Thursday, December 19, 2013
What Did God Promise?
Adrian Warnock wonders "Can a Christian get depressed?":
I have suffered with depression in my life. I did "all the right things" to get over it. But only when I laid it at the feet of the Throne of Grace did it get better. Only when I quit worrying about how I felt and how lousy the world was and relied on God's grace did the counseling have any effect. Only when I relied on God to heal me and not the mental health professionals did any healing occur.
It is, I believe, a sin to over materialize things likes depression. We cannot heal ourselves, only God can.
depression spiritual warfare
The first question, today, is incredibly easy to answer. Can a Christian get depressed? The answer is a resounding, YES.Warnock, being a mental health professional, places a lot of emphasis on the illness aspects of depression and on seeking help from others when suffering. Fair enough, but for a guy that is very charismatic, I find it fascinating that he does not talk of the fact that depression is, in a very real sense, spiritual warfare. It's commonality is evidence of the very forces that are at war within the human spirit. It is a condition both of mind/emotion and of our spirits. Anti-depressants and counseling can and do help with the metal/emotional aspects of the problem, but they are not getting near the spiritual ones.
[...]
The Christian does not merely accept depression as an inevitable part of life. He recognizes it as an alien invasion, like sin and all other sicknesses. He fights it with all his might. But he can and should seek help from others. And he should know that for the Christian, depression will one day be defeated. And so, we pray, “Lord do today what you have promised that you will one day do!”
I have suffered with depression in my life. I did "all the right things" to get over it. But only when I laid it at the feet of the Throne of Grace did it get better. Only when I quit worrying about how I felt and how lousy the world was and relied on God's grace did the counseling have any effect. Only when I relied on God to heal me and not the mental health professionals did any healing occur.
It is, I believe, a sin to over materialize things likes depression. We cannot heal ourselves, only God can.
depression spiritual warfare
