Lifestyle Principles Sermon Ii: When Depressed, Pray For A Right Response Series

WHEN DEPRESSED DUE TO SITUATIONAL DISTRESS, PRAYERFULLY PLAN A POSITIVE RESPONSE

One day this past week my soul became vexed by a distressful situation . . . my ability to concentrate was dulled . . . my body felt fatigued beyond usual tiredness . . . then it occurred to me that that old bugaboo depression was about to take hold of me . . . it became apparent that either my depressed mood had to be dealt with immediately or, left alone, it could take its toll in ways that could lay me low.

After enduring negative feelings long enough to decide “this is not good”, my thoughts turned to guiding principles that my counseling center had taught folks who came into therapy over the years - folks longing to be set free from the throes of depression which their situations had thrust them into. The type of guidance we gave always depended on the type of depression we identified – clinical or situational.

At our age and stage in life, senior adults sometimes experience situational depression caused by a situation of dire circumstances -- certainly understandable due to the challenges we face as we grow older. On the other hand:

Clinical depression requires a medical diagnosis and treatment with meds - in conjunction with professional counseling. Whether situational or clinical, though, dealing with depression seriously (not taking it lightly) is of utmost importance.

My personal plan for dealing with a depressed mood is to look on it not as an enemy but as a friend – sort of like looking on a fever as a warning sign that something has gone wrong physically and needs tending to.

A depressed mood can serve as a signal that there is a pressing problem we need to solve . . . a worsening situation that needs our undivided attention, if not our personal intervention . . . we ought to take a look at causative factors which, when identified, would call for us to prayerfully plan a positive response.

As a general rule, a good way to preclude a depressed mood is to start each new day intent on being about our Father’s business and bent on doing God’s Will on earth (in my “city” of residence . . . the place we call home . . . my personal habitat) as it is in Heaven. Which, for me, means that my goal must be: to do whatever needs to be done, whenever it needs to be done, for as long as it needs to be done.

It is at that critical point of prayerfully planning a positive response to deal with a depressed mood that we find Nehemiah in our Bible study lesson today --- Nehemiah 2:1-8 . . .

Nehemiah’s praying up to this point had gotten him ready to be about his Father’s business - willing to do whatever, whenever, wherever, however long it might take. Remember: It is not our prayers that move God, it is God who moves us to pray ourselves ready to do His Will!

In the quiet times of his praying, this servant of God, cupbearer of the king – Nehemiah - found himself increasingly aware of the presence of God . . . slowly but surely discerning the plan of God . . . divinely endued with the power of God. Now it was time for action - time for performance.

Folks: “Time spent in prayer, and the planning that goes along with praying, is recovered in performance.” So, don’t rush into your day, take time to pray – as we are urged to do by the author (Regina Anne Baldomar) of this poem:

“I got up early one morning, and rushed right into the day. I had so much to accomplish; I didn’t have time to pray. Troubles just tumbled about me, and heavier came each task. ‘Why doesn’t God help me?’ I wondered. He answered, ‘You didn’t ask’. I tried to come into God’s presence, I used all my keys in the lock. God gently and lovingly chided, ‘Child, you didn’t knock.’ I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on, gray and bleak. I wondered why God didn’t show me. He said, ‘You didn’t seek.’ So I woke up early this morning, and paused before entering the day. I had so much to accomplish that I just had to take time to pray.”

Nehemiah took four months to pray . . . until the day came at the start of the Jewish calendar year when he was ready with a plan should the opportunity arise for him to present it and to implement it.

What was it that gave Nehemiah the opportunity he had been waiting for? His depressed mood! Remember: God is in the business of turning negatives into positives . . . making depression a friend rather than our enemy . . . using secular practitioners, even government officials if that’s what it takes for His Will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.