Serving Rascals, Clumsy Disciples, and Physically and Mentally Ill Believers with the Unconditional Love of Jesus Christ
| Depression Deceptions by Rev. James Winsor | |
| Lots of people these days suffer from depression. Many of them are Christians. If you suffer from depression, I hope the following information helps you. If you don’t suffer from depression, then maybe this will assist you in understanding and helping those who do. Here is a list of three Depression Deceptions to avoid.
Deception #1: If you’re depressed, you’re not a strong Christian. On August 2, 1527, Martin Luther wrote these words in a letter to a close friend: “l have been thrown more than a whole week into death and tossed back and forth in hell.. .I have lost Christ totally and have been shaken by the floods and storms of desperation and of blasphemy against God.”Even strong, mature Christians like Martin Luther can suffer from depression. Depression is not a sign of unbelief or weak faith. It’s a sign of spiritual battle, and battles are for healthy soldiers. This is a sin-sick world. You’d be crazy not to be depressed sometimes! Deception #2: No one would understand. Holy Scripture tells Christians to “bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). We’re told to “mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). God doesn’t want you to carry your depression alone. God makes sure there are Christians around who understand. You don’t have to be alone in your depression. Not all Christians will understand it, but some will. You just have to take a few risks until you find the ones who have experienced depression themselves and will understand what you’re going through. Your fellowship with those Christians will be tight. You may even end up being glad the depression brought the two of you together. Deception #3: Depression is a Useless Detour in the Christian Life. God has a purpose for the depression that falls on His children. In an Old Testament passage we’re told that “an evil spirit from the Lord tormented King Saul” (1 Samuel 16:14). God had anointed David to be Saul’s replacement as king. God wanted to save Saul’s eternal soul, but He also wanted to replace him as king. So God sent David as a music therapist for Saul. “Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him” (1 Samuel 16:23). God gave Saul a problem and sent David as the solution. Saul might have done the obvious thing – thank God for David and support him! But instead Saul tried to kill David because he was jealous of him. Saul missed the opportunity his depression offered him. He rejected both his depression and David as gifts from God. St. Paul, on the other hand, had a similar experience of evil sent from God for a good purpose. He responded the right way and received the suffering as a gift from God. Paul wrote, “There was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.. .When I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). God presented Paul with a problem. Then He presented him with the solution, grace in Christ. Paul learned to be thankful for his weaknesses because his weaknesses made him need Christ. Depression does that to and for you. It leaves you with nothing to hang onto, but Jesus. When you’re depressed, you can’t find anything inside to place hope in. All that exists is darkness and emptiness. You come to find your hope in something outside of you: Christ and His cross and pardon. That’s not a detour from the Christian life. That is the Christian life, God has you right where He wants you.I was really depressed one day. I told a pastor friend of mine, “Sometimes I don’t know whether I’m saved. All I know is that I have a Savior.” God had me right where He wanted me. I could actually rejoice in my weakness. Suddenly all I had was Christ. And, in a way, you don’t have Christ until Christ is all you have. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” Romans 12:15 NOTE: If you can’t seem to shake your feelings of sadness and depression after a few weeks, seek out help right away. Talk to your parents, a counselor, or your doctor to help you deal with these overwhelming emotions.
The Rev. James Winsor is pastor at Risen Christ Lutheran Church in Arvada, Colorado.
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Taken from the Spring 2002 edition of Higher Things magazine. You can write Higher Things at P.O. Box 58011, Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158-8011.
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Job 5:8-9, New Living Translation
I’m back to reading Job– for the billionth time. I decided this time, I will muscle through it. (But I must admit my track record isn’t the greatest.) I must tell you, the post that follows may not be for you, if your face turns red— stop! Don’t try to read anymore; it’s not for you. Walk away. It’s not worth it.
These two verses, combined– create a mindset of a bold confidence. The speaker (not Job the “wonder-guy,” but mere Eliphaz) creates an anticipation of ‘what if?’ His advice, is to turn it over and make it God’s issue. Let Him deal with it, it is his job. Lay these issues on his doorstep, ring his door-bell, and run away quick.
But the speaker goes right to the source– revealing a definite purpose. People like this are uncommon, more or less rare. But we admire them for it, after all it gives us ‘slackers’ a warm, fuzzy feeling as we gaze on their zeal. But human solutions will rarely bring out a righteousness of God. We see them, admire them, want to be like them… but guess what? It fizzles out into an embarrassed realization as we start to understand; this isn’t going to work after all.
But we must bring our problems to Him. I will not try to minimize this point. We are not built to carry such loads. We weren’t designed to do this. We approach Him (with some trepidation, if we are reasonably sane) with these ugly and heavy burdens. But we don’t ring His doorbell and run. Rather we stand to meet Him, face-to-face.
“God does wonders that cannot be understood;
he does so many miracles they cannot be counted.”
Verse 9 speaks out of a reflective and knowing heart. The speaker understands that God works miracles; He has the “ultimate track record.” He does the outrageous; He does things that no one else can do! He is like a magician– wonders happen. The speaker grasps something here. The God who he seeks is a miracle-working God. He is so utterly convinced of this fact that he brings it before Job as a ‘plan-of-action.’
And what can we say? I think there is a lot of ignorance among some who call themselves “believers.” We catch a fleeting glimpse of His Glory, and suddenly we launch a ministry and a “speaking tour.” In our very brief encounter with Him we suddenly become either theologians, or talk-show hosts of the religious persuasion (of course, on TV).
There are no crispy clean answers, but as we humbly, and seek Him brokenly– without any aggrandizement or posturing, He will work. But we must deal with our own urge for “hucksterism” or a feeble manipulation. It can’t, and won’t work, at least not the way we think it will.
Connecting with Him is not super hard, but it will cost us everything we have. When it is truly real, you will know it by a price that must be paid.
“I’m must show myself; things are not going well, to be honest. I’m becoming more and more fragmented. And I can’t seem to hold it together. Essentially, I mentally can’t keep it centered on the things I know are right and appropriate. My mind is in a muddle, and my heart is not far behind.
I can’t go on like this. I have to confess that I’m spinning out of control. There are too many issues that hammer me, without any resolution or finality. I need a “booster shot” of grace. (Perhaps, maybe an I.V. would be better.)
All I want is to escape, and to shake off these ‘parasites’ that sap me of any strength I might generate. Far too many things are draining me of any vitality and hope. Despair and despondency have suddenly shown up at my door, but I treat them as unwelcomed visitors, and hope they will leave me alone. All they want to do is take me apart, and dismantle me, and I seldom advance beyond this. I haven’t invited them.
This simple blog has kept me going. The posts that I write are sincere, and I know for a fact they touch many hearts. I’m astonishingly grateful for this. But they can’t minimize my own issues. I am constantly on the edge, a step one way or another could push into a desperate fall. (Funny, I’m starting to scare myself.)
I have a deep confidence in Jesus. I believe that he loves me in the most intense way possible. I trust in his deliberate and careful love. Resting in his arms is the very best thing I could do. He is the only one who can lead me through my mental illness. Or to give me the grace to move above it.
I do not want to offend or alienate anyone. That simply is not what I am about. But I simply can not try to take Brokenbelievers much further in this ‘frame of mind.’ I will try to post as often as I can– but both my therapist and psychiatrist want me to go into a hospital. I have already been there several times and I do not want to be admitted any time soon.
The next several days should be interesting. I’m definitely committed to avoiding hospitalization. The “professionals” I trust are trying to commit me, but I do intend to make a scrap of it. “I will not go lightly.”
Please try to be patient with me. I want to post, it runs through my veins. But I simply don’ t have the resources that extend into transparency and clarity. Please forgive me. There’s is no way I can make this work without avoiding a “shutdown.” We will see.
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(Lord, have mercy on us.)
Broken Believers 