LETTER TO ONE DEPRESSED

I am not your therapist and do not need or want to be. I am your son. But I am also a son who happens to be a pastor and a counselor. I strongly encourage you to talk with a psychiatrist who can prescribe the right medication for you, based on your own unique circumstances. You also need someone objective to talk to so you can be completely open and honest, without fear of judgment or consequences.

With that advice given, let me just share a few things with you. I know that when you are in that deep dark pit of depression, you feel all alone and isolated. But you are not. You see, one of the things you are going to have to guard yourself against is the devil. He is a liar and the father of all lies. While you are hurting so deeply, he will constantly lie to you to keep ahold of you and to grag you down even deeper.
The devil will lie to you, and even your own mind and body will lie to you. The experience you are going through will cause you to call into question things that you have always held to as truth.

You must have settled in your heart and mind that the one absolute truth in life is the Word of God. You must be convinced that no matter what your feelings, pain and experience is saying, God’s Word is completely true, and that you can fully trust in it and act upon it. This will be harder to do than you might imagine. Depression is all consuming and deceptive. It is vitally important that you commit yourself to fully trusting in God and His Word.

One of the reasons this will be difficult is that depression causes you to doubt God, or to at least doubt the goodness of God. You will begin to wonder if God understands how deeply you are hurting, and if He understands, how could a good God allow you to stay in that pit, when you have been faithful to call out to Him for help.

The reason I gave you those Psalms to read was to show you that God does understand. I imagine Psalm 88 is a pretty accurate description of what you are feeling right now. I want you to see that even the man closest to the heart of God found himself in the same dark, lonely, sorrowful pit you are now in.
God does understand what you are going through. Remember, when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, his soul was so deeply sorrowful and depressed that the sweat, as it were, great drops of blood, and he said, “My soul is sorrowful even unto death.”

God understands and He cares. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says,

6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

But notice verses 8-9 says,

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

And let me give you some encouragement. Verses 10-11 says,

1 Peter 5:10-11
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish,strengthen, settle you.

11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

God understands, God cares, and God is at work in your life. He has not abandoned you.

Hebrews 13:5 says,
Be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Not only does God care about you and love you, so do we. if you need us to be with you, at any time, all you have you have to do is tell us you need us. We will leave and come to you immediately.

I know this letter is long, but let me talk for a minuet about the causes of depression.
I do not believe anyone can say that they know the actual CAUSE of depression, but there are some things that usually contribute to it.

Contributer #1 is OTHER PEOPLE.

As you look through the Psalms you discover that the Psalmist cries out to God in depression, many times, because of oppression by others. People you love betray, abuse, disappoint and wound. Other people can be a source of constant anxiety. The death of those we love can wound us deeply. The sins of others against us, can send us reeling. They can be callous, self-abosorbed, overbearing, insensitive, demanding.

We too can be a contributer to our own depression.
We fail to deal with certain circumstances in out lives correctly, and later they come back to haunt us.
We can harbor resentment, anger, bitterness, sorrow, shame, fear, but at some point it gathers together and overwhelms us.

Contributer #2 is OUR BODIES. Because our bodies have been affected by the fall of man into sin, hormones, diseases, and even chemical imbalances can play a part in our being depressed. That is the reason to get a good physical, and seek counsel from those who specialize in the physical areas.

And as we have already talked about, Contributer #3 is SATAN.

Something you may not have considered, however is, finally, GOD himself, at times, is the cause of suffering.
God sometimes puts his children to bed in the dark.

1 Sam 2:6-7 says,
6 " The LORD kills and makes alive;

He brings down to Sheol and raises up. 7 " The LORD makes poor and rich;

He brings low, He also exalts.

Isaiah 45:7
7 (I am ) the One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity;
I am the LORD who does all these.

God is over all things, and nothing happens apart from his knowledge and will. He is busy at work, using our circumstances to remold us into the image of Christ, using us as a messenger to others, or preparing us for ministry to others.

, you know these things to be true. Hold on to them.
There are some other things I desire to share with you, but I will wait a while.

Now, I am going to ask you to do two things.
You will not want to do them
You will feel as if you cannot do them.
You will say that you cannot concentrate and you are not in any frame of mind to do them. You will say that once you feel stronger you will do them.

Listen to me,
right now, you are doing the hard work of being depressed.
What you choose to do or choose not to do will either add to or begin to take away from your depression. Others can give you counsel, advice and direction.
Only you can do the hard work it takes to get out of the pit.

#1, I want you to spend time each day in prayer.

I know you are doing that, but I want you to pray in a certain way.
Depression is very inward focused. You can only see and feel your own pain and suffering. It is all consuming.
You must begin to get your focus outward, and you begin by choosing to focus upward.

When you pray, do not talk to God about yourself or your pain and depression.
Force yourself to soley focus on God in prayer. Think about who He is and what He is like. Praise hime for who He is, and what He has done.
Only pray about Him for the next three days.

#2. I want you to sit down with a notebook and I want you to list 100 things you are thankful for.

This will not be an easy assignment. The first few will come easily, but then it will require careful thought. Do not stop at 60, 70, 80, or 90. Over the next few days write down all 100.

Again, the devil, your own mind, and your body will tell you you cannot do these things. You will not feel like it.
But it is your choice.
You can give in to the depression, or you can fight it.

The weapons we use, will not be typical.

You are greatly loved and respected.
We are here to fight with you and for you.

Your situation is not hopeless.

Things WILL BE better.