There has been a lot of discussion this past summer concerning depression, especially after the suicide of Robin Williams. Sadly within the church that discussion includes statements like, "If you are a Christian and depressed you aren't a very good Christian" and others in the vein. I think this is a critical issue.
Depression and Christians
- Thread starter Pastor David 1611
- Start date
All I can say it is hell.... it truly is..
And those that say that probably
Never experienced depression at an extreme degree.
It can bring you to your knees.
And those that say that probably
Never experienced depression at an extreme degree.
It can bring you to your knees.
You are correct on calling it a critical situation.
I am a Christian, but suffer from major depressive disorder. My wife, the same thing. I have been told that if you are Christian just call on Jesus to heal you, been doing that over a year, still have depression. I have been told that because I am depressed it means that I do not have the Holy Spirit and therefore that means I am not saved, etc...
While I have not heard these things from any church that I went to beyond pentecostal churches, the forums re rife with comments like the above.
I am truly sorry for your pain. I would encourage you to read the book "The Birds Sang a Sad Song". It deals with the pain in very clear terms and also speaks of hope that there are Christian communities that don't condemn the wounded. The book is available on Amazon.
I am so sorry to hear that you have received these comments. I have heard them, too, and they are so hurtful. I would recommend the book, "The Birds Sang a Sad Song" (available on Amazon). It deals frankly with the issue of depression and is based on a true story. It doesn't whitewash things and it does offer hope that there are Christian communities that don't kick the wounded when they are down.
Also..just bc Jesus can heal, He may not always do it
1) He's not a genie
2) it maybe for glory of God
3) through struggling(wrestling with god) our character or fruit maybe developed in a way it couldn't have been otherwise.
1) He's not a genie
2) it maybe for glory of God
3) through struggling(wrestling with god) our character or fruit maybe developed in a way it couldn't have been otherwise.
Those are excellent perspectives. Many of the wounded just give up. I am glad to see you have a better outlook even in your pain.
Its hard not to give up though...seeing pll push the ,jesus heals...and if ur still oppressed,depressed...u aren't doing it right.
No one wants to be around you or cares long enough to figure out why...get angry when you can't " snap" out of it...
Its very hard, so very hard.
U feel isolated by the church, u push family away so u wont worry them... you feel like God has abandoned you....its so lonely..
But, my pastor said... God delights in those that are poor in spirit( need him) so if ur poor in spirit ..and doing what god wants u to do..he is pleased.
Also, its to be expected that the more / deeper ur involved with christ... the harder it gets...
He said we will be tested by fire
And tht the road to heaven is narrow... so its not like we werent warned.
No one wants to be around you or cares long enough to figure out why...get angry when you can't " snap" out of it...
Its very hard, so very hard.
U feel isolated by the church, u push family away so u wont worry them... you feel like God has abandoned you....its so lonely..
But, my pastor said... God delights in those that are poor in spirit( need him) so if ur poor in spirit ..and doing what god wants u to do..he is pleased.
Also, its to be expected that the more / deeper ur involved with christ... the harder it gets...
He said we will be tested by fire
And tht the road to heaven is narrow... so its not like we werent warned.
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Also its made me learn to pray for strength...rather than for God to just take it away.
Pancakes I'm sorry you are going through depression. I guess I am considered one of those people who pushes that Jesus heals. Jesus does heal and I have seen it first hand in my own life. He heals health, injury, depression etc... Let me ask you a question or two. How often to you spend time with Jesus? This is praise and reading His word? Do you acknowledge the Holy Spirit or is this just part of the trinity you don't care to even think about? How often do you beg God for help? Most Christians will sit and beg God for this and for that and never actually praise Him. And the deeper I get with Christ the more of His love I feel flowing through me. You will come under more attack from the enemy the closer you get, but God provides us with tools to combat these attacks.
One thing that I have noticed in my own life is if I miss a day of worship or being in Gods word it seems I get attacked more. Have you ever been to a Christian conference for a few days and you just get fired up for God, almost like God moved His spirit more in that conference than in normal day life? You do know it isn't God that changed during this conference right? The change was you. During the conference we tend to forget about our everyday life and focus it all on God. The closer we get to God and the further form the world we get the more of Gods blessing we feel. Now remember when you got home and after a few days that on fire feeling goes away? Did God change or did we change? The bible tells us God doesn't change so the answer has to be that we change. We let the world come back in and we start spending less time with God. This is why people don't see healings more in their lives.
God Bless you Pancakes and know there are those that believe in healing that don't condemn other Christians and push them away. You can message me anytime you want and I won't sit and judge you or think of you any less.
Dear brother, do not listen to comments like these from so called fellow brothers and sisters, it's complete nonsense. They might as well tell people who stumble every now and then or stumble over a period of time they aren't filled with the Holy Spirit too. They can't comprehend that our trials and sufferings are much different then theirs. I suffered from anxiety and depression for years and was medicated for it. After I became saved, I cried out to Jesus numerous times and nothing happened. Finally, one day I had no desire to take my medication and had no reservations about doing so which was weird to me because I would always go through awful withdrawal after not having taken it for a long time. I had no fear. Guess what, I had zero withdrawal symptoms and have been medication free for months now, THANK GOD
Keep praying, keep faith, keep reading God's Word. He loves you and He hears your pleas!Why not ask God to take it away? Why ask for strength to endure an ailment that has come from the devil? Pray to remove the root of the problem, not the symptom. Those who are filled with the HS are doing themselves a disservice if they are not using the Grace that's been given to them.
Dear brother, do not listen to comments like these from so called fellow brothers and sisters, it's complete nonsense. They might as well tell people who stumble every now and then or stumble over a period of time they aren't filled with the Holy Spirit too. They can't comprehend that our trials and sufferings are much different then theirs. I suffered from anxiety and depression for years and was medicated for it. After I became saved, I cried out to Jesus numerous times and nothing happened. Finally, one day I had no desire to take my medication and had no reservations about doing so which was weird to me because I would always go through awful withdrawal after not having taken it for a long time. I had no fear. Guess what, I had zero withdrawal symptoms and have been medication free for months now, THANK GOD
Thank you for the kind words Brian.
The truth sets us free. That is all we can really say. There is no magic wand that takes away poverty or depression.
Truth = we need to be focused on the end goal. God will keep us but not necessarily prosper, heal or bless us. It is all relative to His plan for our lives. His plan for us is not 70 years, it is eternity. This is why His peace surpasses all understanding. People are baffled when they see us in troubles and still rejoicing.
Pancakes, I am very familiar with depression....... I do not know how to word this ........ being broken is not a bad place to be God breaks everything given to Him a persons strength is worthless to God. He wants to be your strength He wants to be your portion in all things. He is also a gentleman and if you want to drive He will let you. It is only when we have no more plans totally bankrupt that we can be useful to Him. He is the vine and we are the branches apart from we can do nothing.
peter
My beautiful Savior
Redeemer of my soul
All the times I'm broken
You always leave me whole
Mystries in what You do
Things I don't understand
It's because You are God
And I am just a man
peterRedeemer of my soul
All the times I'm broken
You always leave me whole
Mystries in what You do
Things I don't understand
It's because You are God
And I am just a man
Let me preface this post with: *I am no expert this is just my opinion*
-AND-
**I am no expert this is just my opinion:**
I understand there are different 'types' of depression and many things in the Bible can be misinterpreted/ misunderstood when dealing with this subject; ***AND I would recommend anyone who is depressed seek "Good" counsel.*** Somehow it seems that that Good Counsel is hard to find nowadays?
Anyway: I recently have been riding the faith roller-coaster myself. What I have found helpful is digging into the Word on this place called Heaven and how every doctrine can be linked back to our eternal home.
I think depression is a 'lack of hope issue' for the most part: I understand that the lack of hope can be created by many different things psychological and physiological (and combinations thereof). When all hope is lost-then we enter into suicidal territory.
But as Christians; where is our "Hope"? In Jesus Christ.
And "Where is Jesus Christ?": Physically in Heaven at the right hand of the Father, and IN US through the Holy Spirit.
In my own battle with depression (not clinically diagnosed or treated by professionals-just in generality); what I have found is that when it gets down to the almost no hope phase I find myself asking the same question over and over: "What I am here for?/ What is my purpose?/ WHAT'S THE POINT!"
Then I question my faith-I question if I really believe this thing called Christianity. I used to think that I was always having to 'go back to God'; until I was struck with the reality that God is the one holding onto me dragging me back to the faith and truth when I try to run from or try to ignore the truth. This has actually built my faith! PRAISE BE TO GOD!
It is He that is in me that won't let me go-not my doing anything good because I am naturally negative in my flesh. So in meditating on the dogma of 'God loves me' and wondering how true that is; I discovered this truth of Heaven that we seem to gloss over and ignore nowadays. And it has enlightened my soul and lifted me out if the depths I have a tendency to wallow in.
When I start thinking of how unworthy and useless I am for the LORD; I remember His promises, I remember what He did and IS DOING for me right now. I remember Him holding onto me when I wanted to be let go. I have to get my thoughts off of my nasty self and tell that wicked spirit to 'get behind me!'
I believe the cure for a true Holy Spirit filled Christian in depression is Truth from the Word; I think my truth has become this thing called Heaven. I am not saying that this truth is everyone's saving Grace; presently it is mine and I get fired up about it! My advice on seeking a "cure" for a Christian in depression would be to find that one truth in the Word that gets you passionate for the LORD's work and drink it, eat it, drown in it.
Will this work for everyone? I am not saying that; I think there is a time and place for medications, institutionalization, constant supervision, etc...But they are far fewer instances of this necessary in reality than what has been made out to be in recent history.
If we would read and BELIEVE our Bibles....(we as individuals have to make that choice...)
-AND-
**I am no expert this is just my opinion:**
I understand there are different 'types' of depression and many things in the Bible can be misinterpreted/ misunderstood when dealing with this subject; ***AND I would recommend anyone who is depressed seek "Good" counsel.*** Somehow it seems that that Good Counsel is hard to find nowadays?
Anyway: I recently have been riding the faith roller-coaster myself. What I have found helpful is digging into the Word on this place called Heaven and how every doctrine can be linked back to our eternal home.
I think depression is a 'lack of hope issue' for the most part: I understand that the lack of hope can be created by many different things psychological and physiological (and combinations thereof). When all hope is lost-then we enter into suicidal territory.
But as Christians; where is our "Hope"? In Jesus Christ.
And "Where is Jesus Christ?": Physically in Heaven at the right hand of the Father, and IN US through the Holy Spirit.
In my own battle with depression (not clinically diagnosed or treated by professionals-just in generality); what I have found is that when it gets down to the almost no hope phase I find myself asking the same question over and over: "What I am here for?/ What is my purpose?/ WHAT'S THE POINT!"
Then I question my faith-I question if I really believe this thing called Christianity. I used to think that I was always having to 'go back to God'; until I was struck with the reality that God is the one holding onto me dragging me back to the faith and truth when I try to run from or try to ignore the truth. This has actually built my faith! PRAISE BE TO GOD!
It is He that is in me that won't let me go-not my doing anything good because I am naturally negative in my flesh. So in meditating on the dogma of 'God loves me' and wondering how true that is; I discovered this truth of Heaven that we seem to gloss over and ignore nowadays. And it has enlightened my soul and lifted me out if the depths I have a tendency to wallow in.
When I start thinking of how unworthy and useless I am for the LORD; I remember His promises, I remember what He did and IS DOING for me right now. I remember Him holding onto me when I wanted to be let go. I have to get my thoughts off of my nasty self and tell that wicked spirit to 'get behind me!'
I believe the cure for a true Holy Spirit filled Christian in depression is Truth from the Word; I think my truth has become this thing called Heaven. I am not saying that this truth is everyone's saving Grace; presently it is mine and I get fired up about it! My advice on seeking a "cure" for a Christian in depression would be to find that one truth in the Word that gets you passionate for the LORD's work and drink it, eat it, drown in it.
Will this work for everyone? I am not saying that; I think there is a time and place for medications, institutionalization, constant supervision, etc...But they are far fewer instances of this necessary in reality than what has been made out to be in recent history.
If we would read and BELIEVE our Bibles....(we as individuals have to make that choice...)
Much of what is said about depression are usually put in blanketed statements. As Brother Mike stated, there really are so many forms of depression at so many different degrees. For a sincere Christian, it should be a no brainer that asking God guidance and relief is the first thing to be done, but in many cases, it really shouldn't stop there. It might mean therapy for some, it might mean medication for others, or God might actually simply dissolve it without either of those things.
For me when I struggled with it, it was a much more clinical issue since it came about from Epilepsy medication side effects. It got so bad I drew closer and closer to suicide. Naturally I prayed (though I was in a place where I was angry at God but not understanding why). But God answered my prayers when I found a good neurologist and a different medication for epilepsy that didn't cause this side effect. I was also prescribed anti-depressants, which can be a problem for some, but they restored my serotonin imbalance that my first epilepsy meds caused.
I remember speaking to a pastor who knew my family. When I told him my experience (it has been a year at that point since I went through it), he told me I was opening myself up to Satan and that memorizing Scripture and quoting it would have been enough.
Quoting Scripture is never a bad thing, but if God did answer my prayers by directing me to a new doctor who heard my plea (the other neurologist didn't -- he just kept changing the dosage), then had I ignored it, would I have been testing God? would I have been ignoring His answer? I'm inclined to say, in my case, yes.
Putting aside the clinical form of depression, being sad, being in mourning, struggling through difficult times because of something that has happened, is not some sort of sin. It doesn't mean the person who is depressed is divorcing himself from the truth of the Gospel.
For me when I struggled with it, it was a much more clinical issue since it came about from Epilepsy medication side effects. It got so bad I drew closer and closer to suicide. Naturally I prayed (though I was in a place where I was angry at God but not understanding why). But God answered my prayers when I found a good neurologist and a different medication for epilepsy that didn't cause this side effect. I was also prescribed anti-depressants, which can be a problem for some, but they restored my serotonin imbalance that my first epilepsy meds caused.
I remember speaking to a pastor who knew my family. When I told him my experience (it has been a year at that point since I went through it), he told me I was opening myself up to Satan and that memorizing Scripture and quoting it would have been enough.
Quoting Scripture is never a bad thing, but if God did answer my prayers by directing me to a new doctor who heard my plea (the other neurologist didn't -- he just kept changing the dosage), then had I ignored it, would I have been testing God? would I have been ignoring His answer? I'm inclined to say, in my case, yes.
Putting aside the clinical form of depression, being sad, being in mourning, struggling through difficult times because of something that has happened, is not some sort of sin. It doesn't mean the person who is depressed is divorcing himself from the truth of the Gospel.
Lol i ind this funny bc i went to a conference i think sunday at my own church and i was amazing. I believe in the trinity, i believe god can heal...just not for me... i really don't believe he'll do much for me except wake me up.... if hes feeling gracious.
I see God move mightily in others lives except my own. Its hard for me to trust god... when he disappoints me n lets me down. I heard..he'll give you the desires of your heart..he wants to bless you blah blah... and when it doesn't happen. .
How do you expect me not to be gaured or wary?
Glad you find humor in what I said. I think your issue is with God. You never did answer my questions.
The blessing that has come to me through being depressed brings me to focusing on Him.
I know it sounds crazy, but my life could be in the toilet and it brings me to be centered on God; which brings me to a feeling of comfort.
I don't know. Maybe it's His plan for some of us.
I've been all wet, being rained on, wrapped in a piece of plastic, hungry and tired, trying to sleep on concrete; and I think how all things are to bring about glory to Him.
I know it sounds crazy, but my life could be in the toilet and it brings me to be centered on God; which brings me to a feeling of comfort.
I don't know. Maybe it's His plan for some of us.
I've been all wet, being rained on, wrapped in a piece of plastic, hungry and tired, trying to sleep on concrete; and I think how all things are to bring about glory to Him.