physical causes". And we've talked about that already. There might be something going on in your life that you don't know about. Before you do anything else, if you suffer from this, go see a doctor and get a physical. Tell him what's going on in your life and say, "I just want to make sure there's not anything systemic going on that's causing this to happen". There’s hope after hopelessness. there’s life after the despair in Christ. (Blog, btw: Thanks D. Jeremiah for those 3 to dos)

1. What does the Bible say about depression? How can a Christian overcome depression? How can a Christian get past it in our day? Is it wrong for a Christian to be depressed?

2. What does the Bible say about Bipolar Disorder. Used to Be called Manic Depression and mania?  How does the Bible say that we can overcome psychological problems?

3. Is it wrong for a Christian to be depressed? For a Christian, does depression demonstrate spiritual immaturity?

4. The Christian and Depression, it indeed happens with those in the world, but does it happen with believers too? It can, in this world you will have opposition, testings and trials. Who likes the trouble here? None. Shouldn't Christians be able to overcome depression, even clinical depression, through the power of the Holy Spirit?

5. What is theophostic counseling for those down, and is it biblical? Is theophostic counseling the same thing as repressed memory therapy?

6. How can I help someone who is really down and suicidal? I'm not a doctor, but help is available. How can I provide help to someone who is contemplating suicide?

7. Mental Illness — Learn about Mental Illness and People Feelin' Really Down. 

8. Should a Christian take anti-depressants or other mental health medicines? What is the key to overcoming mental difficulties?

9. How should a Depressed Believer or other Christians view psychotherapy?

Where can I start to become part of the Solution rather than part of the problem? Go to God. Start with knowing your first-love well, intimately, obediently, closer than ever before... and then with making Jesus well-known. Respectfully, gently, tactfully. Start with your story of how you got right in the light as others around you are still just left there.. in the darkness. Tell it, what went through your mind that helped you decide to believe? Prayerfully explain it (John 3:3), proclaim it!

People can argue with you about what the Bible says all day long until the cows come home and argue with you about other things too, but they can’t argue with your story of how Christ transformed you (it's called a personal testimony). They can’t argue with what God has done for you. Your story can segway into the simple Gospel message for a friend.. you know with a hook.

In Revelation 12 there’s an interesting verse that says, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” Revelation 12:11 nkjv.

This describes Christians who are in Heaven and have overcome the powers of evil. Overcome? How did they do it? One of the keys is “by the word of their testimony.”

The Bible is the Book of hope -- it points to our Living Hope. We each need God and his grace to be consistently bold and wisely gracious.

If you want to win some, think, live and communicate winsome. Yeah, do this like Jesus did with agape love for others and unchanging truth.

Sadly for many believers the Great Commission has become.. or still remains the great omission, but it doesn't have to remain that way for us! We are called to prioritize worship of the Lord ahead of everything..yes EVERYTHING. And we're called to go share his Gospel with people willing to hear, and to make disciples too as his Spirit leads us (yes, in this order).

Do people know you’re a reborn Christian? Does your family know you’re one? Do people in your school or workplace know you are one? Do people in your neighborhood know you’re a Christian?

People watch and read you. The moment you own it in your heart and verbally.. because Jesus owns you something will change for the good. The moment you take that stand and say you’re a follower of Christ, people will be watching you (and some will secretly be hoping you’ll mess up cuz they think this will relieve their own conscience). Yet right now you may be the only Gospel some people will ever read. Fish4souls.org .. Photos by Luis Galvez, Ian Dooley, Davidson Luna. Thanks.