Dealing With Depression

 “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.” - Psalm 42:5, 11, 43:5

As I write this, the Christmas holiday is fast approaching. One popular holiday song calls this holiday, “the most wonderful time of the year.” For many people this is true. It is time for family, giving and great food. However, there are some who will not be having a wonderful time. For these souls, the holidays are tough. They are dealing with loneliness and hopelessness.

Depression is a real problem in our society. There are a few well-meaning people who say that depression is caused by a lack of faith. Perhaps this is true of some, but most are dealing with issues that are far deeper than superficial advise will solve.

I do not offer this message as a cure-all for those who are depressed. I know better than that. I am not an expert on this subject, so don't treat my advise as being medical or professional advise. But I know that depressed people need the Lord to help them through their dreary fog of hopelessness.

The Psalmist must have known a little about such depression when he wrote, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.” There are many who are cast down. Perhaps you are one of them.

The Psalmist advised the depressed to hope in God. I think this is vital for all who are depressed. I believe the Lord has placed modern medicine and great Christian counselors at our disposal to help in such situations. If you are depressed, seek the help you desperately need. Furthermore, get out of the house. The worst thing you can do is to live in isolation. You need to be around others. Open up to a close family member or Christian friend. Talk to your family doctor or pastor. Privately share with someone about your struggles. Let me encourage you today. There is hope for those suffering from depression. Your life may seem to be full of darkness, but be aware that there is light ahead.

For those of us who are not suffering from depression, we need to pay attention to those around us. Watch for warning signs. Check on those you are concerned about. Give them a call. Visit them. Send them a card or letter. Invite them to dinner. Show love and compassion to them. While it may be a wonderful time of the year for you, it may be nightmare for them.

Depression is real. It appears like Elijah may have suffered from it after the encounter on Mount Carmel. After a great spiritual event, Elijah was praying for God to end his life. Charles Spurgeon, the great preacher, also suffered from, “the dark night of the soul.” If you are suffering from depression, you're not alone.

There is help available. When Elijah was depressed, God led him to enlist Elisha as a friend. Elijah mentored Elisha. This fellowship seemed to help Elijah. Spurgeon found levels of help as he shared his struggles publicly from the pulpit and his writings.

You can't defeat depression alone. You need God and others. Fortunately, this help is available to you right now.

There is hope for depression.

Why Jesus Came

 “Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” - Matthew 1:21

We are fast approaching the Christmas holiday. There is a big push by retailers to get us to shop with them. This year, retailers are counting on the public to shop locally after a down year in 2020. Online retailers are sending emails and buying ads on social media sites, trying to lure us to their website so we may buy Christmas gifts from them. Like or not, many businesses rely on the holidays for a significant portion of their profitability.

Of course the commercialization of Christmas has distracted millions from the true meaning of the holiday. We have substituted Santa Claus in place of Jesus. We have replaced the virgin birth of Christ with gift-giving. We no longer refer to Christmas as the celebration of the Savior's birth. Instead, it has been downgraded into a secular holiday. Any attempt to put Jesus back into Christmas is considered to be politically incorrect and intolerant of other religions.

I may be the only voice in the crowd with this opinion, but I share it anyhow. December 25^th was set aside many years ago as the date we remember Jesus' birth. It should be celebrated as such. Quite honestly, we do not have an actual record of the exact date of Jesus' birthday. Perhaps it was December 25^th. In any case, December 25^th is the date that has been designated to remember His birth.

Even among those who recognize Christmas as Jesus' birthday, few comprehend the meaning behind His arrival. If you were to interview people about Christmas, some may respond that Christmas is about Jesus' birth, but few really understand why He came. Why was His birth so remarkable? What is the big deal about Jesus and His birthday?

Jesus came for a specific reason. He came on a divine mission that directly impacts your life and mine. Jesus said that he came to seek and to save them which are lost. That is why He came. As Matthew 1:21 states: “Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Jesus' arrival was to bring salvation to the lost. Instead of viewing His birth as a mere holiday, we need to recognize it has a divine act of mercy, an urgent rescue mission.

Too many consider Jesus to be a good teacher and example, but we need to look to His real mission. He is the Messiah, our Savior and Lord. Jesus Christ came to save us from our sins. Our plight was hopeless until God stepped in and provided the remedy we needed. We were hell-bound sinners, deserving of everlasting wrath because of our sins. Yet God did the unthinkable: He send His Son to take the wrath that we deserved, so that through Him, we may have everlasting life. That is why Jesus came.

It is true that Jesus taught great lessons. He lived a perfect life that we should desire to imitate. He performed great miracles. Through these things He certainly validated His claim of being the Son of God. But it didn't stop there. His miraculous virgin-birth was certainly required, but it isn't the greatest miracle of all. His death and resurrection were the greatest validation that He is the Messiah, the Savior of the world.

Our only hope of heaven is found in Jesus alone. While others brag about their works, accomplishments and religious activity, I'll still rest in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

If you really want to know why Jesus came, look in the mirror.

The Empty Seat

 “David’s place was empty.” - 1 Samuel 20:25

The holidays can be the best of times, but they also can be depressing. When loved ones pass away, it leaves us heartbroken and sad. The holidays are especially difficult for those who've just had loved ones pass away. Instead of seeing that familiar face at the dinner table, there is an empty seat. The seat was once occupied by one so dear, but now it is empty.

Trite sayings and recycled quotes do not help in such situations. The holidays are forever different when there is an empty seat. Over time, more seats are vacated. One day, the seat I occupy will be empty as well.

David's place was empty for a different reason. Out of concern for his own life, David was absent from the king's table. He and his friend, Jonathan (Saul's son), were testing the mental and emotional state of King Saul. David's absence was noticed by Saul. The king's response to David's absence was violent. When David learned this, he fled from Saul. David would never sit at the king's table again until he occupied the throne himself.

When our loved ones die in Jesus, it is tempting to think that the end has come. It has not. Even though that loved one will never sit at the family table again, the next time you see that person, he or she will be sitting at the King's table. What a joy to join them there!

It is healthy to contemplate the fact that one day my seat will be empty. So will yours. Are you sure where you will be when that day comes? Only through saving faith in Jesus do we have genuine assurance of a better place to go when death comes.

For those of you struggling during this holiday period, let me encourage you to lift up your eyes, for your redemption draweth nigh. There is a place where every seat will be occupied. There will be no empty seats at God's table. When all the saints are gathered home, the whole family of God will be together. Our reunions here on earth pale to compare with the reunion in glory. There will be no empty seats at the marriage supper of the Lamb!

The most important seat will be throne. God will occupy that seat. He is the only One worthy to sit there. Heaven will be filled with excitement. At the center of all the celebration will be God Himself. He will be praised and worshiped.

The empty seat is sad for us here on earth. Yet if that loved one died in Jesus, we know that one day we will feast with them at God's table. We won't worry about overeating or gaining calories. We will not part from that meeting. Instead, we will rejoice together, praising the One who graciously permits us to make our abode in His home forever.

I'm glad there will be no empty seats there!

Thanks Living

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

To many people in America, Thanksgiving holiday means three things: family, food and football. For the Christian, every day is Thanksgiving. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, the Apostle Paul wrote, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Long before our government set aside the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving, the Bible encouraged believes to make gratitude part of daily living.

We need a time of thanksgiving, not just in November, but every day. We need to remind ourselves how blessed we really are. We tend to focus on the things we don't have rather than the things we do possess. We often complain about the things that don't seem right in our lives rather than giving thanks for the things that are good. If we did an honest assessment of our lives, we would come away from the experience convinced that we are blessed.

We tend to lose sight of the blessings we have because we are continually reaching for “better things.” As Americans, we are richer than a large percentage of people globally, but you'd never know it by how act. In third world countries, many go without food daily. We don't have that problem, do we? A visit to the ICU reminds us not to take our health for granted. When we visit a nursing home, we are reminded how challenging the end of life can be.

Notice in Paul's words to the Thessalonians that we are to give thanks, “In every thing.” We'd prefer for to be told to give things for some things or even most things. But all things? Let's be honest for a moment. There are some things we aren't grateful for. Did you ever give thanks for a migraine headache or a kidney stone? Most would not give thanks for a cancer diagnosis or gut-wrenching divorce proceedings.

Yet we are challenged to give thanks, “In every thing.” Our painful and perplexing circumstances must be understood as we examine them from a divine perspective. In Romans 8:28, Paul wrote, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Notice that “all things work together for good,” for those who love God. It doesn't say that all things are good, but that all things work together for good. Thus, we can thank God for all these things, seeing that He works them all together for good.

When you consider that you should be in hell, it tends to sharpen your focus. The late evangelist, Bill Stafford, once said, “Anything above hell is grace.” From that perspective, we can give thanks for all things that we experience in life, even the hardships. We are heaven-bound saints because of the grace of God. That is something to be thankful for, wouldn't you agree?

Rather than having Thanksgiving, there should be Thanks Living. Our lives should be marked by perpetual gratitude. If you have much to be thankful for, shouldn't your attitude, actions and conversations reflect this?

Live with gratitude. As one preacher once put it, “Only turkeys aren't grateful on Thanksgiving.”  

 

Be The One

 “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.” - Luke 17:15-16

Jesus healed ten lepers, but only one returned to give Him thanks. Why didn't the other nine return to give Him thanks? Were they too excited and forgot their manners? Or was it that only one leper recognized Jesus as the Son of God and returned to thank Him as an act of worship?

In the busyness of our days, it is easy to get distracted from fundamental and vital issues. We can easily forget our blessings and fail to render thanks for them. Sadly, some people don't recognize their blessings until those blessings are taken away.

Blessings are simply gifts bestowed upon us by our benevolent God. Out of love and kindness, the Lord has showered us with countless blessings. If we are honest, we'd have to admit that we are unworthy of these gifts. Yet He demonstrates His mercy and grace by providing these gifts to us daily. What an awesome God we serve!

You'd think that if He were so kind and gracious to us, the very least we could do is thank Him for His blessings. Yet we often fail at that. Certainly His blessings give us reason to give Him thanks, yet they should also lead us to worship the One who is loving and kind. His gifts reflect His generosity. His generosity to us should lead us to be generous to others ourselves. His grace should give us incentive to show grace to those around us.

We can look around and find so many examples of people who are like the nine lepers. Despite God's awesome blessings, they take them for granted, or even worse, act as if they are entitled to such blessings. Many are highly successful, yet act as if their knowledge and skills alone were the cause for their success. The nine lepers went away blessed, but untouched in their hearts. Americans certainly embody that lifestyle today.

If we claim to be followers of Jesus, we shouldn't be like the nine lepers. Instead, we need to be like the one who returned to thank and worship the Savior. Let us never get over what He has done for us.

In a world full of people who live like the nine lepers, I want to be like the one who returned to Jesus. Be the one who glorifies God regardless of the scorn of others. Be the one who thanks Him despite my own flesh and pride. Be the one who worships the One who cleansed me and changed me.

I owe everything to Him, what about you?

The Insult of Ingratitude

 “And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?” - Luke 17:17

Jesus healed ten lepers, but nine did not return to thank Him for the incredible miracle. When we read this story, we are stirred with anger at the ingratitude shown by the lepers. Leprosy was a highly contagious and incurable disease of the day. Just the word, leprosy, brought fear to an uninfected population. For men to be cleansed of such a disease was an incredible, life-changing blessing. To fail to thank Jesus for this gift is an insult and disgrace.

Before we issue great condemnation towards these nine men, we must admit that we have been guilty of ingratitude ourselves. Every day, we are recipients of blessings, even miracles, but do we express gratitude for all of them? Do we thank the Lord for the boundless grace He shows toward us?

Surely, ingratitude is an insult towards the One who shows us mercy. We selfishly ask for more blessings --- and even expect them --- yet we often fail to thank Him for the blessings we've already received.

How would you feel if you continually helped someone, but never received a word of gratitude or thanks? What would you think of someone who selfishly welcomed every unmerited blessing, yet failed to recognize your generosity? You would consider such ingratitude to be an insult, wouldn't you?

Like it or not, we are more like the nine lepers than we'd like to admit. You awoke this morning. Did you thank God for that? You had a warm place to sleep overnight. Did you express thanks for that? You had food on your table again today. Was this a blessing you specifically thanked God for? You had a portion of good health. Did you praise the Lord for this? We could go on and on. God has been good to us. Did we recognize Him for this? Are we ashamed to give credit to the Lord publicly for all He does?

Many people only give thanks to the Lord on specified holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas. But what about the other days of the year? Every day is a special day, a blessing from God.

It is assumed that the nine lepers went to the High Priest, as commanded, to be declared clean from leprosy. Yet only one returned to the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who preformed the miracle of cleansing. One man returned to give Him heartfelt gratitude for the life-altering cleansing he had received.

As believers in Christ, we have been cleansed from a much more deadly disease than leprosy. We have been cleansed from sin by the power of the blood. This miracle is the greatest of all miracles. Leonard Ravenhill once said that the greatest miracle of all is for God to take an unholy man out of an unholy world, make him holy, then place him back in the unholy world and enable him to live a holy life. That is something only God can do. May we never forget that. May we never cease praising Him for it.

Yes, ingratitude is an insult against the One who has showered us with bountiful blessings. Let us cease from such a sin in the future!

Rest

 “I will give you rest.” - Matthew 11:28

I must confess that I am not an early riser. I get up early every workday morning because it is necessary, not because I am already awake. I love my sleep! When I was young, I didn't understand why older people went to bed so early. Now I find myself going to bed a little after 9 every night. I need my sleep!

Rest is actually a blessing from God. Our bodies need rest. It isn't healthy for a person to only sleep three or four hours each night. While your body can tolerate sleepless hours, eventually it will demand the rest and sleep it has been deprived of.

Most people give little attention to sleep, until they experience sleepless nights. Parents of newborn children learn quickly that rest does not come automatically. Furthermore, illness can rob a person of sleep. In the years gone by, I have suffered from kidney stones, which can easily deprive me of sleep.

I don't take sleep for granted. Neither should you.

When Jesus said, “I will give you rest,” He was offering rest to people who were depleted by the oppression of sin. The devil is a harsh taskmaster. He offers much but delivers little. The devil promises an abundant life but drags his followers into the gutter of despair. Thankfully, God offers such people rest.

Life is demanding. Expectations are high. It is easy to be overwhelmed by it all. I am glad that there is a place where we can go and experience the rest we need. Rest refreshes the spirit. Rest rejuvenates the body. Rest even helps in the healing process.

When you have sleepless nights, it is good to talk with the Master. Often I have asked for the Lord for rest during sleepless nights and soon found myself getting drowsy. He does give rest to those who need it.

God rested on the seventh day of creation. He did not need to rest, but He certainly demonstrated to us that rest is a good thing. The Jews were commanded to learn from God's example and set aside the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath. They were expected to set aside this day and treat it as a holy day.

Christians are promised that there remains a rest for us (see Hebrews 4). While the Jews rested on the seventh day, Christians worship on the first day of the week, remembering the resurrection of Jesus. Our Sabbath rest is yet to come. In Revelation 14:13, John wrote, “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.” The saints mentioned in this text experienced rest from their labors. Such rest is a glorious thing.

God created rest. He modeled it for us. We should appreciate this gift and thank the Giver of it. Furthermore, we should invite weary souls to find the rest they need in Jesus.

Thank God for rest!