Finding Hope After Depression
What To Do Now That You Know You Suffer From Depression: Part 2
Climbing out of the dark pit of depression takes patience, hope and effort in oneself. Faith in God can be the rope to hold onto when working to get out.
To Thyself Be True
Tell the truth. First and foremost, be honest in the situation you are in. Whatever is happening, will it cause the world to end? No doubt devastating events can befall us, but the sun will come up again, giving everyone yet another day to get stronger; stronger than the hold depression has had on the mind.
Seek Him First
And secondly, pray. Open just one more book, but this time take the pressure off yourself. There is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9), except you. The Bible practically guarantees that we’ll have trials in our life but the difference for those who believe by faith is that they are not alone. God—the creator of all things—is on your side. He will guide you through those difficult times and help you get over the ones from before. A depressed person wishes for nothing more than peace of mind. Depression takes the stillness the mind craves and crosses the wires, keeping depressed people plugged into constant white noise. Prayer can reprogram the brain for peace.
God Promises Peace & Joy
No matter how many self-help books a person reads, none make the promise of peace and joy---only the Bible. God’s word never disappoints. It’s been known to calm, relieve, even amaze and mystify the reader. The problem with self-help books can be that the reader has been trying to self-help themselves all their depressed life to no avail. The Bible is the only ‘self-help’ book that promises an abundant life the more you give your depression and problems away, rather than try to fix them yourself. The more you think, “I just can’t do it,” the more the Bible says, “But with God, you will.” (Philippians 4:13)
Forgive Yourself
It’s not due to lack of want that most depressed people haven’t been able to shake out of the muddle but possibly a lack of true direction and focus. Too much focus has been placed on the negative past and the critical voice inside the head that repeats the mistakes, but be honest: who has not made mistakes? The 18th century poet Alexander Pope breathed the famous line: “To err is human, to forgive is divine.” Indeed, God grants forgiveness for our sincere repentance because He created us as humans. Now the challenge is how to forgive oneself. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, the definition of forgive is: “to give up resentment against or the desire to punish.” Forgive is considered a verb, an action word. The tendency of depressed people is to not forgive themselves of the past and to continue punishing themselves by remaining stagnant in shame. More upsetting still is the fact that this affects their family as well, unable to turn a switch and just ‘stop it.’
Have Hope
What doesn’t harm you, will make you stronger. “..We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us…”(Romans 5:3-5) How many times have you said the phrase, “But I have faith…” And how many times do you really believe that? How many of you would know exactly what to say to a good friend or child who was going through a tough time yet are unable to take your own advice? What makes depressed people believe they are so unworthy to forgive themselves?
It’s Your Choice
It’s time to realize that no matter what you have been through, if you are blessed to be granted another day, you have been granted another day of choice. Perhaps choosing to press the pause button on your harried lives, if only for a few minutes, to find out what the creator of the universe has to say about your self-worth, because whatever you have been telling yourself has obviously not been good enough. Maybe it’s time you pray to take God up on His offered promises of peace and joy. “Finally, brothers [and sisters], whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things….And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9) Choose joy!
Seek His Will
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