MAYO CLINIC “Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest… it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn’t worth living. More than just a bout of the blues, depression isn’t a weakness and you can’t simply “snap out” of it. “
Feeling emotionally off in any of the areas we’ve talked about in this series doesn’t mean you are unfixable, it means you are human…
LIFEWAY RESOURCES
““The company of the depressed is a very noble company. And whether we will admit it or not, all of us have been numbered among them. One writer calls depression “the common cold of emotional disorders.” All of our lips have spoken the words of discouragement and depression. All of our hearts have felt it. Every one of us has known, at one time or another, the slap of setback, the grief of loss, or the disheartening effects of stress. To be human is to feel that numbing, exhausting, de-motivating fog of depression.
And then there is a kind of depression that is even more complicated because it’s triggers lie within in the form of chemical imbalance, which means we cannot escape the black hole without medical attention.
What adds to the burden of the depressed and despondent is the common and misguided notion that good Christians don’t get depressed. Any hint of depression around the church, and clichés start to surface. “You just need to have more faith” or “Remember: rejoice in the Lord always!” Or sometimes it comes off as a pep talk: “Come on, get up and get moving! Stop the pity party and pull yourself together! What will people think of God if they see you like this?””
- Send up an S.O.S. to God and let Him know where you are. He’s not angry or disappointed in you for being human, but what breaks His heart is when we fall apart and don’t trust Him enough to come to Him.
- YOUR EMOTIONS ARE VALID, BUT NOT PERMANENT
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association, over 10% of Americans have been diagnosed as depressed, that’s 37.5 million Americans.
[PROVERBS 4:23]
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
[JEREMIAH 17:9]
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?”
You cannot defeat what you refuse to define
[JOB 6:8-13]
“8 Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant my desire. 9 I wish he would crush me. I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me. 10 At least I can take comfort in this: Despite the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One. 11 But I don’t have the strength to endure. I have nothing to live for. 12 Do I have the strength of a stone? Is my body made of bronze? 13 No, I am utterly helpless, without any chance of success.”
2. CHOOSE TO REDIRECT YOUR THOUGHTS
[PSALM 43:5]
“5 Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!”
Trust what is REAL over what you FEEL
What’s incredible is that in Job’s story, God does the napkin exercise for him! Job doesn’t end up writing down anything true about God because God shows up to remind Job who He is!…
[JOB 38:1-11]
“1 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? 3 Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. 5 Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? 6 What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone 7 as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? 8 “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb, 9 and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness? 10 For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. 11 I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!’”
3. MAGNIFY GOD & DIMINISH OUR PROBLEMS
[JOB 42:4-6]
“4 You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’ 5 I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. 6 I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.””
Whatever you place closest to you looks bigger.
LIFEWAY RESOURSES says this, “it is so important to worship in community – to ask your brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for you . . . Sometimes you literally cannot make it on your own, and you need to borrow from the faith of those around you. Companionship in the Lord Jesus is powerful.“
Lean into community, borrow someone else’s positivity, perspective, and even their faith for a little bit while you recover.