Getting Ready to get well (part 2) (blest)

As you probably know, I am cross-posting these on my own site. But I just got to thinking that there is another application of these posts for us. Each of us can take these same steps and apply them to our weight problems, especially if we are or have been emotional/addictive eaters. Keep that in mind as you read this post and the ones to follow.

Matthew 5:6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?”

These next five steps towards being ready to overcome depression are not easy. If you are currently in the depths of depression, you may even find them painful. But please approach each step with an open mind and prayer. Today we’ll tackle three of the five.

We’re still in Chapter 12 of Slaying The Giant by Dr. French O’Shields.

5. Recognize and Accept the Fact that Your Responses to Your Circumstances and Not Your Circumstances, Are the Real Cause of Your Psychological Depression. There are some circumstances that occur in our life as a result of our own actions. Others occur over which we have no control. But in both cases we do control our response and reaction to the circumstance.

As I’ve shared, I have been in the pit myself. And I know how, when depressed, it is so easy to take any word that comes my way as a finger of condemnation pointed right in my face. But the steps we are taking are not about condemnation. After all, if you are in Christ Jesus, you are FREE from condemnation. What we’re seeking here is the path out of the dark place in which we have found ourselves. How we got there, as far as who or what to blame, is a complete waste of time. How to get out is what matters. So let’s move on to Step 6.

6. Stop Justifying Your Depression and Give Up Your Right to be Depressed. […] God invaded my thoughts. He would allow me to be depressed, but He would not allow me, nor any Christian to justify my psychological depression or claim it as a right because of hard knocks. Through Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, God has already provided a Christian with everything needed to prevent it from happening. So why should He allow me to justify it? To do so would in itself be a denial of the truth.

Frankly, I did not want to hear this, but God made it clear. If I wanted to be free of my depression, I not only had to hear, I had to accept this truth. I must stop justifying my depression and give up my right to be depressed.

You might not like step 6. But take a few moments and really think it through, not through the darkened glass of your experience, but in the light of God’s Word. Scripture does not leave us any room to stay depressed. Yes, some of the great men of the Bible suffered depression. But they did NOT stay there. We who have the Holy Spirit, who have access to a Father who can do immeasurably more than we can imagine, have no license to claim permanent residence in the land of the shadow. Why consider just the truths of Philippians 2:13 and 4:13, and take courage! (I once had a therapist call Philippians the mental health book of the Bible. )

7. Assume the Responsibility and Accountability for Your Depression. […] I sensed this was coming from God, but I found it very difficult to accept. After all, being depressed was painful enough, without having to admit that it was my fault. Though it was a logical conclusion to be drawn from the previous truth I had accepted, I was still resisting I just couldn’t bring myself to accept the blame for my depression. […]

The Holy Spirit brought to my memory two verse of Scripture I had read privately and publicly hundreds of times. They are the words of Jesus: “Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in Me” (John 14:1) and “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). The Holy Spirit taught quickly and deeply. There is no better description of depression than Jesus’ words, a troubled and fearful mind. (”heart” in the Bible is better understood if translated “mind”) So Jesus was saying to all who believe in God and Him, don’t “let” (allow) this to happen to you.

I fell to my knees broken and sobbing, “Lord, Jim is right,” I cried. “O Lord, it is the same thing You have been trying to get me to recognize and accept all this time. It is my fault. I have been depressed because I have allowed myself to be.”

I could do nothing else. It is totally inconceivable that Jesus would tell me not to let it happen unless I had the ability to not allow it to happen. My knowledge of and faith in Jesus prevent me from believing He would tell me to do something I was totally incapable of doing.

Dr. O’Shields goes on to make a fine distinction between choosing and allowing. Choosing is a conscious act. We, none of us, chose to be depressed. We may have, however, unintentionally allowed it to happen. Remember, the purpose of this is not to find a new reason to beat yourself up. The purpose is to get the information you need to take action towards recovery.

We’re getting so close! We have two more prerequisites and then we’ll be ready to embark on the exercises that will overthrow our faulty thinking. Oh! I can’t wait to share them with you!