1
News:
Welcome to the Depression Forums
Any information given and held by forum admin at the registration stage is held in the strictest of confidence in accordance with the data protection act and is only seen by the individual member and forum admin.
Please note, as some of our members are minors, any foul language or threatening behaviour will not be tolerated and will lead to the perpetrators account being deleted.
The Samaritans:
08457 90 90 90* (UK)
1850 60 90 90* (ROI)
Recent Posts
2
The Lounge / Re: Members birthdays
« Last post by Amanda_George on Today at 04:40:11 AM »Happy birthday, CharleysAngel'! 
3
The Lounge / Re: Members birthdays
« Last post by Amanda_George on September 15, 2025, 07:22:30 AM »It's your turn today, Becky83!
4
Christian / Re: Devotions
« Last post by Pip on September 14, 2025, 04:00:38 PM »https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2024/08/30/helped-by-hiddenness?utm_campaign=Daily%20Devotions&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Rk365jc-KxHXkoiOXEsozjn1rQ5zCGkpvKB-AYxcrw5Ex3GY5IFBZCHeqpamsc7rHEpsHPitKoh4oa-f_efoaynLs5Q&_hsmi=318360065&utm_content=318360065&utm_source=hs_email#disqus_thread
Helped by Hiddenness
August 30, 2024
by Dr. Alicia Britt Chole
“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:52 (NIV)
It was late spring in the Ozarks, and the threat of crushing cold snaps had passed. My husband is the family gardener. But, oh, I do love weeding. Especially after a rain, there’s something so satisfying about getting to the root of things. So there I was, on my knees, under a 100-year-old walnut tree. Winter’s weather had compressed autumn’s offering into a thick blanket of now decomposing leaves. Peeling back layer after layer, I cleared the way for new growth when, much to my surprise, I discovered that something had already been growing! Underneath the thick, leafy camouflage was a stunning flower! It was bent over, as though humbled by hiddenness, but its strong stem was hosting something beautiful. Death had concealed it. Time had buried it. No one was looking for it. Which is the perfect environment for growth. What seemed to smother the flower was protecting it, granting it undisturbed space to be and to become. Such is the gift of hiddenness. Unseen. Uncelebrated. Underestimated. Protected. Obscure. Out of sight. Overlooked. Protected. I paused to ponder the contrasts. Life under death. Growth under barrenness. Beauty cultivated not on display but in obscurity. Without that blanket of decomposing leaves, the flower couldn’t have survived the freeze. What hid it helped it. What delayed its visibility preserved its potential. I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, this is what the Father did with His Son. Like that hidden flower, close to 90% of Jesus’ days were spent hidden. In the Bible, we see Jesus’ birth, followed by hidden days. We see Him circumcised on the eighth day, followed by hidden weeks. We see Him dedicated at the temple on the 40th day, followed by hidden months. We see Him visited by magi around the age of 2, followed by hidden years. We see Him asking insightful questions in the temple at the age of 12, followed by almost two entirely hidden decades. Then, at the age of 30, Jesus stepped out of anonymity and into debated and documented, celebrated and scrutinized history. So what might the Father be doing in the seemingly obscure spaces of life?
Our key verse, Luke 2:52, grants us insight: God is growing us. In Jesus’ hidden years, He “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52), mentally, physically, spiritually and relationally.
So perhaps when we feel unseen and unapplauded, overlooked and underestimated, we, too, can take courage. When we consider how the Father choreographed the life of His Son, it becomes clear: God doesn’t hide us to punish us. He hides us to protect us. In fact, I believe that hidden years are the surprising birthplace of Christlike, indestructible strength!
Helped by Hiddenness
August 30, 2024
by Dr. Alicia Britt Chole
“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:52 (NIV)
It was late spring in the Ozarks, and the threat of crushing cold snaps had passed. My husband is the family gardener. But, oh, I do love weeding. Especially after a rain, there’s something so satisfying about getting to the root of things. So there I was, on my knees, under a 100-year-old walnut tree. Winter’s weather had compressed autumn’s offering into a thick blanket of now decomposing leaves. Peeling back layer after layer, I cleared the way for new growth when, much to my surprise, I discovered that something had already been growing! Underneath the thick, leafy camouflage was a stunning flower! It was bent over, as though humbled by hiddenness, but its strong stem was hosting something beautiful. Death had concealed it. Time had buried it. No one was looking for it. Which is the perfect environment for growth. What seemed to smother the flower was protecting it, granting it undisturbed space to be and to become. Such is the gift of hiddenness. Unseen. Uncelebrated. Underestimated. Protected. Obscure. Out of sight. Overlooked. Protected. I paused to ponder the contrasts. Life under death. Growth under barrenness. Beauty cultivated not on display but in obscurity. Without that blanket of decomposing leaves, the flower couldn’t have survived the freeze. What hid it helped it. What delayed its visibility preserved its potential. I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, this is what the Father did with His Son. Like that hidden flower, close to 90% of Jesus’ days were spent hidden. In the Bible, we see Jesus’ birth, followed by hidden days. We see Him circumcised on the eighth day, followed by hidden weeks. We see Him dedicated at the temple on the 40th day, followed by hidden months. We see Him visited by magi around the age of 2, followed by hidden years. We see Him asking insightful questions in the temple at the age of 12, followed by almost two entirely hidden decades. Then, at the age of 30, Jesus stepped out of anonymity and into debated and documented, celebrated and scrutinized history. So what might the Father be doing in the seemingly obscure spaces of life?
Our key verse, Luke 2:52, grants us insight: God is growing us. In Jesus’ hidden years, He “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52), mentally, physically, spiritually and relationally.
So perhaps when we feel unseen and unapplauded, overlooked and underestimated, we, too, can take courage. When we consider how the Father choreographed the life of His Son, it becomes clear: God doesn’t hide us to punish us. He hides us to protect us. In fact, I believe that hidden years are the surprising birthplace of Christlike, indestructible strength!
5
The Lounge / Re: Members birthdays
« Last post by Pip on September 14, 2025, 03:49:36 PM »Happy Birthday pking1409 
6
The Lounge / Re: Members birthdays
« Last post by Amanda_George on September 14, 2025, 04:53:47 AM »7
The Lounge / Re: Members birthdays
« Last post by Pip on September 13, 2025, 08:41:36 PM »
sapphire788
The Lounge / Re: Members birthdays
« Last post by Amanda_George on September 13, 2025, 08:31:44 AM »9
Christian / Re: Devotions
« Last post by Pip on September 11, 2025, 09:36:37 PM »https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2024/09/03/perfect-peace-is-possible?utm_campaign=Daily%20Devotions&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9HaBtKMu09Ec-NG60zUAVD4LXY7Dp8-M042RfBxpF6_jCvD2J5nxdkzhnAE8gGLqIwS8ggFKUy0AGZYtBRIFmKBEVwlA&_hsmi=319730448&utm_content=319730448&utm_source=hs_email#disqus_thread
Perfect Peace Is Possible
September 3, 2024
by Lysa TerKeurst, President and Chief Visionary Officer of Proverbs 31 Ministries
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." Isaiah 26:3 (ESV)
Looking to our feelings instead of Truth to steady our souls is dangerous ground. I saw a vivid depiction of this several years ago when we remodeled our house. I invited a friend over and asked for his expert opinion. But when he started staring at the ceiling with a look of grave concern, I knew something was wrong. One of the major beams had been poorly repaired and wasn't able to provide enough support a point proven by the sagging floor upstairs. Seeing those broken boards barely hanging on, I felt like God was giving me a glimpse of the unstable places inside of me. It was a loving admonition to stop assessing His goodness based on how my life felt at any given moment. Why?
Because feelings are fragile props. Only Truth is solid, unchanging and stable. The beliefs we hold should hold us up even when life feels like it’s falling apart. Which brings us to our key Bible passage for today. Isaiah 26 focuses on the strength God gives His people so they can accomplish His purposes. First, we need to know that one of the keys to understanding Isaiah 24-27 is realizing that the prophet Isaiah was looking ahead to the end of all things. Isaiah knew while things may not look good right now, God promises us His plans are good. God is moving us toward that day when death will be swallowed up and He will wipe every tear from His people’s eyes (Isaiah 25:8). He has ordained our peace (Isaiah 26:12). But we aren’t just promised peace in eternity. Isaiah tells us how we can experience and walk in strength and peace today: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26:3-4, ESV, emphasis added).
The Hebrew word for the phrase “stayed on” means “to brace, uphold, support.” In other words, those with minds fully braced, upheld and supported by trust in God and His Truth will be kept in perfect peace. This means an all-embracing peace. It comes from God, by the power of His indwelling Spirit, giving us the strength internally to face whatever comes our way externally.
This doesn’t mean that our circumstances will feel peaceful, that all our relationship troubles and hardships will suddenly get better, or that all the prayers we pray will suddenly get answered. But our minds can be steadied with God’s Truth instead of overrun with thoughts of fear, anxiety and worst-case scenarios. The God who rescued David from Saul (1 Samuel 23), who split the Red Sea so the Israelites could safely pass through (Exodus 14), and who promised strength to His people through Isaiah is the same God you can trust with your life. God is always doing more than you know, working toward a good you’ll one day rejoice in.
Perfect Peace Is Possible
September 3, 2024
by Lysa TerKeurst, President and Chief Visionary Officer of Proverbs 31 Ministries
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." Isaiah 26:3 (ESV)
Looking to our feelings instead of Truth to steady our souls is dangerous ground. I saw a vivid depiction of this several years ago when we remodeled our house. I invited a friend over and asked for his expert opinion. But when he started staring at the ceiling with a look of grave concern, I knew something was wrong. One of the major beams had been poorly repaired and wasn't able to provide enough support a point proven by the sagging floor upstairs. Seeing those broken boards barely hanging on, I felt like God was giving me a glimpse of the unstable places inside of me. It was a loving admonition to stop assessing His goodness based on how my life felt at any given moment. Why?
Because feelings are fragile props. Only Truth is solid, unchanging and stable. The beliefs we hold should hold us up even when life feels like it’s falling apart. Which brings us to our key Bible passage for today. Isaiah 26 focuses on the strength God gives His people so they can accomplish His purposes. First, we need to know that one of the keys to understanding Isaiah 24-27 is realizing that the prophet Isaiah was looking ahead to the end of all things. Isaiah knew while things may not look good right now, God promises us His plans are good. God is moving us toward that day when death will be swallowed up and He will wipe every tear from His people’s eyes (Isaiah 25:8). He has ordained our peace (Isaiah 26:12). But we aren’t just promised peace in eternity. Isaiah tells us how we can experience and walk in strength and peace today: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26:3-4, ESV, emphasis added).
The Hebrew word for the phrase “stayed on” means “to brace, uphold, support.” In other words, those with minds fully braced, upheld and supported by trust in God and His Truth will be kept in perfect peace. This means an all-embracing peace. It comes from God, by the power of His indwelling Spirit, giving us the strength internally to face whatever comes our way externally.
This doesn’t mean that our circumstances will feel peaceful, that all our relationship troubles and hardships will suddenly get better, or that all the prayers we pray will suddenly get answered. But our minds can be steadied with God’s Truth instead of overrun with thoughts of fear, anxiety and worst-case scenarios. The God who rescued David from Saul (1 Samuel 23), who split the Red Sea so the Israelites could safely pass through (Exodus 14), and who promised strength to His people through Isaiah is the same God you can trust with your life. God is always doing more than you know, working toward a good you’ll one day rejoice in.
10
One Step At A Time / Re: fighting depression and getting back in shape
« Last post by Pip on September 11, 2025, 09:31:59 PM »I haven't yet as I've been busy but will do tomorrow.