How to Care for Someone Battling Anxiety and Depression

Well we believe in a gospel that is Huge enough to embrace all of life That there's literally no human difficulty that isn't addressed and embraced by the gospel, and so I want to talk about a couple struggles that That may seem like Could these be outside that circle people struggle with depression and anxiety and Maybe let's talk about What you think is the most help helpful kinds of things? That the church can can do in ministry to people are struggling with depression and anxiety yeah There's a lot of things let me just say too as a starting point I the first one is to recognize that There's a way where those experiences make a lot of sense in a fallen world the in one way you could say the miracle is everyone is done in a continual panic attack and completely despairing because When you're without God and without hope you ought to be anxious and you ought to be Despairing I think as Christian people. We're not immune to any of the the pain and the loss and the heartache and the uncertainty of living in a fallen world and to be able to normalize it so it's not just a pathological condition, but There's a way where anxiety and depression are very human experiences, and that's very freeing and then the second thing is I May not experience Anxiety or depression to the same extent that you do if we're having a conversation but we're more alike than different, and if I'm honest just myself I If there's no temptation has overtaken Any person that's not common to all at some level. I ought to be able to identify with you and have a fundamental care a sympathetic care and understanding for a Human problem that just creates compassion and care and the confidence that we can have a conversation that is constructive Yeah, you know I was as you were talking. I was thinking that Paul in Romans 8 talks about that we live in a world that's groaning waiting for redemption And we too groan You could argue that the default language of every human being is groaning If we're honest yeah from and that's just playing pretend and spending an image whether that's a situational relational or a physical condition So we should not be surprised that People are there Maybe what you're saying is that? Effective Ministry to people who struggle clearly struggle with fear and anxiety or on the depressive continuing of human beings May be the the key to ministering to them is humility that that I Confess the ability you're a human being I'm a human being We struggle yeah, that's okay, and we have we have points of contact we can find. I was thinking also that of just the importance of patience just this Sort of desire for you to get your act together so my life is unencumbered by your struggle versus We will struggle and we will continue to struggle till we're on the other side and then in in the midst of that not only is Is does God meet us inner struggle he's sovereign over our struggle. I mean some of those experiences become the richest moments of Of grace that we have never gotten to my understanding of who Jesus is had I not gone through this experience That's right, and you're not saying It's a good thing to be depressed or a good thing to be anxious But you go through it you find grace, and it's a door to deeper faith a door to greater compassion for other people who struggle Maybe God's toolbox is bigger than we think it is That he can use things that we would be terrified of to produce Rich and beautiful things in us but something else that I want to pick up on what you said about patience because I think So often a place the church can fall short, we want some kind of answer that works quick we want the quick fix the Pat answer, and then it's done and God is patient be cut because love is patient and there's a reason love is patient is first on the list and it's because deep problems don't have quick solutions I was also thinking about The possibility of having the wrong goal that my goal is to get you undepressed or unanxious versus a goal of being I want you to have hope in God, and I want hope and God to be the Motivating force in your life You you may be on this Continuum maybe your personality may be the result of your experience Does that make sense I'm not trying to fix you as much as I want to root you in The depth of God's mercy yeah And I think when I think how the church could misstep is I start to be you as a problem to fix They're not a person who For whom the gospel the Psalms say in particular actually give all these strategies for sanity of how to process The things that trouble you and they show us who to go to How to anchor ourselves and God not as though even that's going to be a panacea that makes me just serene calm cool and collected There's actually a strategy for how to be troubled in the right way hmm Talk more about that One of my favorite Psalms is 25 and it starts out Dave is all upset about what's happening to him And he has a pause and he realizes well I've got a problem because I'm a sinner too And I can't just pray for deliverance from all the things that upset me and discourage me and make me anxious and distressed And he finds God's mercy for himself, and then he's able to really very candidly bring to God his troubles the things that I think we could honestly say they they make him anxious. He uses words like distress and anguish and trouble and There's this dance where but we never get out of a situation where we face things that will distress us the last enemy is yet to come and This is no accident pilgrims progress that the last enemy that crossing that final river prova provokes one more crisis of anxiety in a Christians life in that parable And so you would you would say if you're Near someone who is just seems captured by anxiety or depression You would say Start here What would you say I? Might think this wouldn't say it, but I would what I think is we're in this together. Yeah You're not diagnosis. I'm not gonna objectify you in that way. We're in this together. This is a human dilemma and Let's start by naming what troubles you and then let's think through how? What is true about God you know Philippians 4:6 is probably the classic don't be anxious for nothing text And people often miss verse 5 which says The Lord is near Don't be anxious about anything it actually changes. It. It's not just a moral exhortation to not feel bad the Lord is near and that Is implications and you can talk to them? with intercession prayer Thanksgiving and he promises to hear us and bring peace and but it's not it's not just an exhortation It's not just a strategy it all hinges on our Awakening to the fact that we aren't alone and anxiety depression are very lonely experiences if we aren't alone it changes the experience and there's a degree to which and In a very deeply personal way they can be God forgetful experienced And so that's what I want the person to remember That God is near. He is present His grace reaches To the depth of those of those struggles rather than if you do this this and this you can become unanxious yeah Yeah, as though. There's a Christian version of a drug that just yeah makes the bad feeling go away. Yeah, and that that view of sanctification just isn't in the New Testament, I mean the New Testament predicts we will have trouble and and we aren't it's part of the humanizing of it because God didn't make us stones so when we when distressing things happened to us We feel distress when frightening things happen. We feel fearful when things are out of our control we feel anxious I think's seem hopeless they may be hopeless in a certain my health may be hopeless So I'm going to struggle, but there's a God that can meet me exactly at that place of struggle amen

Channel: The Gospel Coalition

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Keywords: the gospel coalition, the gospel, gospel, coalition, pastors, pastor, minister, ministry, Christ, Christian, Christianity, church, churches, faith, reformed, reformation, bible, biblical, evangelical, Jesus, God, spiritual, spirit, Holy Spirit, preacher, preaching, teaching, paul tripp, anxiety, depression, david powlison

Id: l_kqoZyW22Q

Length: 9min 58sec (598 seconds)

Published: Wed May 02 2018