Coping with Depression . . . The Power of Surrender

Sometimes what compounds our problems is the grip that we have on them. It is so easy to get tied to an idea, or what you thought that God was preparing you for, and then when it doesn't materialize, or worse, becomes something that you never expected; it can become unbearable. This is how it happens, dear ones, and it is not an accident. God is not orchestrating events just for you to experience pain; He is doing the difficult work of bringing you to maturity. Growing up involves pain. I hear people say I would love to go back to this year or that; I wouldn't go back for anything! Not only was it rough enough the first time, but all of the difficulty in my life has made me who I am, and I wouldn't give any of it back.

One of the contributing factors to depression, is a loss of perspective. In other words, the death grip that you have on your problems, could be what has brought you to a stand still. It is more than okay to hurt, and do tell God all about it. You have to take a step back, and realize that there are more things involved that just how you feel. Listen, the loss of contentment that leads to depression, often begins by adopting a narrow view and interpreting events only in terms of me. That's not the way it works, loved one. You do not know what others are thinking, and you do not ultimately know what motivates them to do what they do. While we're on the subject; get rid of absolutes in your estimation of others: no one always nor do they never engage in a particular behavior, nor do you. (I hope that is not the coveted "triple-negative".)

If you are going to find purpose in your trials; then you have got to put things in the proper perspective. First off, God allowed whatever the situation is into your life at this time, and God is right: and that may be what hurts the most about your trial. If God didn't want a situation in your life, an all powerful God could certainly stop it from happening. Secondly, contentment can only be found for the Christian, when they are in fellowship with the will of God. That does not mean holding on to you problems and gritting your teeth, while you say God I surrender all. Fellowship with God's perfect will for your life only comes, when you release the whole situation to God. Now listen to me, loved one, that does not mean you have to understand. That may be what you need to say, "God I release this situation which I can not fix, which I do not understand and which I can not change to Your sovereign will. I surrender. I'm trusting You. I'm asking You to make a way for me to bear this trial." Bless you all.

Coping with Depression . . . The Value of a Loving Heart

Sometimes the hardest thing to have when you are depressed, is a loving heart. Why is it so important? Because you are not wrestling with flesh and blood. What that means is you are dealing with fallible people, who even at their best, are entirely capable of doing wrong, because we all deal with temptation from the evil one. I remember in high school, I had a teacher that told us that he and some of his friends in the army, helped out with a children's program; and he told us how it was impressed upon them that they smile and be pleasant to those children; the reason it was so stressed, is that they might be the only kind face that child sees that day. I hope that you get, that you are not the only one who is stressed, even when you are hurting.

The Scripture tells us that love covers a multitude of sins, and a loving heart can do so much more than one that is consumed by its own hurts. Look, if you tear yourself up on the inside; you are setting yourself up for a multitude of hurts. You will be constantly on the look out for retribution for the hurts you received, and there is nothing in the Bible to support that kind of mindset. But, I can't forgive: you got that straight and in buckets. You can't forgive, it is only when Christ is working in you, that you can be loving enough to forgive someone who hurt you. Remember: God is working; He never promised that it would be painless or that it would be easy, but it will be beautiful, when you let Him work out His will, in His way.

Listen to me, it is Satan that wants you isolated, hurt and closed-off from every one that you love. It is the love that God puts in your heart that opens you up to those around you, even the ones who hurt you. Loved one, please don't think I am recommending things to you, that haven't broken up the fallow ground of my own heart. Alone, is not how God intended you to be; single, maybe, but alone: absolutely not. Listen to me dear Christian, your work is people; loving them, caring about them, helping them and reaching them with the love of Christ. Loved one, God is working in you, and this is what it is to be held in His hand with a life that is open to His will and His way. Grace, mercy, peace and love flowing like a river; that is the work of our God. Hallelujah! Let Him work in your heart to day, dear sweet soul, let Him work in you today; so that love will win the day. Bless you all.

Coping with Depression . . . Embracing Forgiveness

There are some hurts, that are unchangeable, sometimes because of a permanent loss, or sometimes because of a hard-hearted individual, whose decisions, right or wrong are implacable. Disruptions in our lives happen, it is a fact of life, and they often hurt and hurt badly. If it happened to the apostle who penned most of the New Testament, what possible hope do we have as church goers. Paul and Barnabas became so combative over a young John Mark, who evidently was not ready for a front row seat at the persecution of an apostle, that they decided to go different directions. Barnabas, rather than have this young man spoken of as unfit for the service of the Lord, chose to go with him, instead of stay with the apostle.

The passage of time shows us that even Paul’s heart eventually softened toward John Mark, saying that he was profitable to him in the ministry. Do you think that there were hurt feelings during the exchange that prompted these two to split? For whatever the exchange was between them, I don’t think that it is much of a stretch, to think that Barnabas was most concerned with what would happen to that young man, had he agreed with Paul and walked away from him. Here’s the saddest part of this story to me, we never read of a reunion between Paul and Barnabas. Don’t you think that when Paul said, “send me John Mark . . .” that much of what he longed for was the time that he had missed with Barnabas, his friend?

Listen, before you spend weeks or months of your life vacillating between reliving the hurt and the anger you feel toward the person that hurt you: you need to adopt a forgiving spirit. You may have every reason to take someone apart limb by limb; but dear heart, that is not what love says. Love says, I can hold nothing against you, because Christ held nothing against me. And, you can’t take hold of forgiveness, until you let go of the hurt. You will never find the freedom that Christ gives, and you won't get all that God has for you until you do forgive. Loved ones, I can’t promise you much, but I can tell you that when you let go and forgive, Christ’s love will flood your heart and you can see beyond the one that hurt you, to the one who needs Christ’s love. Bless you all.

Coping with Depression . . .Living with the Hurt

There are so many things that can cause depression; some that you can change, and some that you can't. I'm sure that to the depressed, they would like to see something like do this or do that, and poof! the depression will go away. I am sorry to report, no such thing exists. There is the day to day, minute to minute and second to second dealing with depression that must take place. You have to sometimes, by an act of the will, get up and do something, anything to remind yourself that you are still alive. Let me preface what I am about to say with this: I do not have all of the answers, but the answers that I have are yours for the taking.

Do not for any reason put yourself into a cell. Let me explain what I am talking about, even your living room can become a prison if you let your pain paralyze you. Get out of the house, and do so on a regular basis. You need to know that the world is still going on, and you can't sit still and rehearse the things that are grieving you over and over again, especially if somebody that you loved and trusted hurt you. Reliving bad situations, keeps the pain and hurt fresh in your mind, and though the whole world has gone on, you remain at that same point in time. I'm not asking you to deny or ignore that you hurt, but I am telling you, that you must, for your own sanity still participate in life.

Now, it occurs to me since writing that last paragraph, that some of you reading this, may indeed be in a cell to which someone else has the key. So what, can I say in that case. You too, can still participate in life, and should. Dear ones, you could even be in prison for something that you had nothing to do with, or for something you had too much to do with. As long as there is a heart beating in your chest, life is not over. You can do so much for the kingdom of God, even in a prison cell. Paul wrote the bulk of the New Testament, and much of it was written from prison. Do you ever wonder how many Roman prison guards will be in heaven, because the were chained to Paul? They were literally a captive audience to a preacher of the gospel. You can encourage missionaries all over the globe with a pen and some paper, you can pray night and day for the concerns of thousands of souls and work on your faith in God. If you think that the family of God has enough prayer warriors, you are mistaken. Listen to me, you can put your armor on and go to battle for the Lord, even in a prison cell.

Listen to me, all of you, God is not done with you yet, and He hasn't thrown in the towel; so don't you dare check out on Him. Lean on Christ for strength, let the Lord fight for you. He sent soldiers home in droves, so that everyone would understand that He was the One Who did the fighting, and the One who gave the victory. That very same God, fights for you day and night, and He never sleeps and never slumbers. Dear ones, it is more than okay to hurt, but it is not okay to quit, not now: not ever. Listen to the loving invitation of the Savior "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Loved ones, it is absolutely imperative that you keep on! Bless you all.

Coping with Depression

At times it seems there are more problems, than there will ever be answers. What does that do for us as Christians, or worse, a Christian people look to for answers? What makes matters worse, is that as trials increase in severity, there is a subtle and passive shaming that occurs. It is one thing if you have a few problems, but there seems to be a tipping point where too many problems cause our friends to check out. It seems that during dark days, even our friends become like Job's friends. Listen to me, loved one, don't you dare concede what God is doing in your life, for a trial that hurts so bad that you can't believe you will ever find joy and peace again. Believe me, I understand what it is like, to not be able to reconcile your faith with your circumstances, but don't you ever quit.

It is absolutely crucial that during such times, you draw closer to God, and that you work on your relationship with Him. There are times, that you can feel so shattered inside, that the last thing you want to do is pray or read your Bible, but those dear soul, are the times it is most necessary. In fact, your greatest asset at times like these, is to have already been on a schedule of reading the Bible and if you are not, it is imperative that you get on one. I can not count the number of times that I have been hurting and I go to a daily Bible reading, and the passage I read, spoke directly to my situation. Get this and get it good, don't you ever cut yourself off from your loving God.

When you cry, cry before God; when you pray, even if all you can say is "God, please help me", pour your heart out to God; and when you read your Bible, take it directly into your heart. I know, that there are times that you can hurt so bad, that you don't know how you will make it through the next minute with out falling apart; if you have to, take it one breath at a time, and ask God for His strength. Listen to me, even in the worst of it, God is working; and you may even wonder how God could let so much pain befall you, but moment by moment: God is working to build His purpose in your heart. Cling to God's promises, and let Him work in your heart.

God bless you.

There is no pit so deep, that God is not deeper still.

Two Christian sisters in World War II were sent to Ravensbrück prison camp. Their family helped Jews, who were traveling to escape the persecution brought on by Hitler. Their crime was giving them food and a place to stay. Over time, the helpers became the persecuted. “The Hiding Place,” is the name of the book and the movie that tells the story of the Betsy and Corrie ten Boom, and the ordeal that they faced during such a difficult time. They were persecuted because the did what was good and right.

What happened to them was wrong, the Germans knew it was wrong, and they did it still. They were imprisoned, starved and became forced labor; and faced no telling what from the prison guards day in day out. Can you even imagine the kind of climate that led family to turn in family, or life long friends to turn in friends, in order that they might escape what these women went through? David Robinson once wrote, “How can we imagine that we can endure persecution if we cannot even endure prosperity?” What I’m getting at, loved ones, is that these dear souls suffered for doing what was right, and we can’t even stomach the idea of suffering at all, for any reason.

Could God allow such a thing? Dear ones, do you have a theology that only allows for good things to come your way? I hope that isn’t so. Think about those precious souls, who come to faith in Christ; and the people who are closest in their lives say, “Today, you died to me; I never want to see your face again.” God is not only faithful to those in such situations, Scripture tells us that the eyes of God are upon them. Chuck Swindoll once said in a sermon, “You talk about a moment to talk about Christ; it’s when you have suffered unjustly, and you’re doing it with patience, now’s your moment to tell them how it happened. They will listen. You have earned the right to be heard. Because they know that there is a difference in how you’re responding to it from how they would.”

Betsy told Corrie that she had a dream and they would both be released by the new year, and she added that when they got out, "We will tell everyone that there is no pit that is so deep, that God is not deeper still: and they will believe us, because we have been there." That sweet soul died before the end of that year, and her freedom came with an abundant entrance into glory. Corrie ten Boom was released through a clerical error, which saved her from certain death. At the end of the movie "The Hiding Place," you see an aged Corrie ten Boom, and she looks right into the camera and says that she had traveled the world, ". . .and I have told everyone who would listen, that there is no pit so deep, that God is not deeper still." You see loved ones, she is a hero of the faith; because the heart of a lion, was beating in the body of a lamb. Bless you all.

Listen to Corrie ten Boom's testimony. Click on the Resource tab.

What's in a name?

[This is a little story about how this blog got it's name. It used to be a tab at the top called "About the name." I have decided to make it a blog post, so that I can free that page up to create a resource page. I will be including links to favorite sermons and hopefully some downloadable (if that is a word) resources to help you grow and share your faith. More coming loved ones.]

It turns out in light of what I have been writing, that the name "My thoughts at length" has been a rather unfortunate choice for a blog name. It all started when I decided to post something that I had previously written, in fact the first blog post, on facebook. It was a tribute to my father who passed away in July of 2002, and it was Father's Day 2009. I had only recently started using facebook, so I didn't know all of its limits, which could not accommodate my tribute. So, kids, that's how I started blogging. I had thought about it for a while, but had never done it; (for someone who has made his living using computers, I still have an incredible reluctance to use technology.) I started my blog, because what I had written wouldn't fit in a facebook post, and that is how it got its unfortunate name, "My thoughts at length."

Working under contract . . . Part VII

I've have recently been reading the book "Radical" by David Platt, and let me say that it is a fantastic book and I recommend it to you. I also hear preachers, and I listen to a number of them, describing a radical approach to Christianity. While most of what these brothers say is true; they are not describing "radical" Christianity: they are describing Christianity, the sad fact is that we are so far removed from true Christianity that we find what they teach, incredible! And in saying that, I am not disparaging their work at all. They are teaching about the genuine article, and we should heed that kind of teaching.

Who among us looks to the Bible and doesn't find someone about whom we say, "I want to be like him, or I want to be like her?" Why? Because we find something heroic about them. Let me just ask you, do you want to be some one's hero? Do you want to be the example others point out as good and righteous? Does it happen by some happy accident? Listen to me, it takes no guts at all to be one of the ten who said, even though God has given us this land, we'd rather stay in our tents in the desert rather than risk our lives in following God. Joshua and Caleb said, I don't care what it costs me, it is what God has given us: and I'm going to go and get it. That's heroic! That's the kind of person people point out as an example to follow.

The question that I am putting to you is this: Are you going to go and get what it is that God has for you? Look, you can wait in the market place your whole life waiting for the right deal, and you will have spent your life with no significant accomplishment for God; or you can go to work in the vineyard, with the faith, that the Master of the vineyard will reward you with what is right. You can be some one's hero, not because of the car you had, but because you taught them to pray, or because you knelt with them while they prayed and asked Christ to be their savior. And I unashamedly tell you that my heart's desire is that God would change you, because when He does, He will use you to change all of those around you.

God bless you all.

Working under contract . . . Part VI

Dear ones, it is an absolute necessity that you learn that faith is not a quantifiable proposition. And in saying that, it is imperative that you understand that, I am not representing a life that is lived by faith, as an unrewarding venture. The biggest obstacle to maturity, is only understanding rewards as something that comes in dollars and cents. When you get that firmly fixed in your mind, you can begin to see blessings in terms of things that money can not buy. If you think that I am trying to destroy the idea that: faith is a machine that I put mustard seeds into and get cash out of the other end; you're exactly right!

Why not a faith that allows me to accumulate a big pile of money? I'll tell you why not, imagine you just got a check for any amount you can think of, what would you do with it? Which category did it fall into? I will buy this. I will pay off this debt. I will give it all away. Oh, but I could pick two or all three categories; no, you can't. Do you get what I am trying to tell you? Until you can open your hand, just because you want to please God, you are not going to tap into the true source of blessings: namely, a heart that is open to God.

Do you have a heart that says, "God I want to work for you, and it does not matter what I get?" You see, that is exactly the attitude we find in the workers of the third, sixth, ninth and eleventh hours. The eleventh hour, the vineyard owner goes out finds these men in the market place and said, why are you still here? Answer: we want to work. Loved ones, we have it better than most of the people in the world, we are a wealthy nation, did you ever stop and ask yourself why? Why did God so bless this country, why did God give me so much that I have to pack away half of it in boxes or why did God place me here, instead of somewhere that daily survival is a ever present question mark? Is it any wonder that we have such trouble discerning God's will for our lives when we approach God with a contract that says, "Here's my ten percent, now keep me fat and happy and please don't bother me the troubles of starving and/or persecuted people that I've never met?" How about it, do you want to work?

More coming, dear ones.