Sermon: "Spiritual Dangers of Depression" by Rick Shabi, July 20 2019

based on what the devices of Satan are you remember that Paul had - just to be aware of the devices of Satan beware of those so that we so that we don't fall prey to anything that he might do and over the years we've talked about some of those devices like division you know Satan God is for unity so Satan is of division we've talked about doubt God would have us have faith and believe in him but Satan will infuse doubt in our minds whenever he can we've talked about distraction not too long ago a few months ago and the distractions of this world they can be very many and they can take our focus off of what our calling is and what God has put us in this in this church to be and his body to become years ago I talked about discouragement swordsman's happens to all of us it can be something that can distract us and Satan can use that to dull our senses and to it's all our edges if you will our spiritual edges we've talked about disappointment we've all suffered disappointment somewhere in our lives and that disappointment whether it be in family members or church members or ourselves or whatever it is that can cause problems with us as well there are all things that we experience and Satan if we let him can use any of those things to take us away from God because that's what his ultimate purpose is is to take us away from God you know as a thing I thought about disappointment and discouragement I realized that you know there's another thing that's very extent in the world around us today and sometimes the church can mirror some of the conditions in the world and there's one thing that it's been on the rise in a number of years in the world that plagues a lot of people and I know it plagues people in the church as well and I want to talk about that today does I think about disappointment that I think about discouragement you know this leads right into it I went back in my notes to see what I said several years ago about disappointment in the discouragement let me give you a definition that I found in those notes by a that was written by a man by the name of William ward he's a frequent contributor to The Reader's Digest magazine and often he'll come up with these things that we haven't give a definition here's what he wrote what discouragement is he says discouragement is dissatisfaction with the past distaste for the present and distrust of the future it is in gratitude for the blessings of yesterday indifference to the opportunities of today and insecurity regarding strength for tomorrow it is unaware of the presence of beauty unconcerned for the needs of our fellow man and unbelief in the promises of old it is impatience with time immaturity of thought and impoliteness to God not the finds it pretty well doesn't it well we're discouraged nothing seems bright nothing seems vibrant nothing seems vivid everything just seems kind of dull we just kind of march through life and we just kind of go through that period of time and we just exist and we endure that isn't what God wants us to do he expected us to be vibrant he expected us to be full of joy he expected us to be full of zeal and excitement about life after all he's given us a tremendous purpose to our lives and that should wake us up every morning that should keep us going but times of discouragement whatever triggers that discouragement whether it be the loss of a loved one whether it be a broken relationship whether it be financial disaster whether it be health problem after health problem after health problem whether whatever it is whatever triggers that whatever triggers it it happens to all of us every single one of us have been discouraged somewhere in our life every single one of us have been disappointed if not checked discouragement and disappointment can lead to something that plagues the world today and that is depression depression you know depression is one thing that's always been with us wherever you know if as long as man has been the Bible talks about depression but when you look at the world today it has skyrocketed out of control you look at the statistics on people that are depressed and you know you can turn on the TV you see ads about for this antidepressant and this medicine in this medicine and it promises it'll take all your blues away and you'll feel back to normal again not necessarily it made dull your senses you may not feel anything and talking to people who have been on those things that you're not the same it just kind of the excuse me doesn't allow you to doesn't allow you to feel the way you normally do and so people flock to medicine I want a quick fix I want over this and when you look at the statistics of depression depression medication antidepressants it's kind of alarming the most recent statistics on usage that I could find date back to 2017 when in 2017 they said of everyone everyone in America age 12 get that age 12 and older 12 point 7 percent of those aged 12 and over in America had taken an antidepressant the month before that's like 1 in 8 people that's quite a number of people isn't it that are depressed and they're looking for some way out of this because they're tired of feeling the way that they feel if you look at by age groups but for people age 60 and over it's one in five one in five take antidepressants for ages 40 to 59 it's one in six and those statistics say that it's gone up by 65 percent in the last 15 years an alarming increase in the reliance on medication for depression or just in the fact that the incidence of depression itself America has become a depressed Society and yet we have so much and yet we have so much as our disposals no so what is depression depression is a period of despondency where we just feel everything is lost our hope is gone we feel futile we feel what's the point in living there's all sorts of things that go along with it and the causes of depression can vary you know there are some physiological factors that can affect people and I've seen some of the brain scans and you can kind of see some of the chemical imbalances in some people it's not the it's not what most of it is okay some people do have chemical imbalances and some of the drugs they take do help balance those things out so they can have a feeling of well-being anyway where otherwise they are their brain is kind of out of sync of what what the norm is another leading cause today of depression is a number of medicines that people take if you look at some of the medicines that you that are advertised a lot of them have side effects can be depression and they say among people who are taking five or more medications and they have two or three doctors that are prescribing medication you can pretty much count on the fact you're gonna be depressed because no one is paying attention to what the interaction of those medicines are doing in your body and what they're doing to your brain when you put them in there and they often lead to depression that's depression we bring on ourselves thinking we're fixing one thing but it's creating another I'm not gonna talk about I'm not gonna talk about physiological depression that's out of my that's out of my ballpark you know polypharmacy if we're engaged in that we might not want to take a quick a very close look at what we're doing and and and think about what we're doing and I'm gonna caution before I begin here that if anything I say in this sermon today and you're on antidepressants and you think you want to get off of them don't do it cold turkey don't just stop today if you decide you're gonna do it talk to your doctor tell them you want to wean off because if you take yourself off of those drugs that do alter the way you think there can be some ramifications that you don't want to experience so no one should go home from here and saying I'm stopping what I'm taking today don't do it if you decide to talk with your doctor and wean yourself off to take a plan otherwise otherwise you can have some real problems now depression you know it's not fun all of us have been depressed sometimes in our life some of the times it's lasted for a week maybe two or three days a week even a month some people are chronically depressed they're just pressed all the time you can kind of see it on their faces they're just they're just sad and it can become like I said an any number of things that can happen that can closet anything that alters our life negatively in our mind can send us into can send us into a spin that can just render ours our lives miserable and it has an effect has an effect mentally of course on us has an effect physically too let me just spend a little bit of time talking about what some of the common symptoms or signs of depression is among people and most of these I would think you've heard of before and if you haven't been depressed you you know we've probably known someone who has demonstrated these in their life it can be marked and doesn't have to be every single one of these some or all of them it'll be marked by a prolonged sadness some people you talk to you there's they're just kind of sad all the time you know they just kind of they just not enjoying life you could tell they're not enjoying life it can be marked by unexplained crying spells you know people who just in sometimes you hear people say I just started crying for no reason they're just sad they're just sad maybe they've lost a loved one maybe it's been a broken relationship maybe there's been some financial setback then altered their life that they don't think anything can have and again maybe it's maybe it's health problems terrible diagnoses that come in our one right after another whatever it is and they're just sad all the time there could be significant changes in appetite for some they don't want to eat at all some for something they don't want stop eating now it's now you know it's not that you know it's often when people are depressed they're not looking to eat you know healthy things they're grabbing for the potato chips and they're grabbing for the ice cream and the Oreos and whatever the comfort foods thinking food will make me feel better if I eat this and it'll it'll solve some of the problems it doesn't it creates other problems as well interrupted sleep patterns you know maybe you used to sleep all the night through now you're waking up every hour two hours maybe for some people you're not sleeping at all others they sleep all the time they just can't get enough sleep they're tired all the time if that's all they want to do is sleep some people become irritable you can just say something to them and you can see the look in their eye that they want to just fire right back at you they can become angry they can become agitated others worry others worry and become anxious what's going to happen to this I think this might happen this might be the next thing that goes on in my life and when this happens this happens and it goes on and on and on and on down the line and they have themselves in a frenzy just worrying about everything that goes on and never is it positive it's never a positive ending it's always a negative thing that's going to end up happening people become pessimistic and negative most things that come out of their mouth I'll never feel good again God will never give me another person to love again that child will never talk to me again it's always positive it's always negative I'll never feel well again as soon as I get over one thing another thing befalls me for some though it's just indifference they've just given up caring nothing affects them they just kind of go through life you know one thing I didn't mention for young people is one of the leading one of the leading causes of depression among young people they say is social media and what do people do they look at that can't or they look at that phone they look at social media and they do that day in and day out it's like life just goes on long as I have my phone as long as I have my computer screen as long as I have my iPad what else do you need in life people can have a loss of energy some people say their feet they're tired all the time chronic fatigue you hear that every once in a while the oppression can have that effect on you people gonna have feelings of guilt they kind of know they're not doing something they should but they kind of of buried their heads in the sand that they don't want to admit it and they don't want to acknowledge it and so they go on and they know what they're doing isn't right they know they should be doing something different and that guilt riddles them and they become depressed they become worthless or they become they feel worthless a lot of people say they can't concentrate can't concentrate on anything more I can't even read a book anymore I used to enjoy reading I can't read a novel anymore I can't even read the Bible and keep my focus on it could be a can be a symptom of it the things that they used to take pleasure in whether it be hobbies whether it be talking with people whether it be going out to dinner none of those things even excite them or even interest them anymore nothing makes a difference there's no color in their world it's all just black and white go from one day to the next to the next to the next people begin to isolate themselves they want to stay by themselves they don't think anyone wants to see them and they kind of get in the pattern if I just stay home I'll just stay home and I'll be in my little cave and that's all I need I don't need anyone I don't want anyone and no one wants to see me and you can read all over the web sites that'll talk about you experience the unexplained aches and pains you know you feel bad you have a pain here you have an ache here it doesn't go away every morning you wake up it's there and then you go into the doctor and you have these tests done and the tests come back no problem here no problem there no problem there are no problems there and so people scratch their head well what is it what is it well could be depression because the way we think can have an effect on the way we are in the worst case scenarios depression can lead to suicide people just deciding life isn't worth living let me just die now the physical effects of depression but the people in this world are experiencing and what some of us are in here are experiencing in churches of God it's nothing to laugh at it's nothing to be made fun of it's nothing easy to overcome but it can be overcome for us all the physical effects out of the thing the danger to us is that depression can lead to spiritual suicide depression can lead to spiritual suicide left unchecked left to go on it will kill you spiritually and that's what Satan's aim is whatever it takes to take you away from God to take your excitement about your calling away from God to take you back to where it was and feel you're worthless you're not worth anything all those things that's what Satan is and depression is a tool that he can use we have to be aware of it and we need to find a way out of it it can be overcome and we must overcome now let me tell you drugs isn't the answer for people in the church it might help it might help it might help for a little bit if you're I'm gonna leave it at that but you know the answer to depression like every other problem that we have in life lies in the Bible the Bible actually uses the word depression in a few cases but most of the time it doesn't say depression but it talks about the same thing let me give you some of the words when you read them in the Bible that really mean the person or the Bible of the incident to hear though the verses are talking about depression when you read words when you reads words like downcast will read in a minute what David wrote oh my soul is cast down he was feeling despondent he was feeling depressed there was a number of reasons that he could that he might feel that way with what he went through words like downcast brokenhearted troubled miserable despairing words that you can see and you can see this is someone who's pouring out their heart because they are troubled they're in a period of time that they are feeling separate they're feeling not happy they've lost the joy that God is called us all - happens to all of us nothing wrong with it every single one of us will go through something on some little thing but it is how we respond to it that makes the difference in what we do well let's go into the Bible and let's look at a few passages and proverbs and psalms whenever we have life issues we could go the proverbs and psalms it gives us some good insight into what we can do that's why they're called the wisdom books let's go to proverbs 12 to begin with proverbs 12 and verse 25 says anxiety when we know what anxiety is right or nervous where we're worried we're anxious about things anxiety in the heart of man causes depression something that's troubling us it affects our minds and then right after it says what a good word but a good word makes it glad you know there's one thing about the Bible when it talks about a malady that we might have or a condition that we might have very soon thereafter you're gonna find what the Bible's remedy for that is or how we address it you know I've read and you probably heard the same thing in nature when we go out and we have something that could be dangerous to us whether it's a poison ivy or some poison thing the antidote to that is pretty close at hand we just have to know what it is and what to look for so if you get poison ivy there's I don't even remember what the plant is it usually grows close to it that's you take that will keep you from having the effects of poison ivy often is the same way in God's Word we see something here anxiety causes depression what can help depression a good word makes it glad now if we're sitting home by ourselves because we're all depressed we don't want to see anyone we feel there's not anyone worth talking to it's the kind of pointless to do anything or go anywhere how do you ever get a good word well we can get a good word through the Bible right I mean the Bible is God's Word and we can feel good when we read that but it's upon each of us to always encourage each other if we see someone that looks downcast and we see something that looks like they're burdened about something to go in and and say something good about them encourage them God you know one of the reasons he said he wants us to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together is so that we exhort so that we encourage each other and so when we come to services it can be a time that we can be inspired by talking to each other by what we hear what God opens our minds to understand can be a time of encouragement we need that from each other so he says here a good word makes it glad let's go to proverbs 17:17 verse 22 17 verse 22 some merry heart does good like medicine ah there's a good medicine a merry heart they could bottle that that would be that would be wonderful a merry heart does good like medicine but a broken spirit dries the bones now here's what one of the newer translations says the Gods word translation says a joyful heart is good medicine but depression drains one's strength we feel weak feel tired we don't feel like doing anything we don't have the energy to be happy or even try to be happy well we have a merry heart back a joyful heart back that life will come back that color in our world will come back that vividness that vibrance that depression takes away takes away the color and makes everything just kind of a plain black and white let's go back to psalms psalms has a few well several actually verses about depression psalm 42 sound 42 and 43 are good ones not written by david according to the heading on your Bible there psalm 42 let's just read through the first five verses here o of psalm 42 since it's a contemplation of the sons of Korah and look at the attitude look what the person who's writing this is feeling now you'll recognize the first the first line there it's assumed that we sing as the deer pants for the water Brooks so pants my soul for you O God that's what I need that's what I need to be healthy as the deer pants for the water Brooks so pants my soul for you Oh God my soul thirsts for God for the Living God when shall I come and appear before God well we know the answer to that one shall I come in before before God my tears have been my food day and night while they continually say to me where's your God when I remember these things I pour out my soul within me for I used to go with the multitude I went with them to the house of God with the voice of joy and praise with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast that's what I used to do and when I did that I was happy it made me feel good to do where God to be where God wanted me to be to do what God wanted me to do verse 5 why are you cast down on my soul why are you disquieted within me ah hope in God for shell yet praise him for the help of his countenance somewhere along the line when we're depressed our hope disappears maybe we hope the world of hopes and what the newest pharmacy pharmaceutical product on the market is our hope is in God that's where strength comes from that's what people do that's what we should do you can read through the rest of you see in verse 6 he keeps talking about my soul is cast down within me I will remember you let's drop down to let's drop down to verse 11 again he repeats in chapter 42 why are you cast down O my soul why are you disquieted within me hope in God for I shall yet praise him even though I don't feel like it even though I think my world is all negative even though I want to just spit out negative things all the time I will praise God and mice my margin says or the last line there the salvation God is the salvation of my countenance he's the one who can save us from ourselves he's the one who can save us from the things that go wrong in life he's the one that can bring us out of depression and despair and a worthless feeling let's go ahead and solve 43 vindicate me Oh God and please my cause against an ungodly nation deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man maybe something's happened to you that just isn't fair and the only one you could talk to would say you know what it's just not fair it's just not right what happened to you doesn't change what the effects are they're still gonna do it to you Oh deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man for you are the god of my strength why do you cast me off God why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the unmet enemy Oh send out your light and your truth let them lead me let them bring me to your holy hill into your tabernacle then I will go to the altar of God to guide my exceeding joy and on the harp I will praise you O God my God why are you cast down O my soul why are you disquieted within me hoping God for I shall yet praise him the salvation of my countenance and my god so there are just a few verses we have some of the antidotes what we can do when we're feeling that way and where our minds should be even though our minds don't want to go there they just want to be all focused on self maybe put the hope and what our ideas are or what someone else says the ideas are put your hope and God praise Him praise Him it's two of the things that we can do now the Psalms there's many Psalms in threes you read through the Psalms you see David often pouring out his heart to God because things have troubled him you know we look at King David and King David you know god says he's a man after our own heart and we should look at King David because you know David went through these things much like we do but in the end David learned what God wanted him to do he sinned but he repented when it came to his attention he went through trials in his life you and I haven't had to deal with I mean he was anointed king and then for years he had to run from Saul who wanted to kill him he had to go to foreign countries he had to pretend madness while he was there just to keep his life like he could have been depressed he could have been downhearted he could have been brokenhearted he could have said what's the use why was I ever anointed I give up I don't want to do it anymore he ever gave up he never lost his hope he never bent to another god he never bent his knee to another god he never looked elsewhere he always looked to God when you read through the verses and you see him pouring his heart out and there's some real human emotion in there even things where he says you know deal with my enemies deal with them swiftly I look forward to their problems types of things that we would say very human very pouring his heart out to God and we should pour our heart out to God when we are in a problem time in our life a despondent time of our life let's go back and look at a few of things you know David II he lost a child when God said the child with Bathsheba was going to die he fasted his servants remember they were even like what what when the child dies what is he going to do is he going to just kill himself but David caught himself he looked to God and he got on with his life he loved his son Absalom Absalom loved that boy and that boy d'être betrayed him so much so that David had to put him out and then David showed him mercy and let him back in again and then let him back into his court and what did Absalom do after all the mercy he'd been shown after everything David gave him he led a rebellion against him and he wanted his father dead and he wanted to take the kingdom from him that's the type of son Absalom was and David had to deal with that David mourned when Absalon died he loved that boy he loved him he loved him and so he he mourned and he went when when he died let's go back and look at some of the Psalms that David wrote where we can see his heart and the things that are going on Psalm 6 Psalm 6 Oh lordie writes Oh Lord don't rebuke me in your anger Oh Lord don't rebuke me in your anger don't chasing me in your hot displeasure have mercy on me O Lord for I am weak O Lord heal me heal me for my bones are troubled my soul also is greatly troubled but you oh Lord how long how long do I have to go through this return O Lord deliver me save me for your Mercy's sake for in death there is no remembrance of you in the grave who will give you thanks I'm weary with my groaning all night I make my bed swim i drenched my couch with my tears my eye wastes away because of grief it grows old because of all my enemies then you notice an uptick in David's attitude depart from me you workers of iniquity for the eternal has heard the voice of my weeping God has heard my supplication he will receive my prayer let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly he remembered God he's even though God wasn't answering immediately he knew God was listening absolutely knew God was listening but it's not God's will always to answer immediately well he does answer immediately yes or no you continue into things now sometimes we think I decided like that you know that genie in the lamp if we just say something God should his respond immediately well he doesn't do things that way because that's not his purpose in our life he does it sometimes but he wants us to develop the character the faith the continual looking to him even in the times of trouble that we can't explain throughout life David is feeling this here and as he remembers that you can feel his attitude increase when we are feeling down and out and hopeless we can think about God we know he hears his prayer our prayers he is listening but he's also waiting and he also has a purpose in mind and one thing you can remember is all things work together for good to those who love God he's got something in mind and he's not taken by surprise by anything that goes on with us let's go to Psalm Surtur 13 look at another thing that David wrote here sound 13 another short another short Psalm David rice how long how long O Lord will you forget me forever how long am I going to go through this how long will you hide your face from me how long shall I take counsel in my soul having sorrow in my heart daily how long will my enemy be exalted over me consider and hear me o eternal my god enlighten my eyes unless I sleep the sleep of death plus my enemy say I've prevailed against him and that enemy can be Satan right not just physical enemies unless my enemies say I have prevailed against him bless those who trouble me rejoice when I moved but I have trusted in your mercy my heart shall rejoice in your salvation I will sing to the eternal because he has dealt bountifully with me I know he's there I know he cares I know he could bring me out of this I know he will and I will thank him for the fact that I know he will I remember he remembers me he knows me and I will not turn my back to him or will go anywhere else I will look to him no matter how long it takes for David some of them were years and years that he waited but God always delivered God always delivered let's go forward to Psalm 51 the well-known prayer of repentance david has sinned with Bathsheba he's had her husband murdered on the line of battle and David through that time that had happened he kind of had his head buried in the sand as in I don't want to even acknowledge what I've done I was gonna go through life and even though we knew adultery was a sin and even though he knew murder was a sin he just kind of just put it out of his mind and paying the attention to it until Nathan came to him and gave him the story and then when he heard it God pricked his heart and David responded but through that time we see a glimpse of what he went through as he was here burying his head and not acknowledging his sins and not doing what he knew he should do probably but just kind of put it on the back burner and either I'll deal with it later or deal with it never the same type of thing that you and I may do well we do something that we know we really shouldn't be doing it that way we really need to address this we really need to pay attention to this let's pick up here in Psalm 51 let's begin with verse 7 David writes purge me with hyssop and I'll be clean wash me and I'll be whiter than snow my mind my mind has messed up I need this erased from my memory I don't want to be like this anymore make me hear joy and gladness make me hear joy and gladness you know what David was missing during those times he was missing joy and gladness when he realized what he had done when Nathan came to us like I haven't felt joy for a while I don't feel glad for a while I know now what it is there's something between you and me because your spirit results in joy make me hear joy and gladness that the bones you have broken may rejoice hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities created in me a clean heart O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me my spirits no longer steadfast once I felt close to you once I was doing things now I kind of do them half-heartedly or I could go through the motion and I'm making myself believe everything is OK renew a steadfast with spirit within me don't cast me away from your presence and don't take your holy s--t from me restore to me the joy of your salvation I've lost that that's what David is saying I don't feel that joy of salvation in this state that I've been on I don't feel it restore to me the joy of your salvation and pulled me by your generous spirit you read what David went through and he realized from where he had fallen and who what God could give him back and only God could give him back but he had to go through the motions to do it he had to turn to God he had to have his faith in God he had to put his hope in God let's go over to Psalm 69 I'm gonna read through the first several verses here sometimes it's just good to read what David had written skite a letter to us that God has preserved when we have troubles in our lives to see what he was thinking because it may not be exactly what David went through but all of us go through difficult periods in our life Psalm 69 verse 1 save me O God for the waters have come up to my neck I'm drowning here in financial issues I'm drowning here in these health issues that just keep cropping up and they just never stop coming I'm drowning here are these relationship problems I have they just never get better I'm drowning here and whatever it is that is coming our way maybe it's death after death after death in a family I'm for the waters have come up to my neck i sink in deep mire where there's no standing I've come into deep waters where the floods overflow me I'm weary with my crying my throat is dry my eyes fail while I wait for my god those who hate me without a cause and sometimes there's persecution that's not justified that we probably will all feel in the future there are those who hate me without a cause or those who hate me without a cause or more than the hairs of my head they are mighty who would destroy me being my enemies wrongfully though I've stolen nothing I still must restore it it's not just what's going on with me it's not right causing me problems but I have to go through it oh god you know my foolishness my sins aren't I hidden from you let not those who wait for you Oh Lord God of hosts be ashamed because of me of course attention turns I have an example to set what was me I'm going through a lot but those who trust in you I have a responsibility to them too to follow you the way it says I don't want them to be ashamed of me let not those who wait on you be ashamed because of me let not those who seek you be confounded because of me o God of Israel because for your sake I have borne reproach reproach shame has covered my face I become a stranger to my brothers and an alien to my mother's children because zeal for your house has eaten me up and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me when I wept and chastened my soul with fasting that became my reproach I made sackcloth my garment I became a byword to them those who sit in the gate speak against me and I am the song of the drunkards they make fun of me they mock me I'm a laughingstock to them never feel that way I'm not worth anything to anyone but as for you my prayer is to you God Oh Lord in the acceptable time Oh God and the multitude of your mercy hear me and the truth of your salvation deliver me out of the mire and let me not sink let me be delivered from those who hate me and out of the deep waters let not the flood water overflow me nor let the deep swallow me up and let not the pit shut its mouth on me I can read through the rest of that song you can see what David is you can see how he's feeling we probably have had similar things maybe not exactly the same situations but we felt that way I'm up to here there's no more I can take I feel like giving up you know Deborah David never said he was going to give up they had always found his strength in God he always found to strength and turning to God they always found his strength and calling on God and restoring his hope and and and summoning belief in God and looking to God when he was feeling down and out well you can go through the Psalms there's many anymore where David recounts the same things and as you look through the Bible you can see what the answer did you pression is I will go through some more things here but none of them are should surprise you really you know sometimes I'll counsel with people and whatever and I'll say you know this is what the Bible says do turn to God examine yourself do things the way God says sometimes people will look at me and be like that all you got oh yeah you don't have a magic bullet not something I can say not the magical prayer not of not something I can take and just make it no you know what you got to do got to turn to God he's the one who heals and the Bible tells us what to do and here in these Psalms and proverbs he tells us some of the things to do let's go over to Isaiah Isaiah 61 say 61 we have the words that Christ spoke Luke 4:18 when he was handed the Bible that day in the temple that day in the temple you know he he read these words and he said in me these words have been fulfilled and when Christ says these words to us today they apply to you and me today to the world at large when Jesus Christ returns but to you and me today the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me he says because the Lord God has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted he sent me to heal the brokenhearted it's not the natural state God wanted us in as the state of the world as the state Satan would want us in not God's Way for us to be brokenhearted it happens to us not a sin when it happens to us he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted to proclaim Liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all who mourn to console those who mourn in Zion to give them beauty for Ashes the oil of joy for mourning the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness they've got heavy hearts there's a veil that's lit over their heart that's holding them down it's a cloud that hangs over them they don't they're not feeling things I want them to be clothed with the garment of praise not with the garment of heaviness that they may be called trees of righteousness the planting of the Lord that he may be glorified there's a way out there is a way out of depression and there's a way out of depression without the drugs of the world for those who seek God for those who trust God who believe in God so what is it what is it that has us despondent if we are is it sin that we just are kind of ignoring hoping that we're doing okay but we know we should be doing better are we mired in financial problems we have something going on on the side do we have some broken relationships that cause us problems have we lost someone and it's so hard to get over all those things are parts of life and can be parts of the trials that we are in what do we do about it do we just give up do we just say it's too hard it's too hard god I'm not doing it anymore you know some have done that it's just too hard just too hard I'm just give up I'm just going to to go away and forget anything it's gonna go away and forget everything that I've I felt David never did that a man after God's own heart but there are other men of the Bible notable notable men of the Bible who have been depressed as well we can talk about someone like Jobe Joe had a lot to be depressed about didn't he none of us have faced what job did he face financial disaster he was wiped out literally overnight everything he had gone he was a wealthy man it's all gone all of his family was gone he lost them all he lost his health soon after everything was gone everything he knew and you know what he was doing everything right in life God Himself said is blameless he's obeying me but Jobe had to go through what he did and as you read through the book of Job you see you see what he does I mean he's been hit with a tremendous rock and some of us are hit with tremendous rocks stones up against the head we might have a health diagnosis that we think where on earth did that come from and it takes time to absorb it we don't even we have to just even stop to think what is going on when things happen in our life we just have to kind of take some time to do that and that's what job did you read the first seven days he just sat there and he didn't say anything all this had happened to him like a whirlwind he could just sit there taking it in and during that time he said God just let me die I'm tires too much it's too much I don't even want to live anymore and then his friends came thinking they were gonna console him but what they did they just added more despondency to I'm telling you what your fault Jobe you're the one who has all these hidden sins you're the reason that all this stuff has happened to you Joe I didn't they didn't do any of the thing you're accusing me for I've been unrighteous are unright lee unfairly accused and through chapter after Chapter after Chapter after week after week after month after month Joe goes through this in job just finds his strength of anything and just saying woe is me I've been unfairly treated goddess and treated me fairly and justifying himself and God watches all that time that job is going through this period that's rendered him to be a totally different person than he was before the joy has gone out of his life everything's gone out of his life as he sits there on the heap of ashes suffering in a way that you and I can only imagine what brought drove out of it was guy gonna let him in that situation forever was guy gonna let him die in that situation no job went through it for a reason and at the end when God said basically it's enough job let's go back and look at Jobe and see what happened after all these chapters of the back and forth between the friends and Jobe 40 job 40 verse 6 no job is going through all this and God says out of the whirlwind for sale prepare yourself like a man job I will question you and you will answer me now Joe we're gonna get straight here who is the boss who is the one in control and God goes through all these things giving job a picture of who he is I created this this is mine where were you when this was created this is how I am Joe you don't think I had enough power to see what you were going through you don't think that I can deliver you out of anything do you see what this this that you've gone through has revealed in you that you need to repent of Jobe listens Joe gets a picture of the Word of God the same picture you and I can get of the Word of God when we go into the Bible and we read it and we know it's written for us and not just cover it over and say oh that's for another time I'm doing fine on that when we let God speak to us through his word now we ask him to take the vales off of our eyes and see us the way we are just the way Joe began to see himself the way he was so we get over to chapter 42 after God is telling him all these things Jobe says in verse 5 of chapter 42 I've heard of you by the hearing of the word I knew who you were I understood that but now my eye sees you I get it you are the sovereign God you are the God who wants the best for us you are the God who can't deliver therefore I abhor myself and I repent in dust and ashes I am sorry that I look to myself I'm sorry that I was wallowing in misery I'm sorry that I was well away at wallowing and silt self-pity and had my entire focus on me and how poor poor Jobe poor my name poor your name and I repent and God forgave him sometimes we have to repent of what we've done and tell God okay I get what you have been teaching me here restore to me the joy of your salvation but there's other things that we need to do - God forgives he knows what you always going through kind of verse 10 notice it says it says the Lord restored job's losses when when he prayed for his son for his friends he had to get his mind off self he had to pray for others he had to forgive he had to do something that might have been really difficult for him because he sat there for all those weeks and months listening to them you know falsely accuse him of this and that God said no I forgive you job I'll restore you need to have the same thing and you need to serve your fellow man and have the same attitude toward him that I have toward you and God gave him twice as much as he had before that said in verse 10 so we can look at Joe we can look at a man like Jeremiah Jeremiah was a prophet and Jeremiah had a life that you and I just don't have I don't think we can even imagine it Jeremiah was told you're never gonna marry you're gonna be alone throughout your life you're gonna be prophet to Judah you're gonna tell them terrible things that are going to happen to them if they don't turn back to me they're gonna hate you they're gonna listen to word you have to say they're gonna mock you they're going to do everything to you you're gonna be outcast of society and every time someone sees you coming they're gonna say oh man it's Jeremiah again he doesn't have anything good to say about us would you want to be Jeremiah Jeremiah didn't want to be Jeremiah you read through Jeremiah and he would say tell God please just let me die I'm tired of this I can't go through it anymore everyone looks at me everyone looks at me and hates me and they go the other way they make fun of me they create opportunities to torture me and make me miserable I think don't think Joe or Jeremiah was a little bit depressed sometimes in his life absolutely absolutely you and I would be - nothing wrong with the night of sin he had to learn though and Jeremiah to his credit he he would turn back to God he would spill his guts out to God he would tell them exactly what he was thinking the way you and I can do we're feeling down and we're feeling out and downcast just pour our heart out to him and tell him how we feel let's go back to Jeremiah or forward to Jeremiah Jeremiah 15 see the tail end of one of the episodes where he's told guide you know the verse 10 of chapter 15 he says woe to me my mother that you have borne me a man of strife and of many a man of contention in the whole earth because I haven't done anything wrong but everyone hates me we dropped down to verse 19 after after Jeremiah says his peace and God says his peace and verse 19 it says this thus says the eternal Jeremiah if you return I will bring you back you will stand before me if you take out the precious from the vile you shall be as my mouth let them return to you but you must not return to them now that's an interesting first and those words are put together in a way that it's hard to decipher exactly what God is saying there you can study those words and see how they're put together let me give you the translation from the New Living Translation similar to the God's word translation where they've gone back and they have put it in English that has the same meaning in words we can understand better this is Jeremiah 15 verse 19 says this is how the Lord responds if you return to me I will restore you so you can continue to serve me if you return to me if your eyes go back to me and get your eyes off self and how miserable you are if you return to me I'll return to you and I'll restore you so you could continue to serve me if you speak good words rather than worthless words you will be my spokesman you're going to have to speak positive things it's okay to speak some negative things and ok to tell people what's going on in your life and whatever but it doesn't have to be 100 percent of the time that every single thing is that that's an that's a symptom of depression but God says you know if you'll speak if you'll speak good words rather than worthless ones you'll be my spokesman you Jeremiah must influence them don't let them influence you same thing he would say to you and me don't let the world influence you don't let those around you who say where is your God why are you feeling that way take this thing and just run with it don't let them influence you you influence them Jeremiah did Jeremiah continued to serve God he had his bouts with despair he had his bouts but through it all he ended up serving God and he was a link to where that throne went from there there's other people you go through and you read some of the about the men you can see some of the troubles they went through and how they had the battle what their natural feelings would have been let's go back to first Kings and let's see a man who is almost the textbook on depression and how to deal with it first Kings first Kings 18 I'm sorry first Kings 19 this is this is Elijah Elisha who has been faithful Elijah who has stood up for God in Israel and in Judah and as we pick it up the story in bursts in chapter 19 Elisha has just gone through with the prophets of bail-in that famous that famous you know scene and story where they were setting up an altar and Elisha said you know if your God is God have him consume this offering with fire prophets of Bale tried and tried and tried a and night didn't work his Elisha fill the trenches with Beyer called on God or filled it with water called on God immediately did that prove the God was the God of Israel a tremendous high and Elisha had to be so charged by what went on there he had to think now now this nation will get it now this nation will turn to God why wouldn't they they know he's God and he had quite a shock he had quite a surprise when in chapter 19 as it begins when they had told them everything to told his wife Jezebel what happened her response wasn't well let's turn to God he's the God he's proven it she said forget that I'm gonna kill you Elijah that's what my mission is from here on out I'm gonna kill you it was a shock to Elijah's system it sends him into a tailspin just like it would you and me if it happened to us chapter or verse for chapter 19 but Elijah when he heard this he ran he would have himself when a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree and he prayed that he might die it's enough I don't want to do this anymore and he said it is enough Lord take my life for I am no better than my father's now the other prophets they came and well that all your people wanted to do was kill him they've done no different to me that's just simply they've just simply want to kill me now too I'm a worthless there's nothing that I offer I failed you can just feel the emotion and you can feel the heart break-in in Elijah first five is he laying slept under a broom tree suddenly an angel touched him and said to him arise and eat and he looked and thereby I said was a cake baked on coals in a jar of water so he ate and drank and lay down again not of everything that Elijah went through as he went through this traumatic experience in his life of all things God puts in there that Elijah eat and not only once because in the next verses the angel the Lord came back again and touched him said Elijah eat you know you could read on websites that have to do with repression depression can be helped when we eat a healthy diet when we eat the right things and sometimes what we eat can have a negative effect on us and you can read it in any just about any web site you go on we do become what we'll eat and if what we eat is junk our minds can become junk and so sometimes when we're depressed we might want to do what God had Elijah do we might want to not turn to the Lay's potato chip bag or the bag of Oreos or the carton of ice cream we might want to instead make ourselves go to a healthy diet put ourselves in put in our bodies the things that God made just like he sent an angel to give Elijah Elijah eat this you know what Elijah ate it he could have said I'm not hungry last thing I want is that food above all he ate it twice and look look what happened after the second time you know the the 8th verse 8 it says you know the angel says to rise at eat because the journey is too great for you what you're going through Elijah this is a tough thing you need to be equipped your body needs to be strong for what you're going to go through and sewed so Ezekiel wrote our data zekiel Elisha arose and he ate and he drank he did what God told him to do he didn't he didn't go fall I that he didn't say no and he went and that's in the strength of that food 40 days and 40 nights Wow would you like to just once eat what a lie - ate we'd love to eat that and see what it's like to have whatever God gave him that he could go on that for 40 days and 40 nights how nutritious it must have been how exactly what his body needed as he was going through that to be strong and he went out and walked you know he's they gods couldn't let him just lay there under that broom tree said no you're not gonna lay under this broom tree forever when we're depressed we just want to lay around and do nothing right I'll just lay under this broom tree for the rest of my life it's as good here as any place else no God said you know eat and you get out and you walk now one of the things you can read anywhere depression eat and exercise get out and do something don't just sit and do what your body or your mind want you to do I'll just sit here and do nothing I'm just gonna sit and do absolutely nothing because that's what I feel like doing I don't think Elijah felt like walking for 40 days to Horeb at that mountain but he did what God told him to do God knew you got to do something a lie you just can't sit here for a while you've had a time to absorb what's going on what's gone on is is not what you expected that's fine now here's how you deal with it and when Elijah got to Horeb at the mountain of God says there he went into a cave and he spent the night in that place and behold the word of the Lord came to him and said what are you doing here Elijah why are you holed up in this cave why are you here and so Elijah you know if everything he's gone through now forty days of walking going from the broom tree to the cave he told him how he feels I've been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant they've torn down your altars they've killed your prophets with the sword I alone am left and they seek to take my life do you see what's happening god it's not fair it's not right God didn't address it head-on he listened to what Elijah had to say he knew the hurt that he was going through and he knew he had to say those things in verse 11 God tells him get out of this cave Elisha don't sit in that cave looking at the four walls there's nothing there except a blank wall and darkness get out of that cave go out and stand at the mountain before God and behold when Elijah did that God passed by and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks and places before God he went outside he looked at nature he saw the power of God this great wind came by and it was a mighty wind Elisha wouldn't have seen that sitting in the four walls of his cage he wouldn't have seen darkness he would have just seen the same four walls day in and day out he had to get out in the nature to see the power of God but the Lord wasn't in the wind and after the wind an earthquake but God wasn't in the earthquake and after the earthquake a fire but the Lord wasn't in the fire but he in the after the fire was a still small voice you know several months ago I think now I one of my Friday letters talked about something called nature deprivation I had read an article somewhere and one of the health things that we get about nature deprivation especially about in young people I don't know if I said that here if I said it you know among young people one of the leading causes of depression is social media just there's a point of fact that's not my idea it's it's the experts idea but you know the de pere recommendation they say a large part of the problem with people today the reason their oppressor they never go outside they never go outside they never appreciate plants they never see the goodness of the earth and days and days old they would work on farms they would see God's hand in the soil that they tell how the plants grow and it would inspire and it's something there's just a connection between man and earth and today we sit in our houses and we don't come out of our cage just like I lied you would have wanted to just sit in that cave God said get out of that cave get out see me see what I've created see who I am remember I'm bigger than you and you're called to a greater purpose than you Elijah did it to license credit he obeyed God and everything you don't see Elijah saying I don't want I don't want to go out I just want to sit here and be miserable I don't want to eat that I don't want to walk he just did it we need to obey God we need to obey God we need to do what he says we need to diligently and carefully do what he says and when he says do something follow it verse 13 so it was when Elijah heard it he wrapped his face in the manner he went out and stood at the edges of the cave and a voice came to him and said Elijah now that you've seen of this what are you doing here and Elijah repeats the same thing he did before he still wasn't getting it he was still depressed he was still he was still focused on what was wrong with him or what how unfair it had been God said okay Elijah it's enough you need to go out and you need to do some things you need to go out and serve me go over and anoint this man to be king of Syria go over there and anoint him to be king of Israel go and find Elisha and anoint him to be the Prophet who will replace you doesn't mean Elijah's life was gonna end then you see him again in second Kings but go out and do things go out and start serving me get out of this cave get out and do the things and Elijah one of the things that he said over and over again one of the things Jeremiah felt one of the things Jobe felt maybe one of things David felt one things we felt may feel as we're all alone in this God's forgotten this God's forgotten us or we feel all alone and Elijah says it's only me all my work and it's only me and God addresses that in verse 18 he goes no Elijah you're not the only one I have reserved 7,000 in Israel all whose knees have not bowed to Bale and every mouth that has not kissed him it's not just you Elijah you may think it's just you but there are others who follow me as well you know Christ my Christ felt alone that night when he was about to be arrested and he says in John 16 near the end I think is verse 32 where he says I'm alone yet I'm not alone he was alone he was left alone he was the disciples left them except for John he felt very alone in a very unjust trial that he was going through but he knew God was with him and through whatever trial we go through whatever period of depression we are we should never forget God is there he's there and there's a reason we're going through it and he will deliver his purpose is not to kill us in that that's Satan's purpose his purpose is to deliver us and to have us glorify Him yea the story of Elijah job Jeremiah David we can learn a lot about depression of things we could do let's just in the minute in a few minutes here just recap some of the things we talked about here so if we're going through something like that now if the joy is out of our life if these the spring is no longer in our step if we wake up and one day's just like another there's nothing to look forward to except our jobs or whatever we do to fill the day but maybe we want to apply some of these things number one remember that depression can steal your spiritual life it is dangerous it is dangerous if it's not checked and to keep going through it is something that we want to ask God to do and he will deliver us but we can't give up hope just like David never gave up hope keep the hope in him even if God doesn't answer for days months weeks or years number two turn to God don't turn to another God turn to God if you need to repent and we all need to repent repent acknowledge your sin don't bury it over don't think it's okay it's not that bad it is bad if it's not what God has said to do repent and acknowledge and let him restore that joy to your life again when we're one-on-one where we're at one with God well we're doing the things that please him the joy is there the joy is there the purpose in life is there the spring in our step is there the color in our world is there it disappears when we think that we're doing things our own way and just fooling ourselves that we're doing things the way that God said number three try to refrain from negative thoughts doesn't mean that you shouldn't share your feelings with God doesn't mean you shouldn't share your feelings with some of your friends we pray for each other but don't dwell and don't just go on and on and on and negativity it's okay to say what is wrong we need to know which what's what's wrong and what's but but not too heavy just completely engulfed in negativity speak praise speak gratitude when you're there alone and you think what was me this isn't gonna work nothing's gonna work everything goes wrong everything is this blah blah blah you know instead praise God instead thank him for what's going on it's like thank him for delivering you thank you for thank him for bringing you through whatever it is you're going through use his Holy Spirit it gives us this holy spirit of the sound mind so that we can overcome these things that confronts us number four obey Him I might say obey Him diligently and carefully not according to what we want his word to say but what he says obey Him diligently and carefully and don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together don't run off because you're mad about something because you're not feeling well beware God said to be get out of that cave be where he says to be and for all of us we are here as part of a family we are here to encourage each other and we're here to Pat each other on the back and help each other along the way and to pray for one another because we're a family that should all be praying that all of us are there all of us yield to God all of us are in his kingdom now whatever we're going through if one sorry the other are sorry and we don't look down we don't say what's wrong with you like job's friends did we pray and we help and we encourage each other you know talking about you know being alone remember what it says in first Peter 5:8 when Satan goes about as a roaring lion remember what the Lions do remember how they like to capture their prey it's always the one that's off to the side that's the weak one if they can get the sheep that's off to the side that's the easy prey don't be one of those sheep that are off by yourself be be where God wants you to be number five eat eat a proper diet and get some exercise build those physical things into your life they have a physical effect they have a mental effect at others as well number six serve others don't forget that we're here to serve and getting our minds off of ourselves is one of the healthiest things that we can do and just do what God wants us to do and and look out for the needs of other rather than always just being consumed with what we need to happen for ourselves let's conclude in proverbs 30:4 proverbs 30:4 I'm sorry five reps 30 for Psalm 34 is no 34th sum or 34th proverb Psalm 34 and verse 18 the Lord is near the Lord is near to those who have a broken heart he's watching he knows how hard it is he's there never forget he's there the Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and such and saves such as have a contrite spirit who looked to him who learned to rely on him who learned to trust on him in him and depend on him not lean on their own understandings not look to every God in the world to answer the problems but look to God and have a contrite humble spirit that's totally yielded to him the world may be engulfed in depression we can be engulfed in depression that isn't what God wants for us but we do learn lessons from it just be aware of the spiritual dangers of depression and use God's Word use God's Word

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Length: 68min 20sec (4100 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 20 2019