What to Do When You’re Addicted to Safe
Things may be bad, but at least I know what to expect.
Have you ever felt this way? Your fear of change is greater than your fear of staying the same. Until that changes, you’re stuck with your misery. You’ve fallen into the trap of believing the devil you know really is better than the devil you don’t. The problem with this is the devil, known or unknown, is still the devil.
Nobody likes to change, because change is hard. Just ask any addict. Although they know their behavior will eventually destroy them, they keep doing it because it’s too risky to face an unknown life without drugs. While change is never easy, it is necessary.
Just like the addict, your depression is going to destroy you. It’s already stealing every ounce of joy from your life. While it seems overwhelmingly difficult to change, staying depressed should no longer be an option. Take a step of faith into a future without depression.
Take a Step of Faith
In one of his movies, Indiana Jones found himself at the edge of a cliff with nowhere to turn. As he replays the instructions in his mind, he realizes there must be a way across the deep pit ahead of him, because while he is safe on the cliff’s edge, the solution he seeks is on the other side. However, if he takes a step, literally into thin air, he will almost certainly fall to his death. Since, staying on that cliff edge is not an option, he shoves down his fear and steps out in faith.
What would it take for you to step out into a world without depression? I believe 2 Timothy 1:7 has the answer. It says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and a sound mind.” My three-year old grandson melts my heart when he recites this verse. Let’s look at how it can help us overcome our fear of change by using the three gifts it says we’ve been given.
Overcoming the Fear of Change Using 2 Timothy 1:7
Gift 1: Power. Depression has suppressed our God-given power and made us fearful. The only way to overcome our fear is to reclaim that power by stepping out in faith. We don’t know whether a bridge will appear or we will fall into the deep pit below. But we do know God wants the best for us, and God’s best is not at the bottom of a pit.
Gift 2: Love. In general, people fear what others think of them. We need to learn to love and accept everything about ourselves, both good and bad, in order to overcome that fear. Until we can do that, we will be too afraid to change. As Whitney Houston said, “learning to love yourself is the greatest (and hardest) love of all.” Once you love yourself the way you are, also love yourself enough to change for the better.
Gift 3: Sound Mind. In a court of law, a sound mind is one free from mental disease. Everyone with depression wants that. In the Bible, the Greek word used for sound mind meant calm and self-controlled. This is the direct opposite of the panic we feel in a difficult situation. The calm we seek comes from knowing God’s power overcame death, so it can certainly overcome whatever we’re facing.
The only way to overcome your fear of change is to trust God to overcome any devil, known or unknown, which is causing fear in your life by claiming these three gifts – power, love, and a sound mind. It’s time to face your fear of change by taking a step of faith. I bet you’ll find a bridge appears.
Need more inspiration and encouragement? Join me on Facebook on the Sadness to Joy page. That’s where you’ll find the daily encouragement and accountability you need to help bring your plan into existence.
What devil are you currently living with because you’re too afraid of change?
