Do
You Want To Get Well?
John 5:7-9
"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have
no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying
to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
Then Jesus said to him, "Get up!
Pick up your mat and walk." At once the man was cured; he picked
up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath. |
If the answer
is "yes" in response to this question regarding depression, there are
several
commitments that
have to be made. Ten are listed here.
1.
Commit to a full recovery.
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Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (Psalm 51;10,12
)
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Be willing to humble myself
and to seek the help I need from God and others.
Be willing to
face the truth and to walk in the light.
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God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday
and today and forever. (Heb 13:8)
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2.
Commit to prayer.
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Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends
all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
(Phil 4:6,7 )
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Human effort alone
is not enough. Trust God and submit to Him and His ways.
Seek an answer
through Godly counsel and the assistance of others.
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But seek first his kingdom
and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
(Mat 6:33 )
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How to pray:
(an example of what to include):
-
Declare total dependence
on Him, acknowledge that without Him I can do nothing.
-
Thank Him for Jesus.
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Praise Him for Jesus
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Choose to believe satan
is defeated.
-
Choose to believe I have
power and authority to do His will and to be the person He created me to
be.
-
Submit to Him.
-
Invite the Holy Spirit
to lead me into truth.
-
Choose to walk in the
light.
-
Speak the truth in love.
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Acknowledge my pain to
Him.
-
Confess my sins.
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Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
(Psa 139:23
)
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3.
Commit to an intimate relationship with God.
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"Come to me, all you who are weary
and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from
me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
(Matt 11: 28-30 )
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I need the presence
of God in my life first. I need Jesus.
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Let us draw near to God with a sincere
heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse
us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is
faithful.
And let us consider how we may spur
one another on toward love and good deeds.
Let us not give up meeting
together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and
all the more as you see the Day approaching.
( Heb 10:22-25)
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I need to be born
again. It will~
-
Help me submit to God
and to resist the devil.
| Submit yourselves, then, to God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.( James 4:7 ) |
-
Help me experience God's
peace.
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And the peace of God, which transcends
all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
(Phil 4:7 )
|
-
Help me sense the
Holy Spirit bearing witness with my spirit that I am a child of God.
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The Spirit himself testifies
with our spirit that we are God's children. (Rom 8:16 )
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I need to do
a fierce moral inventory to "clean house" and to make room for Jesus to
reign in His temple.
(Severe cases
require assistance of a Godly encourager.)
4.
Commit myself as a child of God.
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How great is the love the Father
has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that
is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not
know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will
be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall
be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has
this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
( 1 John 3:1-3 )
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Knowing who God is
and who I am in Christ are the two most essential beliefs that enable
me to live a victorious life.
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I can do everything through
him who gives me strength.
(Phil 4:13 )
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For the word of God is living
and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to
dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and
attitudes of the heart.
Nothing in all creation is hidden
from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes
of him to whom we must give account.
(Heb 4:12-13 )
|
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Through these he has given us his
very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate
in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil
desires
(2 Pet 1:4 )
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Yet to all who received him,
to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children
of God--
(John 1:12 )
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If the devil
wanted to discourage me, all he would have to do is to get me to
believe a lie about who God is and who I am in Christ. Negative self-talk only fuels satan's forces in the battle for the mind. All depressed
people wrestle with
their thoughts. I must take every thought captive to the obedience
of Christ
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" The weapons we fight with are not
the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power
to demolish strongholds." (2 Cor 10:4)
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and choose to think
on what is true.
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" Finally, brothers, whatever is
true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever
is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think
about such things.(Phil 4:8).
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Here is an
example of David doing this very thing as he is overcoming his depression.
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"But I trust in your unfailing
love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me." (Psa 13:5 -6)
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The immediate
result of being filled with the spirit is to give
thanks, to sing, and to make melody in my heart.
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Do not get drunk on wine, which leads
to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another
with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart
to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Eph 5:18 -20)
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Flooding my home
with Christian songs is an active way to do this.
5.
Commit my body to Christ.
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Therefore, I urge you, brothers,
in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy
and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
(Rom 12:1 )
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"Do you not know that your body is
a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from
God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor
God with your body." (1 Cor 6:19-20 )
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Depression affects
the body, soul and spirit.
There may be
a physical cause for the depression. Problems with the thyroid,
hormones, blood sugar, and the pituitary gland are only a few of the causes
of depression.
Often we forget to have these things checked out first! Once we do,
and if we find it is not a physical cause, it is important to denounce
all lies and to choose the truth!
6.
Commit to renewing my mind.
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Do not conform any longer to the
pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good,
pleasing and perfect will.
(Rom 12:2 NIV)
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"Learned helplessness"
can be unlearned. I can overcome the father of lies by
choosing the truth.
There is a difference
between winning the spiritual battle for
my mind and the long-term growth process of renewing my mind.
Revelation is
needed to overcome the father of lies. This
is Christ's desire for us.
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"I am coming to you now, but I say
these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full
measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the
world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am
of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world
but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the
world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word
is truth." (John 17:13-17)
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"I have told you these things, so
that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But
take heart! I have overcome the world."
(John 16:33 )
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I have to actively
work to sustain a renewed life.
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I meditate on your precepts and consider
your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your
word. (Psa 119:15-16 )
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7.
Commit myself to good behavior.
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Whatever you have learned or received
or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace
will be with you. (Phil 4:9 )
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It's true that
I have to grow out of a lifestyle depression -and it does take time.
But it doesn't
take time to change behavior.
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"but on Cain and his offering he
did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do
what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but
you must master it."
(Gen 4:5-7)
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It is
possible to behave my way into a good feeling!
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Now that you know these things, you
will be blessed if you do them. (John 13:17 )
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8.
Commit to meaningful relationships.
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And let us consider how we may spur
one another on toward love and good deeds.
Let us not give up meeting together,
as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and
all the more as you see the Day approaching.
(Heb 10:24-25)
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A major symptom
of depression is withdrawal from meaningful relationships.
I need to be in contact with the right people, and to restore any relationships
I am avoiding because of my "behavior" or "attitude."
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"Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts
good character.' Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop
sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God--I say this to your
shame."(1 Cor 15:33-34 )
"Therefore,
if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your
brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front
of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and
offer your gift. (Mat 5:23 -24)
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9.
Commit to overcome every loss.
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But whatever was to my profit I now
consider loss for the sake of Christ.
What is more, I consider everything
a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my
Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that
I may gain Christ. (Phil 3:7-8 NIV)
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First, I
must identify and understand every loss.
Then,
separate the concrete from the abstract losses.
Abstract losses relate deeply to who I am
and why I am here.
Next, I
must separate real, imagined, and threatened losses.
Then, I
can see where I tend to convert imagined or threatened losses into real
losses.
Imagined losses are distortions of reality. They are based on suspicions
or lies or presumptions.
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"Pride only breeds quarrels, but
wisdom is found in those who take advice."
(Prov 13:10 )
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"Cast all your anxiety on him because
he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil
prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Pet
5:7-8 )
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"Who is going to harm you if you
are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right,
you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear ; do not be frightened." But
in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an
answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you
have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience,
so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ
may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God's will,
to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. "
(1 Peter 3: 13-17)
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"For to me, to live is Christ and
to die is gain."
(Phil 1:21 )
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Face the
reality of the loss.
Develop
a biblical perspective of the loss.
Suffering
reveals who I am. Each subsequent loss deepens that reality, perfects
my
character,
and prepares me for a greater ministry.
Renew my
mind to the truth of who I really am.
Will
I choose to remain a victim?
I am not
a product of my past. I am a new creation in Christ.
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For we who are alive are always being
given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in
our mortal body. (2 Cor 4:11 )
~~~~~
"And you have forgotten that
word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: 'My son, do not make
light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines those
he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
Endure hardship as discipline; God
is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you
are illegitimate children and not true sons.
Moreover, we have all had human fathers
who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we
submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined
us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for
our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems
pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest
of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."
(Heb 12: 9-11)
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10.
Commit to exchange my ashes for His beauty.
For
this section, I want to share a story:
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Once
I held in my tightly clenched fist...ashes.
Ashes
from a burn inflicted upon my childhood body.
These
were ashes I did not ask for.
The
scar was forced on me.
And
for 17 years the fire smoldered.
I
kept my fist closed in secret, hating those ashes, yet unwilling to release
them. I wasn't even sure if I could. I was not convinced it
was worth it.
They
caused me to mar the things I touched and leave black marks everywhere---or
so it seemed.
I
tried to undo it all, but the marks were always there to prove to me I
couldn't. I really couldn't.
But
God could!
How
sweetly the Holy Spirit spoke to me in my tearful despair.
He
whispered, "I want to give you beauty for your ashes,
the
oil of joy for your mourning
and
the garment of praise for your spirit of heaviness."
I
had never heard of or imagined a trade such as this!
Beauty???
For
My ashes???
My
sadly stained memory for the healing in His Word?
My
soot-like dreams for His songs in the night?
My
helpless and hurting emotions for His ever constant peace??
How could I be so stubborn as to refuse an offer such as this?
So
willingly, yet in slow motion and yes, while sobbing,
I
opened my bent fingers and let the ashes drop to the ground.
In
silence, I heard the wind blow them away.
Away
from me....forever.
~~~~~~~~~~
I
am now able to place my open hands gently around the fist of another hurting
soul and say with confidence,
"Let
them go. There really is beauty beyond your comprehension.
Go
ahead - trust Him.
His
beauty for your ashes."
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