The answer to that lies way back in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and from then on, God's perfect world which he created for us, began to unravel and become broken.
We could truly put the blame on the two of them. When God confronted them about eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam blamed it on Eve. And Eve blamed it on the serpent. Evidently, no one wanted to take responsibility for their disobedience to their Creator.
Sound familiar? From then on, the human race has become experts at blaming someone or everyone else for their own sin. And God's perfect world was perfect no longer.
Depression is a terrible thing especially when it becomes more then just being "blue" on some days as most everyone does. It can be debilitating and one of those monsters that comes out to rob us of our joy of life and perhaps our life itself.
And it is one of the many reasons why Jesus died for us. To set us free. To set us free from sin and to set us free from the things that hold us down. And the things that living a full and wonderful life.
Depression in some people can be silent. Because Christians are not supposed to be real if they are depressed. And so many bury their feelings in the church so that no one will know because they don't want to be judged.
When going through my own depression years ago in a church I was going to at that time, I had 4 children from ages 1-10 sitting in the service with me, and a alcoholic husband at home by himself. No one around me in that church really knew much about us except that he drank and didn't or couldn't show me the love that Jesus would have had he been in a psychical presence with us. I really kind of felt like an outsider because it didn't seem anyone had the problems that I faced every day. And yet, all these years later and past that awful depression (I do still have my "blue days" like any one else), I wonder how many others really had suffered with depression and just could not let that be known in the church. I will probably never know, but because of the legalistic teachings they were given, I have no doubt that I was probably not as alone as I had thought I was.
God has brought me a long way from that time. I don't put the blame on anyone for the help that I didn't receive. Rather, I want to pass on the other side of it. That because of Jesus, there is good news for any one that cries out to him in their time of desperation. He is there. Waiting for you to ask his help. He is our answer and he is our hope.
If you are one that suffers from things you cannot control, I urge you to get help for yourself. Don't let anyone tell you that you just need to get up and do something and it will go away. (like a family member of mine used to do when I lay in bed and couldn't bare getting up). It is not that simeple. You may need real help to overcome those dark hours. You might want to begin by reading some of the resources online that I have below.
Know that you are not alone. And more than that, know that God is there for you. He is close to the brokenhearted and he can give you the answers to what you need. Psalm 34:18.
Because he loves you!
For more information on depression see: Why Christian Love Matters in Depression, To the Depressed Christian | Cru, Depression: Reject the Guilt, Embrace the Cure - Focus on the Family
Thanks for coming by today Friends. I hope this series on Depression gives you the confidence that we as Christians can follow (due to our own broken world) our biblical predecessors that God loved even though they went through their own hard times. He doesn't forget us if we aren't happy all the time. But he has given us the answers to our lives. Mathew 7:7 is indeed our promise for today. November 11,2019
Ask and it shall be given you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened to you.
God bless
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