Defeating Depression Part 1 Series

Defeating Depression

1 Kings 19:1-18

Depression is a Common Problem

Depression has a Predictable Pattern

The Activation

Physical Causes

Relational Causes

Transitional Causes

Spiritual Causes

The Reaction

The Isolation

The Destruction

Depression can be Defeated because God Cares

Jesus came to help Depressed people

God has the power to cure depression

The Holy Spirit is present to help defeat depression

Slide 1 Slide 1

This past weekend, Laura was at my cousin’s wedding. In fact my whole family was there. My brother in Law and sister arrived late because they had to go to a funeral of my brother-in-laws friend’s wife. She committed suicide.

Now my brother in law is not a Christian. But, supposedly this lady was. I don’t know this lady or her background or anything else about her, but my brother in law was having a difficult time with the concept of having faith and suffering depression

And I know that this goes on even in the church.

People have said,

“Well, if you are depressed, you are sinning.”

Or

“You just don’t have enough faith.”

How do we as a church respond to that?

Is that true?

As Christians, are we never going to go through times of depression?

If that is true, the reality of it is much different because there are all kinds of people in churches that have experienced depression.

Over the next 2 weeks we are going to be discussing this topic of Defeating Depression.

This week I want to attempt to help us all understand it a little better and in doing so, it is my hope that we will be able to recognize some of the symptoms so that we can defeat it sooner so we don’t have to deal with as much of the turmoil that it can bring into our lives.

The first thing I want us to understand about Depression is

Depression is a Common Problem

Slide 2

It is common in the world

In any given year, about 7% of people will experience depression.

In their lifetime, about 16% of adults will experience depression

20% of women will experience depression in their life.

Slide 2 It is also not uncommon in the church.

Understand this though, Depression is not sin.

It is a sign, however, that something is not right. There could be sin that is causing the depression, but it could be something else also. Whatever it is,we need to take note of that sign and do something about it.

To those who say that Christians should not ever have depression, I would say that there are many examples in the Bible of great and faithful men of God who have suffered bouts of depression.

We see Moses (Numbers 11:4-15) asking God to take his life because he was so burdened by the difficult situation he was in with the Israelites people.

We see David (Psalm 31:9-13)

9 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. 10 My life is consumed by anguish

and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. 11 Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends--those who see me on the street flee from me. 12 I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. 13 For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life.

We see Job (Job 6:2-3, 8-9)

2 "If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! 3 It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas- no wonder my words have been impetuous…8 "Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for, 9 that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut me off!

We see Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:14-18)

14 Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed! 15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, "A child is born to you--a son!" 16 May that man be like the towns the LORD overthrew without pity. May he hear wailing in the morning, a battle cry at noon. 17 For he did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave, her womb enlarged forever. 18 Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?

We see Elijah. (1 Kings 19:1-18)

Slide 3

Slide 3 And this is the text that we are going to focus on today. (p. 255 in pew Bible)