When Depression Comes Knocking (part two)

Depression: Have you ever had it? I don't mean the "blues" that everyone gets now and then. I mean the downright, hardcore depression that makes life so bad that you don't ever want to get out of bed.

There are some teachings in churches that do not allow for any other solution to getting rid of it, then by praying out demons of depressions or whatever else they may teach about it. Sorry to say, they do not see it as anything but that. Antidepressants and medical problems are looked down upon and they sometimes teach that they may even be the cause.

There is not a "one size fits all" solution, however.

The first thing to look for in deciding what route to take in getting rid of it is its root cause. Such as marital problems. If a couple is having those, they may need to seek good Christian counseling to resolve them. But what if one of them refuses to get it? Maybe they don't feel it is their problem but their spouse that is to blame. Where does that leave the spouse that really needs to get their problems worked out? Depressed? And maybe even more so than before there was any talk about counseling. Maybe she/he has already been depressed for a length of time and been silent about it. In that case, the depression that person has already experienced, probably just digs in deeper. Because their situation then looks all the more hopeless.

Or what about physical reasons that contribute to depression. I struggled with it for years. Granted, much of it was due to other factors than physical. But more recently, when I just could not stay out of bed, my doctor ran blood tests and found that I had hypothyroid disease. When the thyroid gland is deficient, it can cause depression along with a host of other problems. And so, every since then I have taken a drug that helps that problem. If I miss it for a short period of time, the depression I had before will come back and the blues that I might have occasionally become full-blown depression.

 Sometimes depression has to be dealt with in the physical body.

Some people go through terrible tragedies in their lives that makes them depressed. Our pastor tells of a situation in his family that happened years ago. His sister's husband had murdered her in their home one night and then committed suicide. What was worse, their two young teenagers woke the next morning to find their parents deceased on the floor. What kind of depression was at work in their lives, which then wrapped itself up in his life as well as he tried to deal with the aftermath.? And what about the teenagers? They are grown up now and grew up in the pastors family and went on into ministry themselves. But what how much depression did they go through during those years? It must have been a terrible time for them.

And then you have the mental illness which goes beyond just depression and causes worse problems than I felt in just a day to day burdens of living under it and not wanting to get out of bed. Some people have disabilities in which they cannot begin to live a normal life or figure out what is wrong with them so that they can get help.

There are just too many elements of it that can produce many symptoms and be many reasons for it. And it may not be as easy as we would like to think that just praying for demons to come out that we would like. Sometimes it is a long road of unhappiness and struggle until relief comes.

But in our struggles, there is HOPE! And that is found in JESUS and in GOD'S WORD!

• Fear not, for I am with you., be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isahia 41:10
• Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding and I will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
• Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares for you. 1 Peter 4:7
• The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and he saves the crushed spirit. Psalms 34:18
• Come to me all that labor and are heavy burdened and I will give you rest. Mathew 11:28
• The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.  Psalm 9:9
• Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulations, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulations and constant in prayer. How many times during days of depression can we honestly say we are hopeful, patient and in prayer, let alone constant prayer? And yet, that is what we need to be. Getting into God's word is essential to our health and well being, especially (but not limited to...) those times. Scripture is not meant to sit somewhere collecting dust in our bibles. It is meant to be read, meditated on and applied to our lives. It is our source of life. God gave it to us for a hope that as we are patent and praying that he is working all things out to the good of those that love him. Romans 8:28

For those that are struggling with depression right now, I hear you. Just know that you are not alone. God wants you to come to him and depend that he will get you through. I hope that this devotion has given you some sense of peace and maybe some direction with which to think on. But more than that get you to God's word is for the comfort that I know it can bring throughout your struggles. We live in a broken world but there are answers for you. God bless!

Depression. Have you ever been there? Not just the kind of feeling that we all have as in having the "blues" here and there. Most people have those now and then. But those that really suffer from bouts of daily hardcore depression know what I am talking about. The kind that cannot even make themselves get out of bed everyday. And according to statics, there are many people that do.

Some churches teach that it is a spiritual battle. They will use I Timothy 6:12 where Paul says to "Fight the good fight of faith" as if all depression comes from our enemy the devil. When we always go at it like that, and it doesn't go away, we get discouraged and give up. Sometimes on God.

In first getting rid of our depression, we need to look at what is causing it. If we have marital problems that are the root of it, we are not going to just "fight the good fight" and it will suddenly go away. We must do what it takes to work on those problems to correct them.

Sometimes though, even if we do that, our spouse may not be interested or willing to come along with us to work them out. What then? We can do all we can to do on our part, but if the other person does not, where does that leave us? Depressed? And where then does that leave our relationship with God if we are not careful?

Then there is the physical reason that may be causing our depression. I have written before of my own struggles with it and part of mine has been the fact that the doctor found that I have a deficiency in my thyroid. Hypothyroidism. When that is deficient, it can not only cause that problem but a host of others as well.

He treated me with a drug that helps that maintain the thyroid but also I take an anti-depressant as well. And in some churches that is looked down upon that anyone should be taking that kind of drugs.

Years later, when going to a different church than the one that taught against them, we had gotten to know the pastor there and I asked him how he felt about anti-depressants. He said to me, "Becky, some people need them and it is ok to take them if you do."

Here was a pastor who had years earlier, had a sister that was murdered by her husband, then took his own life. That was bad enough but their two young teenagers woke up to find their parents deceased on the floor of their home.

He struggled with depression himself. He knew what it could do. And he could offer hope, not only spiritually to someone that was herself struggling with it, but also that I didn't have to feel under God's condemnation for taking a drug that could hopefully alleviate it.

There is not a "one size fits all" solution for it. And it may just be that it is only the root of a mental disability where someone has problems so great, that they cannot even begin to straighten them out themselves. My own mother was like that. And she came from a long line of people that did as well. Figuring out that I had the thyroid problem just more recently, I often now wonder just how many of them may have had the same problem with their depression, but it just was not known then. Some of them were also Christians that were just never able to get a handle on how to overcome it. Others had the mental disability component.

We know that we live in a very broken world. And it brings on so many of the problems we face in our everyday lives. BUT....we have hope!

No matter what we are going through, Jesus offers the hope that can join together with the medical care, or the counseling or whatever it is that will help us get through the blackness we feel during those times we cannot get out of bed.

Sometimes, as in 2 Timothy 6:12, it is a fight. A fight to get out of bed. A fight to have faith to do what we need to do just to do that. But what then? If we have problems that go beyond that and don't address them, we just find ourselves back in bed again. In the meantime, God does give us hope. Paul also says in that verse: "Take hold of eternal life in which you were called  to in good confession."  Our identity lies in Christ. Not in our depression. And while we are struggling with the latter, we know that he can and will give us the answers if we seek him through it. And he has a lot of scripture for us to hang on to during the darkest of our days.

• Trust in the Lord and lean not unto your own understanding.  Acknowledge him in all your ways and he will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
• Cast all your worries on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
• Fear not for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Ishaia 41:10
• Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12
• The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.m and saves the crushed is spirit. Psalm 34L18

These and many more are not just in the bible to be read. Or worse yet, to not be read. They are promises from God to get us through the hard things this world has to offer us. He is sooo willing to be our help in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1. While we are looking for the answers. While we need his help. When we need his comfort. Because he has it. We just need to find it.

Let me do say as well, that I am not perfect. Just because I found the cause of my own depression, it does not mean I am 100% free. I still have my times. But I know now the cause. I know what I can do about it. And I know where my hope comes. It is found in God's word.

I pray if you are struggling with depression, no matter how severe or not, that you will take comfort in his word. Don't flail along like I did for so many years, not knowing what to do about it. God has answers for you as he did me. I just had to find hem. And I hope that today's devotion helps you in any way to find his answers for you. You are not alone. He is with those that love him. God bless you!