that is what depression has been called. About 12 years ago I was diagnosed with clinical depression. I went through the first 9 years of that time either depressed or medicated for being depressed. It has been said that 30 to 40 million Americans suffer from the same problem. That is a staggering number compared to the number of 54 million people are diagnosed yearly with a mental disorder. Depression knows no age limits, no economic status, no race, no creed or color. It is just there. People don’t realize, unless you have suffered from depression, how profoundly it can affect your life and everyone around you.
See I think the problem with depression is that people read too much into it. Yours truly included. People use that word to describe a multitude of ailments from losing a football game to the death of a loved one, to the terrifying feeling that drives people to suicide.
God’s word points to many issues of sin or conflict that can affect your emotions; most secular counselors would agree that depression can result from other underlying issues and can affect you physically. People worry about the depression itself, instead of what is causing it.
You have to first realize that you can’t base your whole being on emotions. Christians base life on truth, not feelings. Philippians 4:1 commands us to “rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS”. It doesn’t say sometimes, but always and in all things. In the midst of difficulties, in the midst of all situations, Christians are to rejoice. The joy of Christians is not based on agreeable circumstances, instead it is based on their relationship to God. Christians will face trouble in this world, but they should rejoice in the trials they face because they know God is using those situations to improve their character.
In the past 4 years, since I have given myself completely to the Lord, I have taken a new approach to what doctors have called “my disease”. I call it a demon of mental illness. There are days I feel blue, and really just feel like existing in a vegetative state on the couch and a few years ago I would call that being depressed. Now I say it is satan’s way of getting me down on myself to make me feel like I can’t do what it takes to take care of God’s business. Now usually it takes me a bit to realize that is what is happening because I fall into that trap of what the doctors label as a “diagnosis”. It is a conscious effort to constantly remind myself of the faith I have in God and the he is the ultimate healer. It takes faith to realize that. By faith I don”t mean a vague hope that God will somehow pull me through. That’s too vague a concept to even remotely be reliable for me. I used to muddle through life ignoring God’s principles for living healthy. Then one day I realized that if I spurn the good advice that the Bible contains, I won’t escape the consequences of depression, but I will be better equipped to handle it. God’s promise of His love keeps me going from day to day.
Doctors are so quick to offer medication to resolve the issues of depresssion. I often wonder what would happen if those doctors stepped out in faith and prescribed God’s word as medicine. As I sit here typing this I have been struggling with being down for a few days now. My cure? I delve into God’s word and let the ultimate healer bring me back up and I get high on God’s medicine……The Bible.
Thanks be to God!
On another note…..I am very thankful for the encouragement from my husband to help me deal with this demon. He is my encourager, my champion, and my soulmate. Thank you God for giving him to me.
Heavenly Ramblings 