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Post Info TOPIC: Spiritual Depression
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On-Fire Member

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Spiritual Depression
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I just listened to a tape about Spiritual Depression.  Let me summarize it here.


1. Emotional Depression (ED) and Spiritual Depression (SD):


ED doesn't necesarily correlate w/ SD.  Sometimes it does & sometimes it does not.  Some correlations can be:



  • ED brings about Spiritual Growth e.g. David in Psalm
  • ED brings SD or SD brings ED e.g. Jona, Saul, Job, Elijah, etc


2. SD: 3 causes: 1) Environmental Circumstances 2) Interpersonal Interactions 3) Self-Esteem



1)Environmental Circumstances: (here we usually blame God)


e.g. exam failure, laid off, sickness...



3 popular mis-approach:



  • ask God, "Why...?" (it doesn't work, coz even if God explains it to you, you won't understand)
  • blame God, others, or self (it doesn't work, coz there are always things for you to blame)
  • self-denial e.g. next time when I am well-prepared, I won't suffer (it doesn't work, coz our life is not totally under our control)
  • pray that God will take away the problem (it doesn't work, God has his purpose in our hardship.  We are not to avoid it, but face it and learn)

Solutions:


1. Have courage to face the reality


2. Consider hardships/sufferings as your "Privilege" & learning experiences


"2Cor 1:4- 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God"


Taking hardship is like taking courses in university.  The more we take, the more we understand Life and the more we experience Love, and how to help those in distress.  e.g. Oh, I understand your feeling.  I faced this problem b4...  Without hardship (learning), we will never grow & we won't be able to experience the Full Love! 


To see why suffering is good, read Job (Job) or Paul's suffering (2Cor 11:23-33)


3. Meditate on past sufferings, e.g. what you've learnt during your last suffering, what are the good results?


2) Interpersonal Interactions: (here we usually blame God or other people)


e.g. breakup, divorce, betrayed by friends...



Why we feel hurt?


1. our love is self-seeking, expecting others to love us back or return benefits


Solution:


1. Have courage to face the reality


2. Relationship failure is v. v. v. painful.  The best way is to heal it, not avoid/ ignore it.  Yes, we can do it- by Love, only by Love!  As we love wholeheartedly and unconditionally (love without expecting return), love overflows (love never ceases) from our heart and covers up all previous hurts.


3. It's v. v. v. hard/almost impossible for us to love unconditionally unless we have actually experienced & tasted God's unconditional love for us which doesn't require us to repay: "13Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."  If not, it won't even make sense to us or even if it does, we won't have the compelling motivation to love like God loves us.  God is love (1John 4:16), so we need to have an intimate relationship w/ dear God in order to love like he does. 


3) Self-Esteem: (here we usually blame ourselves)


e.g. I'm useless, I fail again n again, make the same mistakes on n on, I wanna give up...



2 Myths:



  1. I'm evil, nobody will like me...
  2. I'm so weak.  I won't make it...

Here we need to make sure if our SD comes from our physical tiredness e.g. lack of sleep, rest...


Solution:


1. Have courage to face the reality.


2. Don't rely on yourself & focus on yourself: "I need to do good".  Rely on God & let God rule in you!


3. In our heart there are 2 competing voices- the Holy Spirit and Satan.  We need to know whom we should follow.


Satan: You are so evil.  God doesn't love you anymore.  Give up...


Holy Spirit: God loves you all along.  Don't lose faith... (Never doubt God's love for you!  God always loves you and wants you to come back to him when you sin!  That's why God's love is so amazing!)


4. pray to God for confession & power.  fight back Satan!  You'll win!



Summary:


When we are in a hardship or big problem, we must face the reality & totally rely on God.


God, we feel weak in hardships.  God, you are our rock.  Let us rely on you.  Let us learn your will and let your will be done.  Be w/ us always God, amen.


Further Reading:


The Thorn in the Flesh
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
8Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.



 



-- Edited by servant Joseph at 21:38, 2004-11-29

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The Fear of the Lord is to hate evil & to shun evil. Whoever walks in the counsel of the wicked lacks judgment, little knowing it will cost him his life...


On-Fire Member

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This is a very encoruaging peice of writing! It is as if god was speaking to me. THis is exactly what i need to read about right now. Indeed, god loves us even in times of suffering as it was And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him... (Romans 8:28)

Yet, it is still easier said than to be done. I found that in the midest of kinds of pain, god seems to be distant away >

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Psalm 84:11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.


On-Fire Member

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Posts: 78
Date:
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Q&A


1. I'm in the middle of a BIG suffering, I can't feel God's presence...


God's always here w/ you.  Yes he is.  Most of the time, we are TOO-focus on our "own" plan/solution that we miss the presence of God.


Proverbs 19:21- Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.


For example, we always pray "God, do this, do that...  give me power to solve this problem...  remove this sickness...  let me overcome this stress".  When "our plan" doesn't come true, we blame God for not helping us or even doubt the existence of God.


Here, our prayer is "sincere", but "inappropriate".  Are we playing God?  Are we seeking our own will or God's will?  Do we try to be calm and listen to the Holy Spirit?


Remember, God's plan is always the BEST, HAPPIEST plan for us!


James 1:5- Don't be deceived, my dear brothers.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows"


In addition, experiences from "past suffering" always shows that once we were calm & relied on God, we actually saw God's mighty hands (miracles) working! (be observative!)


Let's have faith in the Lord, our Rock!!!




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The Fear of the Lord is to hate evil & to shun evil. Whoever walks in the counsel of the wicked lacks judgment, little knowing it will cost him his life...


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RE: Spiritual Depression/other thoughts too
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You know what I am totally amazed at what has been written here! I am totally in agreement in what is being said by Joseph and Jane here! I would have thought it would have been on this website way earlier when it first started, but never mind! It is very important to realize this kind of stuff, spiritual and emotional depression. Everyday in "our society", "we" tend to forget that this stuff is important to be bought forward. Truly, what I can say is that, I have experienced all these areas mentioned here. One must not forget that as God is our creator, we must realize that these "things" would ruin us if we keep on going down this path. God is there to help you in such way that it is unspeakable. But when you pray , you can't just pray any old prayers or silly ones or even "babbling" prayers. You must pray with a sense that you are asking God's help by guiding you through your sufferrings; learn from the "pains, angers , upsets, heartbreaks, headaches, etc. (you get the point, don't you?)". Don't let your frustrations take the Better of YOU. Let "it" make you realized that what you believe is right is wrong. Realize that the reality in front of you at this moment is something that will help you down the road, towards the future. Wherever it make take you, you'll never know! Trust me on this! Experience in any way or form will definitely make you a better person! Better yet, God probably have something in mind for you to do related to what you experienced in life!! Psalm 18 shows a lot of power that God can bring to you other than just love! He provides you shelter, strength, rescued us from danger, shield us of Thy salvation, deliver us from our enemies, and illuminates our darkness!


Honestly, the law of success in our daily lives is simply stated as this: "Failure is the seed of success!"


The wisdom of Jesus:


1. Interpersonal: Jesus never wore a mask of different emotions for the day! Jesus had the upfront integrity of life! (a biblical author once wrote: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. For Jesus is both eternal and unchanging in the society around Him. He is honest at home and at work.) BECAUSE A PERSON OF INTEGRITY DOES NOT PRETEND TO BE SOMETHING THEY ARE NOT, IT IS WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET -- LITERALLY! AND IT IS NOT THAT A PERSON OF INTEGRITY ARE ALWAYS PERFECT -- SURELY THEY AREN'T! BUT FOR ONE THING THEY ARE AWARE OF THEIR WEAKNESSESS AND DON'T WANT TO LEAD OTHERS TO BELIEVE THAT THEY HAVE NO PERSONAL FLAWS!


2. Self-esteem/interpersonal: Jesus held to the highest moral ethnic and always lived by it! He courageously helped ppl see the gap b/w their ethic and morality. In order for anything to work in our lives, we MUST know our weaknesses and fortify them. If we're not open to correction of what we do to others around us, we run the risk of becoming inauthentic towards everyone we come across. Jesus once said to religious leaders who convinced themselves that they were truly righteous ppl b/c they so diligently obeyed all of their man-made rules: "You are like whitewashed tombs, which looks beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to ppl as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness!"


                      --- Take just a moment right now to look at yourself in a mirror. As you gaze at your reflection, ask yourself this: "Do I have weaknesses others can see but that I'm refusing to face -- weaknesses I pretend are either out of sight or under control? Or am I the kind of person who is comfortable with my strengths and weaknesses and invites others to see them both?"      ---


Solutions to spiritual depression -- Faith builder:


1.  Keep in touch  with God: The more time you spend with God the better you'll know Him; the btter you know Him the more you'll trust Him; the more you trust Him the more you'll tap into His power.


2. In our search for the Key to a bold faith in God, we need to hold on to the one marked: Face Your FEARS  with God! When you find it, and use it every day, you'll discover that it opens doors of confidence you never thought possible!


3. Be authentic with God: We are so afraid of rejection that we try to conceal ourselves from the ONE who already knows everything about us. Jesus would have nothing to do with hiding! He didn't play games when he met God. HE made it clear that He desperately wanted to avoid being nailed to the cross. He didn't hide the fact that He didn't want to experience isolation from His Father. He expressed His feelings with loud crying and tears.


4. Realize you got nothing to hide: The more we open up and show God what we're really like inside, the more we'll discover that He can be trusted with the truth about us. Sometimes our efforts to cover up are sophisticated and hard to spot. In fact, we ourselves may not even be completely aware of what we are doing. The only way to overcome the tendency to hide from God is by meeting with HIM daily -- with firm commitment to be transparent. The more we open up and show God what we're really like on the inside, the more we'll discover that He can be trusted with the truth about us.


5. Realize that you got nothing to lose: God cannot fail. His will is always the best of all possible option. Jesus knew that when he bet on God he wasn't gambling. He was placing His "money" and his life, on a sure thing. He literally has nothing to lose, b/c it's impossible to lose when we let God call the shots. Entrusting to God our lives, our families, our finances, our business, and all we lead isn't like putting our money int he stock market.


 


ONE IMPORTANT THOUGHTS OF THE DAY: GET GUIDANCE FROM GOD ALWAYS AND LET HIM KEEP YOU ON COURSE ON WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING!!....


              --- One of the greatest surprises of our lives hasn't been the fact that God directs us down a particular path, but of His determination to keep us where we are.


              --- Hope has the power to infuse us with the energy in even the most challenging situations.


              --- A single uncontrolled character flaw can undermine your greatest accomplishments.


              --- You must control your destructive inclinations by staying away from "little sins", b/c in reality they aren't so little -- and they can and often do lead to destruction.


             --- Nobody else has the power to make you angry or frustrated. You control your response; other ppl don't.


            --- As we control our response to conflict, we will then be able to coach others through the situation in a constructive way.


           --- WE must remain consciously connected with God so that when we enter a conflict we can respond with generosity that is motivated by love.


          --- Our aim is to put others first b/c we genuinely care for them -- not b/c we want to be seen as caring for them.


         --- Where there is love there is a freedom to fail -- and where there is a freedom to fail you have a setting where new and better ways of doing things will thrive.


         --- How could we possibly hope to make wise decisions without spending a lot of time in prayer? The answer is clear: WE CANNOT!


          --- It's crucial to know your driving purpose and to subordinate every decision to that purpose.


          --- Every time Jesus made a decision it was an expression of his core values: To love God and love his neighbours!


Hopefully all of this is useful to you and if you have any comments or questions I look forward to answering them thru my email account: Sparrow8696@hotmail.com or Sparrow8696@excite.com!


God bless everyone and bless our world all over!


Dorothy



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