DEPRESSION PART 2 BY ANNA LUNDQVIST
When
we are depressed, we are not able to climb out of our deep, dark holes.
Everything is empty and we think it will always be this way. We may even
have thoughts of suicide.
If you have a beloved one who has
suicide thoughts, you need to know that depressed persons do not commit
suicide when they are at the lowest point because they do not have the
energy to do so. People commit suicide (or attempt to) when they are at
the next to the last peghole - when they still have a little energy and
some feelings left. At the last peghole, they are empty of all feelings
and emotions. When we get to this place, we do not care how we look,
whether we eat or not or what people think of us. We just lie in bed,
often unaware of the reality around us.
Is there a way out of
this darkness, this deep hole? Yes there is! What we need are people who
care for us, who do not give up on us, even if it seems meaningless to
us at the time, because we simply do not care. Nevertheless, deep down
inside, a tiny part of us does care: there is a little flame of hope
although we are not aware of it ourselves. This little flame needs to be
fed - and friends and family can do that.
To see a therapist
can also help, but I suggest a Christian therapist who counsels from a
Christian point of view. "Ordinary” psychology can help temporarily, but
only Jesus can heal deeply and completely! Only Jesus’ power can give
us our lives back. I know we may not have the energy to pray when we are
depressed but we do not have to. Jesus carries us when we do not have
the strength to walk. He is in the deep hole, in the darkness, with us.
We do not feel it at that point, and we may not not even care; but Jesus
is at our side at all times.
"I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out
of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place
to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.”
(Psalm 40:1-3a)
Jesus will never turn away from those who cry
out to Him in despair. It is hard to believe when we cannot see a way
out, but it is true. All we need do is to hang on and keep that tiny
flame of hope alive. To wait patiently.
King David wrote many of
the Psalms in the Bible and many of them are about the deep pit and mire
of depression, but they always end with the Lord lifting up and saving
the Psalmist. Jesus will never fail us, even if everyone else does. It
is written in Psalm 23: "Even though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death I will fear no evil, for You are with me...”. Do you
hear that? Jesus is with you in your hardships, in your despair. What I
find so amazing in the Psalms is this: even when David is in desperate
need, he always ends up praising God. David trusted God and knew that He
would never abandon him.
I cannot actually say how Jesus does
it, but I know that He does! We just have to bare our hearts to His
healing touch and allow Him to work within us. David wrote, "I will be
glad and rejoice in Your love, for You saw my affliction and knew the
anguish of my soul....but (You) have set my feet in a spacious place.”
(Psalm 31:7-8) The Lord sees our afflictions and knows what is in our
hearts and souls. He can heal our wounds from the past. Remember, scars
are healed wounds. The scars may remain, but our wounds can be healed.
Begin to read the Psalms. There are so many for every mood. Read them
and let God's healing power flow over you. God’s Word does not return
without doing what it is supposed to do, so do read them out loud.
Use
the Psalms as prayers when you cannot express your feelings. You will
see that David was as depressed as you are, but he still hoped for the
Lord to save him.
"Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14)
"The Lord is near to all
who call on Him...” (Psalm 145:18)
"You who dwell in the dust,
wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the
earth will give birth to her dead.” (Isaiah 25:19)
"I will give
you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that
you may know that I am the Lord...” (Isaiah 45:3)
"'For I know
the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'Plans to prosper you and
not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call
upon Me and come and pray to Me and I will listen to you. You will seek
Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by
you,' declares the Lord, 'and will bring you back from captivity'.”
(Jeremiah 29:11-14a)
There are many more Scriptures that give us
much encouragement and what they all say is this: the Lord will sustain
you. You may stumble, but not fall. You may go through water and fire,
but not get hurt. Yes, life will wound you, but the Almighty will heal
your wounds if you trust Him. Faith as small as a mustard seed is
enough. The Lord will hear when you call out to Him. Trust in Him, put
your hope in Him. Jesus will give you life in abundance!
Anna
Stoltz-Lundqvist is living in Sweden with her husband and their 2
boys. She have several academic degrees and used to teach at Senior High
School in History and Psychology, but is now on sickness benefit after a
whiplash injury. Anna is a member of the Pentecostal Church in the town
where she and her family lives. She now waits for the Lord to fulfill
His will in her life. If that means that she'll be physical healed she
don't know, but thinks that the most important is to be in His will and
follow Him whereever He might lead her.
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