Ever heard of 'spiritual' depression? Elijah had it, as he sat under the juniper tree and asked to die.
What is spiritual Depression?
'Spiritual Depression goes beyond psychological distress and is often characterized by feelings of emptiness, loss of meaning and purpose, and a sense of disconnection from God'.
Other issues are loss of interest in spiritual activities (prayer, Bible reading). Feelings of guilt and shame, particularly feeling the way you do.
Isolating oneself from other Christians.
Causes.
Traumatic events eg. Spiritual abuse, ministry burn out, overwork in the Church.
Disillusionment with leadership or other Christians,
Unknown causes.
Have you ever experienced this complaint?
What were the causes in your situation?
How did you cope?
What things brought healing?
Alistair Begg once did a sermon at the Moody Bible Institute yearly meeting, or conference, in 1992 about ministerial depression. I remember him saying that he was surprised by the massive interest in that teaching by the pastors there. It was a packed house. Since then, he did a sermon called "Hanging On When You Feel Like Giving Up".
Other titles of interest here.
As with all Christians, pastors and elders will experience suffering. Indeed, shepherds of God’s flock face particular challenges and griefs. In this session, Alistair Begg exhorts church leaders to shoulder their responsibilities with hope of eternal rewards. It will not be in this world that...
www.truthforlife.org
I experience depression all the time, sometimes it's more of a 'spiritual burn out' than anything. That's when I strip it down and ease back on the learning and try to contemplate on what I already know. We tend to acquire lots of bit's of information, but sometimes we need the time to process those things and connect the dots. In general, it's that way spiritually with our lives too. Sometimes we need to pull back the reins and slow down.
I went to Mexico on vacation a few times. When I come back, I drive 55 on the highway, and seem a lot more relaxed. I think that here in the U.S., we tend to get caught up in the rat race and don't really see it until we go somewhere where we can breath and slow down. That's my advise for spiritual depression, strip it down, chillax, and if you can, go to Mexico. Bring your Bible.
And remember, we're never supposed to be in a constant state of happiness. Depression can be a sign of a lot of things, but it's also part of life too. High's and lows. Sometimes we over diagnose things.
When I drink coffee, I can work myself up into a rage very easily. I started drinking coffee black, that way I didn't need to make it so strong so that the taste of the coffee could overcome all the sweeteners I used.
I went the Prozac route early in life for about a year. Then Zoloft for about three. I did away with all that, as I don't have any faith in that industry at all these days. Most of my depression comes from a lot of abuse from using depressants, like alcohol, when I was young. there's not much I can do about that. Those meds are no good.
