Yesterday was our first day back at church. It felt so good
to be back! I’d forgotten how much I loved that place. I felt like the message
was made for me. “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling
place for God by the Spirit” Ephesians 2:22. I am a dwelling place for the
Lord. This past year I've felt like God had forgotten about me, in a sense;
like I no longer mattered; like He didn't care that I was grieving and sad. I
know now that is not true, but for a time I had lost sight of my faith. The
message in church yesterday really touched me. I know that God created me, He
knew me even before I was born. I needed that reminder yesterday. I needed to
hear that I am a dwelling place for the Lord; God lives within me! He is always
here to help me and guide me, and hold me when I’m feeling down. It feels good
to know this again. It feels good to be able to feel His love again. I still
have a LOT I need to work on and change, but I know I’m not going through this
alone, and that feels amazing. It was exactly the motivation, inspiration, and
encouragement I needed.
In college, I had
been going to a church group on campus, and they would regularly have guest
speakers come to the meetings. I specifically remember that one of the speakers
talked about depression. He stated that, basically, if you are a Christian you
will not be depressed; if you are depressed, then you are NOT a Christian. At
the time, I had depression and had been on medication for it. I felt horrible
after that service, and confused. This was one of the times I started to pull
away from church. To this day, I remember the feelings of disappointment and
shame that I felt when he called me out on my Christianity. I've always
wondered about how others felt about this topic and have always felt a little
ashamed of myself; like I couldn't be fully honest about who I was to other
Christians. However, yesterday all of that changed. The guest speaker at church
yesterday talked about depression in Christians. Like I said, I swear that
message was written for me! He clearly stated that you CAN be a Christian and
suffer from depression, and that there are clear examples of this in the Bible.
I felt this huge weight almost lifted off of me. Almost as if I am free to be
me; to be open, honest and no longer ashamed of my struggles. This morning, I
still felt this on my heart and decided to do a little research. For those of
you struggling with depression know that you are NOT alone.
Examples I found of depression in the Bible:
- Genesis 15:12- “As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.”
- Jonah 4:3- “Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” & 4:9- “But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.”
- 1 Kings 19:4- “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”” (Elijah)
- Psalm 38:6-10- “I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. For my sides are filled with burning, and there is soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart. O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes- it also has gone from me.” (King David)
- Job 7:2-4- “Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like a hired hand who looks for his wages, so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me. When I lie down I say, “When shall I arise?” But the night is long, and I am full of tossing till the dawn.” (Basically the whole book of Job, I found MANY examples in here, and there are far too many to share.)
The Bible also has many inspirational verses for people with
depression.
- Job 23:8-10- “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. But he knows the way I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.”
- Proverbs 3:5-6- “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
- Psalm 27:1- “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
- Psalm 27:14- “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.”
I’m sure there are many, MANY more examples of both
depression and inspiration to those suffering with depression in the Bible. These
are just a few that I found today. I feel like I've learned so much and it
helps to know that I’m not alone. That it is ok to suffer and feel weak; and
that even in all of that, God will still be there. After the struggles and challenges
are through, He will be there and He will give us even more blessings and
goodness than before. The one specific thing I think I can take away from all
this is that I don’t know everything and I can’t do everything on my own. I
need to rely on God for help; I need to start going to Him when I’m feeling
down and ask for His comfort. Too often, I think that I can handle all of this
on my own, but that is far from the truth. I feel very inspired to do more
Bible studying on this topic; I think I will read all of the Book of Job next. If you would like, I will share more of my findings on a later post after my time in Job.
(FYI: I am in no way a Biblical scholar. I am horrible
at interpreting and reading the word, in fact I rarely spend time doing this.
My research and findings may not be 100% accurate or affect you the way they
have affected me.)
No comments:
Post a Comment