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DEPRESSSION A BIBLICAL APPROACH

Introduction: God made man with intellect and emotions. We are not Spock on Star Tech, without emotion and always logical. At times we are irrational and very emotional. All of us have felt anger, job, anxiety, apprehension, disgust, depression and a host of other emotions. Many believe the #1 health problem today is depression. Many other problems are due to depression.

A) Defining depression

1. Webster’s Dictionary: Depressed -- 1) dejected, downcast, sad; gloomy.

2. Depression – the state of being depressed, dejection; sadness; gloom.

3. Depression usually includes the follow: a feeling of helplessness, hopelessness, the blues, unrealistic apprehension, fears, worry

4. Physical symptoms: headaches, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, panic attacks, agitation, some kind of phobia, sleeping problems.

5. Some have described depression as anger turned inward.

1. Facts about depression

1. 15 million people suffer clinical depression at any give time, 5% of our population

2. Another 5% experience mild depression

3. One of 6 people at some point in their life will have "major" depression

4. The group with the highest percentage with depression is the 25 –44 age group

2. What causes depression

1. Poor health (illness)

2. Chemical imbalance

3. Aging

4. Death of a loved one

5. Failure at some tack—jobs, marriage, etc.

6. Sin

7. Success not measuring up to one’s expectations

8. Being alone, feeling lonely 1 Kings 19.10

9. Events beyond our control – loss of a job, acts of nature destroying material possessions

10. Disappointments-- other people, feeling betrayed, events (Jonah)

11. Taking too much on ourselves, Number 11.11-15

12. Looking too far into the future.

3. Common misconceptions

1. Depression by itself is a sin

2. There is a difference between depression leading to sin and it being a sin (Elijah was depressed but had not sinned)

3. Sin can cause one to be depressed – fear of being caught, consequences of sin—David felt the burden of sin

4. A person can just snap out of it

5. People that are depressed

6. Don’t care and/or have given up

1. Sometimes we get depressed because we do care, Nehemiah 2.3.

B) How to overcome depression

1. Alleviate true guilt through forgiveness

2. Sin is a hard master, Ps. 32.3-4

3. All of this changed when David confessed his sin, Ps. 32.5.

4. In forgiveness the debt and burden of sin is removed from us – remember the ice skater that fell in his first race, he fell the next race in the next Olympics. How could be have done that twice? The burden of falling was to heavy for him to handle.

5. Change your feelings by changing your behavior, Genesis 4.6-7

6. Things will not change without some changes in you

7. Don’t just expect to wake up one day and all is good

8. Get your mind off yourself and on to others, Phil. 2.4

9. Depression is often self centeredness, concentration too much on one’s self.

10. A lack of consideration of others

11. Get rid of grudges daily, Ephesians 4.26

12. Depression is often anger turned inward

13. Either anger at ourselves or at others

14. Take care of yourself

15. Get adequate rest, eat a balanced diet, 1 Kings 19.3-8

16. Go to doctor, the sick need a physician, Mark 2.17

17. Develop close relationships, Proverbs 18.24; 27.17

18. Have someone you can talk to, people you can cry and laugh with, Romans 12.15

19. Get closer to God

20. Use prayer to ask for help and express yourself, 1 Thess. 5.16

21. Read your Bible, 1 Peter 2.2

22. Keep a close reign on your thoughts, Phil. 4.8

23. We get carried away with problems, imagine things, and worry ourselves to death.

24. There is a reason we are to take life one day at a time, it is all we can handle.

Conclusion: In Christ there is hope, forgiveness, love, power, etc. In Christ we are not alone, Matthew 11.28 – 30.

D.T. @ Westside Church of Christ 041.14.07