Christians dealing with depression

[Maria Burger]

CHRISTIANS DEALING WITH DEPRESSION
New Hope UPC
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CHRISTAINS DEALING WITH DEPRESSION

Does Christians sometime become depressed? Absolutely, Christians are still human. All
humans, at sometime in their life, get depressed. The good news is that it is perfectly normal
human behavior. The better news is that there are definite biblical steps that can be taken to help
us deal with that depression.
Life is not a walk down a level path, but a series of hills and valleys. One day we are on
top of the mountain, the next day the mountain is on top of us! What can be done about these
wide mood swings?
1. The first step is to be sure there is no clinical or physical problems that can be
corrected. Often time wide mood swings are a result of a physical problem that
we may not be aware of.
2. The second thing is to try to better understand our selves and practice self control.
3. Look beyond one’s self to find our purpose in life. Don't be content to float
down the stream of life like a dead fish! God has placed YOU here on this
planet, in America, (the greatest Super Power on earth), for a PURPOSE!
Let me give you an example of how we can practice self-control to keep some small thing
from ruining our day. We get up and while getting dressed for work, we break a shoe sting. Little
things like this are just everyday life. Do not allow yourself to become upset or angry for
something that is simply a part of everyday life. Put on another pair of shoes and thank God that
you have more than one pair. Tie the shoestring back together and buy a new set of shoestrings
as soon as possible. Do not allow little things spoil a day that God has given you, “to rejoice and
be glad in it.”
You get tied up in traffic. Instead of honking you horn and going ballistics and out of
control, thank God that you have an automobile to drive. Thank God that you are physically able
to drive. Many people, even here in America, would gladly trade places with you; being tied up
in traffic would be wonderful for them. There is about 70% of the rest of the world population
that have never ridden in an automobile.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are
honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good
report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Paul is saying, instead of getting frustrated over something you can’t change, change
your thoughts instead. Think on something good!
Walk up and down the corridors of your mind and take off the ugly pictures of past
failures. Dwelling on mistakes made in the past is a sure way to keep your mouth turned down at
both corners. You cannot go back to yesterday or yesteryear to correct anything.
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Replace the pictures in your mind with pictures of times that you succeeded. In Paul’s
words, think on good things. (See Repentance). God is faithful and just to forgive you of all sin,
and unrighteousness, SO FORGIVE YOURSELF!
Psalms 139:14 David said: I will praise thee; for I am beautifully and wonderfully made:
marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
GOD MADE YOU, YOU ARE BEAUTIFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE
A human is the only animal that is actually made of three parts, body, soul and spirit to
make up the whole person.
Each part has a cause and effect on the other parts. If the body, (our flesh), is sick, then
this affects the spirit, and if we are sick long enough we have to guard against the sickness
affecting our soul.
Let me try to clear up what I am driving at. The three parts of a person are as follows:
OUR BODY IS THE HOUSE OF FLESH WE LIVE IN, THE PART THAT IS VISIBLE
Many people do not like the way they look. Some things we can change. If we are
not happy with our weight, we can change that. There is very little else we can change about our
looks. So we have a freckle on the end of our nose, if we have a good smile that works
spontaneously, no one will notice the freckle. This is so with every preconceived imperfection of
us. No one notices imperfections of a person that is outgoing and friendly. If we want friends, we
must show ourselves friendly.
OUR SOUL IS THE ETERNAL PART THAT WAS GIVEN US BY OUR CREATOR.
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
This breath of God is what distinguishes us as being different from all other animals. We
have a soul that will live forever somewhere. We can choose our destiny by making the right
choices in our life here on earth. (See Holy Ghost and Fire).
1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul;
the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
The words quickening spirit means to make alive with the spirit.
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them,
Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
This breath of Jesus, (God manifested in the flesh), makes us alive with His Spirit.
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Luke 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the
city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
The word endued means to make alive with. The Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit will make us alive
with power from on high. This power can help us overcome depression or any adversity;
however, we are still humans and subject to all of the feelings of a human. We now have a
source of help in our time of adversity.
We can choose the new birth experience by repentance, water baptism in Jesus Name,
and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. This new birth experience starts us on a new walk, “in
newness of life.” If we choose to do nothing to gain Heaven then the course we set by no action
or our inaction is eternal separation from God and forever to be tormented in, “the lake of fire.”
OUR SPIRIT IS WHO WE REALLY ARE
Our spirit is very important to our mental health. We must feel good about our selves.
Our spirit is who we are when we are alone and no one is watching. We often times can put on a
good front while we are with others; however, our real inner-person is only visible when we are
completely alone with no one there to influence our behavior. This is the person we have to like
or we become depressed.
We must like the real person or our spirit, (personality), or our entire self will be affected.
Let us look at ways to change the things we do not like about ourselves.
GUILT FEELINGS CAUSE DEPRESSION
There are several questions that we can ask our self to find the source of our guilt feelings.
a. Is this feeling from something I have done or something left undone?
Christians have more guilt feelings from things that they have left undone than things
they have done wrong.
Example: We raise our hand we will pray one hour on Wednesday. We have prayed only
30 minutes when company comes. Satan will hammer you that you did not pray your hour.
Concentrate on the fact that you did pray for 30 minutes instead of having a guilt trip about the
30 minutes that you did not get to pray. Make it up later. The prayer line is always open.
Let us examine the guilt feelings from things that we have left undone. Can we do it now
and correct the situation? If we can correct the situation, then do so immediately, (such as
apologize for something you did or said that hurt someone).
Organization is one way of dealing with things left undone, whether it is your work or
things you want to do for God, yourself or others. Make a list of things that you want to do. I call
this my To Do list. Then put a number 1 on the most important thing. Go down the list and
prioritize each item. Do the most important things first. If you do not get the complete list done;
at least you have done the most important things. Do this each day and watch your feeling of
accomplishment grow. This in return will cause feelings of depression to vanish.
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If we cannot correct the situation then face facts, there is nothing that can be done so
there is no reason for guilt. Learn from the mistake. Do something good for someone. This
would need to be someone that could do nothing for us in return.
Jude 1:16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth
speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
If we practice, only doing good or saying nice things, for the ones that can help us in
return, this is not the agape love that will hang good pictures on the walls of our mind.
The clock cannot be turned back to yesterday. We live today only. Tomorrow is a
promissory note, yesterday is a cancelled check, what we do must be done today.
GUILT FEELINGS FROM SIN CAUSES DEPRESSION
Sin is the major cause for depression. (See Repentance for more complete details).
I John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
When we ask for forgiveness for our sin, the blood of Jesus Christ cleans us from all sin.
Since we are forgiven, then we also need to forgive ourselves. Walk up and down the corridors
of your mind and take off all of the ugly pictures that sin may have caused to be hanging on the
walls of our mind. Replace these ugly pictures with nice ones. There have been many times that
you have been successful, so replace those pictures that you wish to forget with pretty pictures of
success. Do as Paul said to do, “think on these things.”
Micah 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our
iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
Our sins are in the depth of the sea, so quit diving for them. Forgive yourself!
We need to cleanse the inner self every day. The cleansing of our spirit is essential to
overall good health.
WE GROW IN THE VALLEY
We cannot always live on the mountaintop. Let us look at the place where we sometime
think would be utopia, the ideal place to live. The mountaintop is a good place to visit and to
look at the view from high up; however, let us examine the mountaintop. It is cold and mostly
barren, snow covered rocks and dwarf trees. The mountaintop is where most trees are dead from
being struck with lightening or constant contact with the raw elements.
Let us compare the mountaintop to humans. When we are on the mountaintop, we feel we
know all of the answers. When we stop growing mentally and spiritually, we become dwarf,
cold, and selfish. We do not need anyone. We work on staying on the mountaintop, even if it
means standing on the shoulders of the ones who love us the most to get there again or to stay
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there. We all have had footprints on our backs from a loved one or someone we trusted, climbing
over us to try to elevate them selves. We must pray for them, forgive them and move on.
Now let us look at the valley. The winds blow and floods come to beat upon the giant oak
tree. With every wind, with every flood, the tree that is planted by the river, (in the valley), digs
it’s roots in a little deeper. Birds build their nest in the safety of the limbs of the giant oak.
Animals rest under the shade of the old oak tree. The tree is alive, and from it being alive, it is
useful to all who come into contact with it.
Look at our self for the comparison of natural valleys where everything is green, vibrant,
and alive. When we are in the valley, we are searching for answers. These answers we find
during our valley days not only will help us, but, will allow us to help others. Others can find
comfort from our experiences. We, like the giant oak tree, also grow in the valley.
SHIFT OUR FOCUS TO AVOID DEPRESSION
I once knew a very successful district manager of a large insurance company. The
insurance company was constantly having sales contests. At the end of these sales contests, the
manager noticed, there seemed to always be a period of mental fatigue. A huge let down!
Whether the sales contest was won or lost there was a period of depression.
We can deal with our successes and failures of life as the district manager dealt with his
agents after a grueling sales contest, where, at the end of the contest, everyone was emotionally
and physically drained.
If they lost the contest or did not make their sales quota or objective, this was a good
chance to ask the following questions:
1. Was my objective too high for my ability?
a. It is depressing for objectives or expectations to be constantly too high.
2. Since my objective was realistic, what can I learn to do different so I can meet my
objectives in the future?
3. What additional training will be needed?
4. People will accept training and supervision to reach a realistic objective.
5. They have to feel they can obtain the goal.
If they won the contest and made their sales quota or objective, the following
questions were always asked:
1. Was my objective too low for my ability?
a. Objectives need to be high enough to be a challenge, otherwise we will not
continue to grow toward our potential.
6. A let down after a grueling contest is normal and natural.
a. The wise manager will shift the focus to a new challenge.
7. A wise manager will shift the focus from the immediate to the end result.
8. The wise manager, after a successful sales contest, which was designed to be a
short term shot in the arm, will shift the focus to how the results of this contest
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will help toward our final objective for the year or toward our long term
objectives, promotions, retirement, etc.
9. Pastors can shift the focus from a highly emotional, successful revival to the end
result they wish to obtain. Reaching the lost, steady growth, making heaven and
taking as many people with us as we can.
10. There does not have to be the emotional let down following a highly emotional
event. Refocus and keep our eyes on the prize.
SPIRITUAL CLEANSING IS GOOD FOR BOTH BODY AND SOUL
Matthew 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy
door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee
openly.
Psalms 36:9 For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good;
and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the
abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
Spiritual cleansing, by confessing our sins to God in our closet of prayer, opens up the
fountains of life for us. It allows light to shine in our dark places. This spiritual light will then
shine through us to everyone we come into contact with. To help others is the best medicine for
our own spirit and soul.
CARE AND CONTROL OF THE HUMAN TONGUE
More depression arises out of the times we did not control our tongue than any other
reason. We cannot take a word back that is spoken in haste or anger. We need to control and care
for our tongue with the same diligence we would care for and drive our luxury automobile if we
were fortunate enough to have a luxury automobile. Some of us will just have to use our
imagination on how we will care for our luxury automobile when we get one. All of us have a
tongue that needs constant care.
CARE AND CONTROL OF THE HUMAN TONGUE AS COMPARED TO THE
CARE AND CONTROL OF YOUR LUXURY AUTOMOBILE
A LUXURY AUTOMOBILE NEEDS A LOT OF CLEANING AND POLISH
Psalms 34:13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
Job 27:4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.
Psalms 5:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very
wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
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Psalms 52:2 Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
LUXURY AUTOMOBILES NEED TO BE DRIVEN VERY CAREFULLY
Psalms 64:3 Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their
arrows, even bitter words:
Psalms 39:1 I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will
keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me
Psalms 10:7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and
vanity.
Psalms 12:3 The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud
things:
Psalms 12:4 Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord
over us?
A LUXURY AUTOMOBILE REQUIRES PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
Job 6:24 Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have
erred.
Psalms 71:24 My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are
confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.
Proverbs 12:18 There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise
is health.
Proverbs 12:19 The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a
moment.
Proverbs 15:2 The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth
out foolishness.
Proverbs 15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the
spirit.
Proverbs 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the
LORD.
Psalms 15:3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh
up a reproach against his neighbour.
Proverbs 21:23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
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A LUXURY AUTOMOBILE NEEDS GUIDANCE OR IT WILL CRASH
James 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great
a matter a little fire kindleth!
James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members,
that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
James 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
GOD USES TONGUES AS EVIDENCE HE HAS CONTROL OF YOU
James 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but
deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
Isaiah 28:11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall
rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the
LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues,
as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 19:6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and
they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
CLEANSE YOUR SPIRIT BY FORGIVING MEN THEIR TRESPASSES
Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Matthew 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you:
Matthew 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses.
Matthew 18:21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against
me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Matthew 18:22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy
times seven.
Matthew 18:23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would
take account of his servants.
Matthew 18:24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him
ten thousand talents.
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Matthew 18:25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and
his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
Matthew 18:26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have
patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Matthew 18:27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and
forgave him the debt.
Matthew 18:28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which
owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay
me that thou owest.
Matthew 18:29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have
patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Matthew 18:30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the
debt.
Matthew 18:31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and
came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Matthew 18:32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked
servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Matthew 18:33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I
had pity on thee?
Matthew 18:34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay
all that was due unto him.
Matthew 18:35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts
forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
Mark 11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your
trespasses.
Luke 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned:
forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
PRAYER, FASTING AND FORGIVING OTHERS IS THE KEY. THEN GOD WILL
FORGIVE US AND HEAL US MENTALLY, PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY.
Psalms 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Jeremiah 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his
brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the
greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin
no more.

[Maria Burger]

[Tonya Hill]

Love the message!!!!!!!!