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.
“Me? Depressed?” someone asks. “Why, it’s written all over your face . . . a downcast look . . . slowness in going about your routine . . . difficulty putting one foot in front of the other . . . see it in your eyes whereas, ordinarily, you are full of vim, vigor and vitality, can hardly wait to get on with the day’s activities . . . full of life, making everyone around you glad to be alive! So, what’s the problem? Tell me about it.” Tell. Me. About. It.
Wow! The moment of truth had come! Tell. Me. About. It. God had arranged the timing to suit the best interests of everyone who would be involved! Quickly there was a last-second prayer, “God help me”, followed by taking a deep breath!
When asked by a person having authority what you and your loved ones need, never hesitate to speak the truth - correctly and respectfully. God may have opened that door! That one invitation to make requests known may be your best chance to turn things around in your life as well as in the lives of those you care about.
So it was for Nehemiah. He spoke up – fearfully, as would anyone who wants to make sure words are carefully spoken and requests are reasonably made; respectfully, due to the inquirer’s position; prayerfully, due to the religious nature of his ultimate objective.
The plan Nehemiah presented to the king had to have been of the Lord God --- omnipresent . . . omnipotent . . . so important for planning, omniscient - absolutely essential for overcoming obstacles . . . enemies . . . setbacks that are sure to occur over the long haul.
With God in charge, no wonder requests were granted! Give God the glory! “The gracious hand of my God was on me!”
Folks, if God be for us, who dare be against us?
Those walls are going to be built. The gates will once again be fortified. The city will once again be protected. The Temple will once again be open for worship. The people will once again be safe and secure. Furthermore . . .
When you share your vision, and, the people see that it has been revealed to you and to them by the Lord God, that the “powers that be” are on God’s side, how will they respond to your prayerfully planned response? Nehemiah 2:17-18 . . .
“Let US rise up!” There is no remedy for a depressed mood more effective than the realization that “we are in this together” . . . “in the same boat” . . . “one for all and all for one” . . . “together we rebuild”!
Folks, there is never a day so dreary, a night so long, a burden so heavy, a heartache so draining of emotions, a mountain of misery so insurmountable, nor a life so ruined by sin, that a body of believers, a fellowship of saints, an army of God’s people, cannot conquer if they trust in the Lord and pitch in together to do God’s Will on earth as it is in Heaven.
When depressed therefore take your burden to the Lord but rather than leave it there take it to friends with whom you can share, permit them bear it with you, so that, together, your prayers and your tears ready you for God to work a miracle -- lifting your cloud of gloom and brightening your day with a ray of hope.
Then, when someone asks, “How did this happen” . . . you can say with our friend Nehemiah, “Well, I simply told them how the gracious hand of my God had been on me, and what God’s appointed authority had said to me.” Two rules for dealing with situational depression in your life:
(1) Be about your Father’s business of taking care of yourself as well as someone in your care . . .
(2) Pray and plan to do whatever needs to be done, whenever it needs to be done, for as long as it needs to be done to implement rule one.
Why are you so sad when you are usually bright and cheerful? “Make your requests known to God . . . and the peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Amen.
