The joy of the LORD is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

I was speaking at a church conference when a woman who was
attending invited me to her home for dinner with her family. The
woman had been a Christian for 20 years, but her husband was not
a Christian. After I arrived it didn’t take me long to realize
that the real reason she had invited me to dinner was to win her
husband to Christ.

I discovered later that the woman had been severely depressed for
many years. Her psychiatrist insisted that her depression was
endogenous and she staunchly agreed. But I believe her depression
stemmed from a wrong goal. For 20 years she had based her success
as a Christian on winning her husband and children to Christ. She
had prayed for them, witnessed to them, and invited guest
preachers home to dinner. She had said everything she could say
and done everything she could do, but to no avail. As the
futility of her efforts loomed larger, her faith faltered, her
hope dimmed, and her depression grew.

Her husband adequately provided for the physical needs of his
family. He simply didn’t see any need for God. I shared with him
about my life and ministry during our visit, but I didn’t force
my faith on him. I trust that I was a positive witness. In the
meantime, his wife’s increasing depression was destroying her
witness.

You should, of course, desire that your loved ones come to
Christ, and pray and work to that end. Your goal is to be a
positive witness by becoming the spouse or parent God has called
you to be. Then you must leave the results to God. Assuming
responsibility for the salvation of your loved ones is beyond
your ability. Every loved one can choose not to respond to
Christ. Depression often signals that you are desperately
clinging to a goal you have little or no chance of achieving, and
that’s not a healthy goal.

Lord, help me discover the joy of letting You do Your work Your
way.

This daily devotional is published and distributed by
http://www.GOSHEN.net/ . It is written by Neil Anderson at
http://www.freedominchrist.com/ .