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BP115

I am writing today’s post on Labor Day here in the United States. Why do we set this first Monday in September apart as a holiday, anyway? I Googled it and discovered that Labor Day was officially established in 1894 as a day to celebrate and honor the development of trade unions and the labor movement and to recognize the contributions of laborers to the growth of America.

To honor all laborers and to appropriately honor this day, I have decided to write a shorter post. Ha. Today’s briefer post will address those who “labor” under the curse of depression.

Specifically, I have listed below strategies and habits that believers in Jesus might implement to lessen their depressive symptoms. What follows is not an exhaustive list, just a few ideas to consider.

• Do the hard work of forgiving others because the roots of depression often can be traced to suppressed things such as traumatic memories or strong emotions. Bitterness and resentment flowing from rehearsed injustices will feed depression in you.
• Be angry but do not sin. Related to the truth listed above, don’t swallow your emotions because, like junk in a closet, emotions will eventually break down the door of your heart and rush out or they will begin to mold and ferment. (Read about the Well, the Leakage, and the Volcano mentioned in previous posts.) So, be angry, sad, lonely, excited, happy, scared. Be sure to grieve. Depression is not an emotion. Depression and anxiety are what we experience when we typically cut off our emotions and hide our true selves from God, others, and even our own selves.
• Defy the tendency within you toward self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency leads to aloneness and aloneness fuels sadness and depression.
• Do not rely on others for what you can do for yourself. As a counterpoint to the truth above, it is essential to not let others take care of you when you need to do something, say something, plan something that will grow your interdependence as well as your sense of competence. Parents need to remember that if they take care of their children too well, they may grow up to feel anxious, incompetent, dependent, behind their peers, and even entitled. Depression can often accompany these developmental weaknesses.
• Read the Word even if you don’t always feel something when you are in it. The Bible is the only book you can read that will literally grow your heart. Reading the word of God is like plugging your electric/hybrid car into a charging station. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart ~ Hebrews 4:12. (For the importance of assimilating the word of God, see I John 2:14; John 15:7; Colossians 3:16; Matthew 4:4; I Peter 1:23.)

• Learn to love more every day. Love God and others like there is no tomorrow. If we look at God and practice His presence, we will not rely on the world or our own abilities to generate love. Love, peace, and joy will flow forth from the Spirit who lives within us.
• Think less about yourself and focus more on those around you. Pick out one person each day or week and feel around the rim of their soul by asking caring questions and listening carefully to their heart. Depression may lift at least a little when you are present for others,
• Be thankful and worship God whenever your mind is free from distractions. Practice gratitude until it becomes your first nature. Worship the God who promises that He has a plan for your life. A lot of depression is self-sustaining as we look inward instead of outward at the One who came for us and promises that everything will eventually be made right.
• Know that “imbalanced” neurotransmitters will impact your depression but also know that “imbalanced” neurotransmitters may often not be the direct cause of your depression but the result of your depression. Depression sometimes is not primarily the state of your brain chemistry but even more importantly the focus and practices of your mind. Mind and spirit impact your physical body including your neurotransmitters.
• Sin fuels depression because we naturally feel bad (guilty, shameful) when we disobey God. Reducing sin is not what saves you—only the grace of God in Christ can do that. But reducing sin and its hangovers may very well move you away from depression and toward joy.
• Do remember as pointed out above that your joy is not to be dependent on your lack of sin but on the abundance of God’s love, mercy, and grace toward you. Put less energy into sinning less and more energy into fixing your eyes on Jesus more. Sinning less will naturally follow as your affection for Jesus grows.
• Make a list of God’s promises to you. You are born with the lies of hell chiseled onto your fallen hearts. You need to challenge and grind away those devilish inscriptions with the truth of God’s amazing promises to you.
• Look at the world less (see point 7). Looking at the world and internalizing what it has to offer is a recipe for depression because the world is lost and has no compass. Look at how many young people in the world of Hollywood are dying in recent years. They have no charging station and try to find substitutes that will revitalize the dead battery of their hearts even if it is through extreme sports or illegal drugs that give them a temporary rush but is dangerous to their bodies and their lives not to mention their souls.
• Intentionally seek God. I can’t emphasize this point enough. Many people believe in God and give their lives to Him but after that initial crossing over from life to death they do not practice His presence. They do not seek Him with all their hearts. They do not spend time with Him. We always reap what we sow in this world, so sow His presence every day.

• Don’t be surprised that life is hard. Some people are depressed because their lives are so difficult, and they believe that life should be easy. Absorb this truth now: you were born into a world that is fallen and now inherently unfriendly to genuine life and God’s truth. This universe is opposed to Jesus and His word. In this broken existence, we see snakes swallowing cute little rabbits, a pride of lions gnawing on a live antelope, little kids with cancer, and people in so much pain that they suicide. Don’t run away from God because life is disappointingly difficult. Run toward Him because He came to bring light into your darkness.
• Deal with unresolved family of origin dynamics. Unfinished business rolls down hill and will leak out in depressive symptoms. Jesus may give you six great years after conversion but then will allow the pain of the past to speak so that you will grow and deal with your hiding.
• Recognize that the coping skills you learned when you were young that helped you survive back then are now most likely anchors tied around your ankles. Identify your unhealthy, obsolete defenses and replace them with godly habits and attitudes. You already know that it is not what happens to you in life that is most critical but how you respond to those things.
• Consider medications carefully. God has given us meds for thyroid issues, diabetes, and cancer. He has also given us meds for depression, but they all come with side-effects. Add up the cost and consider the trade-offs of taking them. Do use them if you are suicidal, not sleeping well, cannot stop your racing mind, or cannot get out of bed. Do not use them if you are willing to take the meds but choose not to do the hard work of psychotherapy or pastoral counseling.
• Stop ingesting marijuana in any form, smoking or chewing tobacco, and drinking too much alcohol (or for some of you, stop drinking all alcohol). These substances, even if considered legal, may kill your motivation, fuel your paranoia, and further depress you.
• See beyond this world. Know that the best is yet ahead. Remember that Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a place for you in heaven, the place where He is. Live fully alive in this world, but don’t love this world so much that you get depressed when you think of leaving it. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things in this world.
• Be with others. Do not cope by withdrawal from community. With every fiber of your being strengthened by the power of the Spirit, learn to trust God and others. Depression thrives on aloneness and distrust and hiding and bitterness and unforgiveness.
• Know that life is impossible without Jesus. Like Corrie Ten Boom said, “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God you’ll be at rest.” Jesus is the ultimate answer to depression, but He might agree that it is wise to implement many of the strategies listed in this blog post to assist in your growth.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones ~ Proverbs 3:5-6