I have been studying counseling for the last year.  It is something I have always wanted to do and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to be almost 1 school year into the ACBC Biblical Counseling Certification process. I have been learning so much.  

The quarantine situation has had me concerned about people’s mental health.  I am already feeling the effects of isolation and we have another whole month ahead of us. It sounds like coronavirus is really going to hit New York hard and its a scary time for everybody. All the things I have learned were running through my mind this morning and I decided I wanted to share them, in case they will help somebody else get through the isolation ahead.  God has been so good to teach me from His Word, and I want to share His comfort with you. 

This is a familiar passage to a lot of people, but I want to focus on one part in particular: 

Php 4:6  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 

Php 4:7  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

Php 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 

Php 4:9  Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. 

To help with anxiety and loneliness, we need to really pray about everything.  God says to pour out our hearts before him. He is a refuge for us. We don’t have to be alone in our trials.  We have a God we can pour out our whole hearts out to. He will listen, he cares, and best of all He is All Powerful!  He has the power to work in our problems. He is All Knowing. He has the wisdom to know what is best. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, so He can work our situations out for our good.  We can trust Him. We really can. He sees the end of the road and knows what is up around the bend and can steer our lives much better than we can.

Psalms 62:8  Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

1 Peter 5:7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Then the second part of Philippians 4:6 has another part that is a prescription for anxiety.  I believe it is to help with our perspective. How easy it is to focus on all the negatives in life! I am pretty good at that, unfortunately.  So God says pray about everything WITH THANKSGIVING. Put on thanksgiving. It really helps with the tendency toward depression. In this time of isolation and pandemic, we all are going to need to take steps to avoid anxiety and depression.  Do some family Thanksgiving activities! We can do some social media thanksgiving. It will help keep our perspectives right during this difficult time. Philippians 4:8 goes on to talk about the importance of thinking right and that again is critical to our keeping our perspectives right.  We must be careful where we let our minds dwell. Let’s guard our minds during this quiet time.  Its easy to think ourselves into bad places. Good music often helps me keep my thoughts right. Getting outside walking in the sunshine also is another one of my anti-depression tools. Spring will be here soon.

Wanting to know God, I have studied who God is and studied His names.  The Father of Mercies and God of All Comfort is one of my favorite names.

2Co 1:3  Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 

2Co 1:4  Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 

He wants to comfort us in all our tribulations, if we let Him.  What a wonderful God we have available to us! We are so blessed as His children.  He is a wonderful Father. As Christians we can spend this time with Him and get to know Him.  He will walk with us through our trials and He certainly has been a faithful friend through mine. 

 But before you can really have his comfort, you need Him first as your Saviour.  Our sin separates us from Him. We all must first deal with our sin.  

Isa 59:1  Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 

Isa 59:2  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. 

If you have never come to Him in repentance, a sorrow over your sin with a heart that wants to turn away from it, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, you have never been truly saved. 

Act 20:21  Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 

2Co 7:9  Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 

2Co 7:10  For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 

2Co 7:11  For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. 

There is no sin in this world worth being separated from God over.   There is no person in this world worth being separated from God over.  Come to Him in surrender of sin and self and your own righteousness and put all your faith and trust in Christ who died so your sins  could be forgiven. 

This was me originally.  The biggest thing I had to repent of was my religion.  I had to truly see myself as a sinner worthy of hell. I was an adult before I finally let God bring me to that point. Seek Him early. Let Him draw you to Himself. 

Rom 10:1-3  Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.  For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 

If you will yield to Him, he will do the work of repentance and faith in your heart and then you can experience His comfort and love, His working in your life through His Word and His Spirit. After we are saved, God becomes our Heavenly Father.  You can have the Father of Mercies for your Father rather than the father of lies. 

We don’t have to feel alone in our trials.  We can have the God of the Universe walking with us through them.