Depressed or Guilty? (part 2)

Too many are accepting things from the world as a fact and not looking to God and His word for the answers. Many do not believe God's word addresses issues about depression. Preachers of God's word do not know what to do about depression and turn to the world for help. This is going to be a step by step study for us, so bear with me in this. The majority of depression, whether people want to accept it or not, is caused by the guilt of sin. A past failure that leads to guilt, never finding relief for that guilt is usually the cause. Why do so many avoid certain topics or situations? Because it brings back a flood of past failures in their lives. She was in her thirties and in Christ Jesus. Her husband called me over at midnight one evening. She was sitting on the floor, crying and began telling me she had been depressed for the last two years. She finally went to the doctor, who sent her to a psychiatrist. He did a blood test and found she had a chemical imbalance and prescribed her medication. (Has anyone ever thought that the chemical imbalance could be caused from depression and not cause the depression?) She was holding the pills in her hand. As she looked up at me, the words came out, "I did not need medication and a psychiatrist! For last two years I have been living a lie. I have not been honest with God, my husband or myself." She knew her guilt and when she became honest, confessed her sin, she solved her problem! I have dealt with about 15 people in Christ Jesus with similar stories. Depression is a reaction that takes place in the mind. One's mind set is how they view things and will determine their reaction.

Men can take on the mule syndrome. They feel their life is going nowhere. They get up, go to work, pull the load, come home, sit on the couch (or in their chair), eat supper, go to bed and start all over again. What happens is he begins to react to his life. The more he thinks about it, the more disgusted he becomes. The world calls it a mid-life crisis. Where is all this happening? In his mind! His mind is reacting to what he is doing and that reaction leads him into disgust and eventually depression.

If one sees things in their life as a loss, it will be a loss because the mind has already determined it and pushed their lives that direction. In World War II, Henry Beacher was a pain researcher. As he studied and interviewed soldiers, some requested less morphine than other when in great pain. He wanted to know why. As he would speak with the soldiers, he discovered that the ones who took less morphine were so thankful to be out of battle and had escaped death! They realized they would be going home. How they viewed their situation had a great affect on what they needed!!

Learning how to set our minds on the right and proper things is the major key to avoiding depression. We must see our answers are in God. We must realize God's word can lead us to a proper understanding and reaction to situations. There will be those who read this and balk at what I write. I understand that. But as one is serious in their study of God's word, you find more and more enlightenment to what the world tries to convince us otherwise. We buy into the world more than the word of the Lord and wonder why our lives are so weak and shallow.

James 1:2, we read, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials." Will we have various trials? Will there be big problems sometimes in our lives? What does God tell us through James to do when we have these trials? Where does "consider it all joy" take place? We are seeing our mind set and reaction when we have problems. To "consider it all joy" means you have to have a proper mind set now. That is not natural. If you have a proper mind set now, when you face difficulties/trials, you will find your mind already in action. Does that mean the trial is going to be easy? NO! But what you do with the trial means everything. You set your mind now and deal with it now and when it comes, your reaction will be to "consider it all joy"! The word "consider" (some versions say "count") literally means "to lead the way in the mind." It is an attitude for those in Christ. When we face difficulties, what if we "consider it all misery?" Where have you just pushed your life? It opens the door to fears, then hopelessness and then you start remembering your failures and wonder if God is punishing you. (That is guilt at work! You do not even know that you have been forgiven!) We quickly head to depression. When one begins to take hold of God, trials become a base to reach out with a proper and right attitude. You think about this....more tomorrow!