Depression!

I was blessed to see my old Pastor Today while visiting a new church. Not old in the sense of age, but he used to Be the Senior Pastor of the Church i attended, served, and worked at for over 10 years.  he was filling in for the Church's Pastor who took some time off to go skiing.
Anyway, today he talked about Depression, fear, anxiety and how we will bend over backwards for people who are in wheelchairs, or missing a limb, or physically handicap in some way, yet we really don't do anything for those suffering from clinical depression.  He talked about how many churches and or people in the secular world, look at people suffering from this illness and think that they will  just get over it or they need to snap out of it. he shared his personal story of battling depression, which i have heard many times, but he never really mentioned how people are treated. Clinical depression is not a fly by night issues, it is chemical. He explained when someone is really down because of losing their job or missing out on a promotion, they say they are depressed, but if they rebound after something exciting happens and "Snap" out of it, they are good to go.  But many people stay depressed even if they get that promotion or raise, or someone new in their life. This is the Clinical and just telling them to "snap" out of it is not going to happen. 

He gave an example of where it talks about Anxiety, fear, depression:
Deuteronomy 28:64-68 check out the NIV or The Message

He then gave an example where someone was able to realize his illness
Luke 15:13,17  The Prodigal Son

He also used Ezekiel 8:12 as an example of how we as humans easily cave in to Fear, behind the scenes.  We may be strong upfront, but we may go to our closet or quiet places and give in to fear, anxiety, which can lead to depression. 

Uplifting Passages: 

Romans 12 (The Message)

 ^1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message)

 ^6-7Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Pastor did say that of course God can heal anyone of anything, but that we need to recognize that Depression is Serious and not something that can easily go away. 

Prayer:

Lord i lift those up right now that are suffering from Depression, anxiety, fear! I know people close to me that deal with this and i thank You for them being able to recognize it and being willing to admit it and receive treatment. But i also know some of them may or may not know You Lord, or if they do they really don't understand You! This is true for many people out there! I pray you open eyes to see, ears to hear, mouths to speak and confess! Lord You are our medicine our Wisdom to receive Secular medicine when needed. You are our Counselor, and our Wisdom to receive counsel! I ask you you touch the live of those suffering from this silent illness.  In Your Precious name! AMEN!