Some people have over dramatized the Depressed Christian. I've been guilty of the same. Not as much with others as I've been with myself. Its so easy for us to find a parallel to our experience and explain it away.
I believe the danger in such an approach in the long haul is that you spent a considerable time looking inwards and not upwards as we are admonished in the Epistles .
"Set your mind on the things above " sounds more like a command than a suggestion. Now it can be that the seasons of our life and the circumstances of our life might be one that is very similar to someone else's or what they had gone through.
We spend so much of our time "in" our experience that we fail to look for solutions.
The Depressed Christian , ironically never waits for a solution . He looks for an explanation and lives in it till the vagaries of a loosely un disciplined life catches on to him .
In the process , he not only wastes a considerable amount of resources but loses his spiritual momentum because he has explained himself to keep away from those very things that is going to propel him forward.
Articles , Teachings , Sermons that glorify your present season as an Eagle's Molting Period do very little to advance you as much as it soothes your mind and excuses your behavior.
Ask any Depressed Christian and he would retort - he just does not feel like studying the Word, he does not feel like attending prayer meetings and he just does not feel like sharing the gospel. And the only remark i make is since when did feelings matter in the daily disciplines of your spiritual life ?
Now please dont mistake me when I say this. I have been discouraged and have spent a considerable time "depressed " and plain lazy. I hadnt made any progress and the little ground I gained I have lost. Sometimes when things dont go as you planned and you are not making much progress , dont let the travails of your life push you back. It takes as much strength to maintain your ground as you would exert in the higher planes of your life.
I dont have a 5 Step Recovery Process to Depression because its a very personal occurence. You know best what brought you there.
Back to Basics : If you will go back to the time you had it all going and you slowly drifted into this place of inaction - there were things you had stopped doing. It wasnt a one time decision for you to stop reading the Bible or to stop spending time with God. It was the result of a continum of daily excuses that built up the mental energy to wean yourself away from the Energy Sources of your life. If I could tempt you a little today and keep tempting you a little more everyday , at the end of one month I will have you turned around to my way of doing things. Same is the case with the devil.
This principle can greatly help you . NO SITUATION is BIGGER than GODS LOVE and WILLINGNESS to HEAL and PROTECT you. If you would believe so ; God can prove it to be so in your life.
DISREGARD EMOTIONS : We were not meant to be guided by our emotions. Far too often we blame our passivity on our emotional - mental make up . We were meant to be guided from within and that within didnt mean your sense knowledge. IT meant an internal awakening of the spirit of our mind to the Word of God.
The fabric of our mind has to be weaved with the revelation of His Word. An accurate understanding of Gods Word propels you forward and not restrict by your looking inward into the soulish depths of your build. Its just not enough that you know Gods Word ; or even Quote the Right Scripture. Its something more than mere knowing or even quoting it out of your mouth . My dear friend Dr SS keeps warning me - you may say the right things you may know the right things but its the RESULTS that matter. Keep depositing daily doses of Gods Word into your heart and in time you will take on a Personality - a Personality driven by Faith - God's Word produced Faith.
I dont have to feel super spiritual to be anointed. I dont even have to feel that God is with Me to prove that He is with ME. It goes back to our fundamental knowledge of Gods love and power. We await experiences - outside arbitrary feelings to be led in our pursuit of God and the assurances of His love for us. Most of the time , its just our soulish exuberances. I am not against an outside arbitrary feeling. If it lines up with the Word of God , do it , otherwise while you do or dont have it DO THE BIBLE . BeLIEVE the BIBLE .
I have never seen a Depressed Christian celebrating GODs WORD and HIS PROMISES over HIS Life. He is too caught up in his own emotions that he does not look beyond himself. That is plain selfishness ; if you will pardon my rustic emotion. I may be hurting , I may not have it all going for me , I may still be holding on for dear life but NOT to be available for others because I am so concerned with me and myself and I reeks of SELFISHNESS and pride. Yes PRIDE ! the very thought that i am more important than the rest of the world. in effect we are saying Take Care of me FIRST lord ; otherwise I Wont care about others.
And lastly - FELLOWSHIP a koinonia with your brothers and sisters. Be open about your feelings and look for help. I know of a few people in my life to whom I go to when I feel disturbed . I can be transparent with them, I can honestly tell them , "Machu I need help" and they are the best people in my life who supports me with prayer and encouragements and a gradual shifting of my focus from myself and my circumstances to God , His Word and the people. Maybe I should have put this first but experience teaches me that usually the DEPRESSED CHRISTIAN seeks out fellow members for sympathy and true to the adage " misery loves company" they wallow in their own slimy pit of "poor-me" and "oh-my"s .
May I gently suggest that you have a FATHER in your life. No , I'm not talking about your heavenly father for we tend to dis regard His Love and His word more often. A Father who is firm and loving . Someone who inspires you to move out and holds you accountable for your life. For ultimately you are responsible for your life.
