All throughout the bible it is apparent that God’s blessings have a way of hitting nations, families and groups of people that are dwelling in unity. Psalm 133 states, “¹How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!  ² It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. ³ It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.”

As we see in the scripture, the Lord bestows His blessing when His people are dwelling together in unity. This is not just an Old Testament thing. We can go over to Acts 2:1. On the Day of Pentecost, all the believers were together in one place. The sound came from heaven and filled the whole house. In the Greek, the word for whole is holos. It means that all parts are present and working as a whole.

We have desired the move and power of God. However, we have been walking around extremely DIM. All the parts of the body are not present. All of the parts are not working as a whole. The “greater works” power from God has not come because we are not operating properly. It doesn’t matter if you have a great gift with no power. It doesn’t matter if you have a large congregation but it causes no change. We have been so worried about our needs and our stuff and our things that we have forgotten that we don’t have to do this alone. Ministry is hard enough without shouldering any extra burdens. We have attempted to go at this alone too long. The body of Christ must operate as a unit. We must operate as one. If you have a mindset that you don’t need anyone your vision is dimmed. This is not a good place to be. You’ve got to get back to a place where you realize the need to be connected with your fellow brothers and sisters. You can’t afford to forsake the fellowship of the bretheren if you truly want to see the success that God had in store for you. That fellowship keeps you sharp and strengthened and in-line. The enemy would seek to move you out of fellowship because he wants you to walk in error. But, I’ve come to tell you, no matter who you are, that you are too important to the rest of us for us to allow you to walk in error. The body of Christ must be the unified front that God is calling it to be. Words like “my” and “mine” must be traded in for “ours” and “we.” For it is then, when we have our hearts set to seek after His kingdom that we will see true manifestation. And, the blessing of the Lord will be bestowed upon His people. Stay connected. Stay on The Path!

I started this article off by quoting a very familiar passage of scripture. This scripture speaks to the force that comes against a spirit of heaviness. For we must understand, even though depression is a medical term, this is still a spiritual condition. Depression is a manifestation of the spirit of heaviness. The spirit of heaviness comes to dim your vision. It does not allow you to see truth clearly. The scripture says that the garment of praise counteracts that spirit. In the Old Testament, clothing was usually symbolic of a mindset or a way of thinking. It is a mindset of praise, thanksgiving and gratefulness that combats this beast.

In the midst of hardship, what do I have to be grateful about? As cliché as it sounds, the fact that you are still breathing is something to be thankful about. Every moment you are still around gives God another opportunity to do just what He has said concerning your life. It is an insult to the enemy when you begin to give praise to God after an attack. It speaks of God’s Lordship in your life. It boldly says, “whatever you did may’ve stung but He is still God.” With this realization intact, the realization that He is still God, you can begin to see clearly. Your thoughts began to shift from hopeless to hopeful. You began to remember that “greater is he that is in me.” (1 John 4:4).

Sustained gratefulness is often that is something that is greatly overlooked in our teaching. Learning how to continuously be grateful connects with so many other principles. One of these principles is stewardship. When you have wrapped your mind around sustained gratefulness, you are likely to become a better steward. Why? The definition of gratefulness is being appreciative of benefits received. When you are continually grateful, it means that you continually acknowledge His benefits. Psalm 103:2-5 speaks of his benefits: forgiveness from iniquity, healing, redemption from the pit, a crown of steadfast love and mercy and the satisfying of your soul with that which is good. When you understand His benefits, you refuse to waste your life being upset about what you don’t have. You also begin to value the things that you do have. Depression often finds its roots in a sense of diminished value. When you begin to understand the riches that have been afforded to you through Calvary, you will see how much God thinks of you. You will clearly understand how much you are worth to Him! Be Grateful! Walk in joy! Stay on The Path!

ALSO READ: Unlocking Potential by Overcoming Depression Pt. 1

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 About the Author: Path contributing writer Calvin Walker has been writing editorial content for Path MEGAzine since 2007.  Calvin’s ability to break down the word of God with thought provoking analogies and real life analysis makes an impact on Christians seeking a closer walk with God.  An accomplished author, Walker released his debut book titled “The Gallery” early 2010.  Click here to read excerpts and purchase Walkers’ book.

It was from that point that he began to let me know that evil is sometimes not a matter of moral good and bad. Evil will always find its roots in disobedience. Regardless if the tree was good for fruit, the command of God to Adam was not to eat it. This is where a lot of us get in trouble on our walk. We look at evil from a moral and ethical standpoint. Evil is robbery, killing, molesting and things of a criminal nature. However, we don’t consider pasturing, wearing a pair of shoes or sowing a seed at a service evil. The thing is all of these things, in and of themselves, are good but become evil when they are done out of a disobedient heart. The truth is your best intentions have nothing to do with God’s righteousness. For too long, we have based righteousness on an outcome and not obedience. Since something ended up working out, we deem it righteous. However, your perception of a situation’s success and God’s could be totally different.

Let’s look at Adam and Eve, they ate the fruit and now they were well learned. However, from God’s vantage point they had all of the knowledge and no understanding. This was not a success. Don’t allow perversion to cause you to walk in disobedience. Just because you think something is good does not make it good. In Proverbs 16:25, it says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” There are things that seem morally correct. There are things that seem sound business wise. There are things that seem sound family wise. However, if any thing that seems right goes against the command of God it is evil. The command of God tells you how you should live. So anything that causes you to do otherwise is the reverse, evil. It really is that simple. Evil is found in disobedience. Regardless of what you think, you must learn to obey the command of God. In his commands, there is abundant life.

When the disciples were learning to pray, Jesus was telling them to ask God to deliver them from disobedience. Evil is an undisciplined mindset that rebels against the righteous standard of God. We should make this a part of our standard prayer time as well. Lord, deliver me from my nature that would cause me to disobey you. Stay on the Path!

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 About the Author: Path contributing writer Calvin Walker has been writing editorial content for Path MEGAzine since 2007.  Calvin’s ability to break down the word of God with thought provoking analogies and real life analysis makes an impact on Christians seeking a closer walk with God.  An accomplished author, Walker released his debut book titled “The Gallery” early 2010.  Click here to read excerpts and purchase Walkers’ book.

Some of the symptoms of eating food too fast are: tendency to overeat, poor digestion (having to use the restroom immediately after you’ve eaten food), indigestion/heartburn, and weak digestion leading to a weak immune system. These things can be seen spiritually as well, when we tend to stuff ourselves with life in a hurried fashion. I think all of us have been the victim of heartburn because of our lack of patience. Another thing that I think some of us can relate to is poor digestion. A symptom of eating food too fast, as noted previously in the paragraph, is poor digestion. This means that the food that you have eaten goes right through you and you don’t give your body the chance to absorb the nutrients. So many times, some of us find ourselves trying our best just to stuff life’s trials down; in hopes that the quicker we eat it, the quicker it will be over. However, when we don’t chew it appropriately we will not absorb any of the lessons that it was sent to teach us. Then, subsequently, we are forced to eat that course over again.

I have been trying to work on this eating slowly thing for a second. It has been extremely difficult because I am so used to eating quickly. Now, chewing is something that I must consciously do to make sure that I am taking my time. Sometimes I do forget, I won’t lie to you. However, I do find that when I take my time and chew my food, I am satisfied on far less than I thought I needed. In Matthew 6:11, as Jesus was instructing the disciples to pray, he told them to ask for their daily bread. In the scripture, daily means subsistence or the minimum necessary to support life. Lord, give me what I need for today. However much or however little, teach me to process what you have given me in a way that will be beneficial to my life and growth.

For a very long time, I had been dissatisfied with the life that I found myself living. I was not in poverty or extreme lack, I just couldn’t seem to be content with what I had. I have found that my dissatisfaction had nothing to do with life itself. It had everything to do with how I took life in and allowed it to either benefit or hinder me. I had given the cares of life too much power and started looking at certain relationships in an unhealthy manner. Paul said it best in Phil 4:11-13; he learned how to be satisfied in any state because he realized who his source was. That is the key to being satisfied; knowing who your source is and having full faith and dependence on Him alone. Worrying, impatience and misguided wisdom never got anyone anywhere that they desired to go. Learn to chew slowly and enjoy the life that God has given you. Whether times be good or bad, our satisfaction comes only through the strength we have found in Christ. I think that Trident slogan should be the new mantra for believers everywhere, “Chew on This.” Stay on the Path.

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 About the Author: Path contributing writer Calvin Walker has been writing editorial content for Path MEGAzine since 2007.  Calvin’s ability to break down the word of God with thought provoking analogies and real life analysis makes an impact on Christians seeking a closer walk with God.  An accomplished author, Walker released his debut book titled “The Gallery” early 2010.  Click here to read excerpts and purchase Walkers’ book.