"I rejoice at Your promise, like one who finds great treasure," (Psalm 119:162, HCSB).
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope," (Rom. 15:13, ESV).
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," (Rom. 5:5, ESV).
God promises peace to all whose hearts are fixed on Him (cf. Isaiah 26:3). Heb. 3:1; 12:1 also emphasizes this only more specifically focused on Jesus. Corrie ten Boom said that if we look at the world we are distressed, if we look at ourselves we are depressed, but if we look at Christ we are at rest! We must heed biblical admonition and fix our thoughts on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, to get the "perfect peace" promised, Phil. 4:6-7 takes it from another angle: avoiding anxiety is as simple as letting our requests be made known unto God with a grateful heart and we shall have this peace (the formula is that we worry about nothing, pray about anything, and thank about everything!). As David said in Psalm 19:14, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight O LORD," we are to bring every thought into the captivity of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 10:5) to enjoy His peace.
Many believers seek peace through some comforting or favorite Bible passage or verse, as I have been asked to cite a good verse for someone depressed. The answer is that what elevates and lifts my spirits may not work for that person, and besides, they're just getting into the habit of spiritual dependency instead of maturity. We must learn to feed ourselves sooner or later and not be spoon-fed by our spiritual leaders.
If I tell you some fantastic verse that could lift your mood and get you out of a funk or the doldrums, it would only be a temporary fix, and then later you would need another verse from me or another spiritual leader. We can search our Facebook posts from our friends for something uplifting or read and like someone's post or re-post, but this isn't maturity.
The psalmist of Psalm 119:162 said that he treasured the Word of God as bounty and treasure--the joy is in finding it and letting God open your eyes to something in the Word. Job 23:12 says that he treasured the Word of God more than his necessary food! As is also said in Psalm 119:18, "Open my eyes that I may contemplate wonderful things in Your instruction,"(HCSB). The joy of a treasure hunter is in the discovery, the proclamation of eureka, or "I found it!" Then we won't need the crutch of some website to inspire us and give us verses to lift our spirits.
So there is no single verse that's going to lift someone from their depressed funk or downcast spirit of discouragement, but the answer is in knowing how to find one of your own tailored to your needs at the moment--suited just for the situation you are in. I would tell that person who is an earnest seeker that God rewards those who sincerely seek Him and His face and that they simply should open the Bible and start reading and let God do His work and perform a miracle on their soul.
The main reason we get moods is that God intends us to know how to manage them and what to do to overcome our natural inclination to be negative--that is to say, we all are subject to the blues now and then! But how we handle them is the challenge and we must learn to do something therapeutic for our spiritual health, not harmful to our attitude, for we all need an attitude check too, now and then. Soli Deo Gloria!
The psalmist of Psalm 119:162 said that he treasured the Word of God as bounty and treasure--the joy is in finding it and letting God open your eyes to something in the Word. Job 23:12 says that he treasured the Word of God more than his necessary food! As is also said in Psalm 119:18, "Open my eyes that I may contemplate wonderful things in Your instruction,"(HCSB). The joy of a treasure hunter is in the discovery, the proclamation of eureka, or "I found it!" Then we won't need the crutch of some website to inspire us and give us verses to lift our spirits.
So there is no single verse that's going to lift someone from their depressed funk or downcast spirit of discouragement, but the answer is in knowing how to find one of your own tailored to your needs at the moment--suited just for the situation you are in. I would tell that person who is an earnest seeker that God rewards those who sincerely seek Him and His face and that they simply should open the Bible and start reading and let God do His work and perform a miracle on their soul.
The main reason we get moods is that God intends us to know how to manage them and what to do to overcome our natural inclination to be negative--that is to say, we all are subject to the blues now and then! But how we handle them is the challenge and we must learn to do something therapeutic for our spiritual health, not harmful to our attitude, for we all need an attitude check too, now and then. Soli Deo Gloria!