Depression – Where’s God In This?

Depression – Where’s God In This? He’s there In this blog we will address an example of someone who was depressed. From one perspective, some might say he had ‘good reasons’ to be depressed. But as a Christian, I’m not sure we have good reason to be depressed.

Personal Note / Disclaimer:

I am not a therapist. I am not here to diagnose or tell you that you are or are not depressed. That is for a doctor to say. This is not meant to replace therapy or medication (if needed). These are my ideas and insight on how to help yourself along with therapy or medication. I want to bring a holistic approach to helping you deal with your depression. Mental health issues are critical these days. Depression is one of the main issues youth and adults are struggling with.

It’s important for us to help each other. Part of that is our sharing experiences and insights. What you are suffering with, and your journey through this, is important. It’s important not just to you. There are others who can benefit from hearing about your story. And I want to hear your story, and bu God’s Grace help you through it.

What is Depression?

Except from WebMD artice:

Written by Debra Fulghum Bruce, PhD

 Medically Reviewed by Jennifer Casarella, MD on June 28, 2021 

Depression, also known as major depressive disorder, is a mood disorder that makes you feel constant sadness or lack of interest in life.

Most people feel sad or depressed at times. It’s a normal reaction to loss or life’s challenges. But when intense sadness — including feeling helpless, hopeless, and worthless — lasts for many days to weeks and keeps you from living your life, it may be something more than sadness. You could have clinical depression, a treatable medical condition.

Is Depression Curable?

There’s no cure for depression. Your symptoms may go away over time, but the condition won’t.

But with care and treatment, you can reach remission and enjoy a long, healthy life.

Depression Symptoms

According to the DSM-5, a manual doctors use to diagnose mental disorders, you have depression when you have five or more of these symptoms for at least 2 weeks:

• A Depressed mood for most of the day, especially in the morning.
• Feeling tired or have a lack of energy almost every day.
• Guilty or worthless feelings almost every day.
• You feel hopeless or pessimistic.
• A hard time focusing, remembering details, and making decisions.
• You can’t sleep, or you sleep too much, almost every day.
• Almost no interest or pleasure in many activities nearly every day.
• Thoughts about death or suicide (not just a fear of death).
• You feel restless or slowed down.
• Weight loss or gain.

A Little Story About A Man Named Joe

Joe, a young man living in the Southwest desert area of the United States during the Great Depression, had always been his father’s favorite. His father, Jake, doted over Joe, which made most of Joseph’s brothers, Judd, Ben, and Dan, resentful. Jake gave Joe a really lavish coat one day, which sent his brother’s jealousy skyrocketing. His brother’s had had enough. Times were tough, and this gift was just too much in their eyes. So they decided to get rid of Joe, by selling him to some merchants who were in the area. The merchant then sold Joe to the head guard for the Governor in a state pretty far away.  

Do Good Even When Things Go Wrong

Even though Joe was the victim, he still worked hard, and that caught the head guard’s eye. Paddy, the head guard, gave Joe a very important and high-ranking job. Things seemed to be looking good Joe. But, his good work and high-ranking position caught the eye of Paddy’s wife – not so good.  She tried to seduce Joe.  But Joe knew right from wrong, and wanted to obey God. He had learned to trust God no matter what the circumstance. This infuriated Julia, who screamed and accused him of trying to rape her. 

The Faithful Prisoner

As a result, the head guard threw Joe into prison. While in prison, he stayed faithful to God, and became friends with the jailer. Joe had a special gift; interpreting dreams. Folks around the prison learned about his gift, and he became pretty popular.. at least to the prison crowd. Well, this went on for about 2 years with Joe in prison.

Joe’s Rise to Power

Then, the Governor started having bad nightmares. His chef told him about this guy named Joe who could tell him what the dreams meant. Lo and behold, Joe did correctly interpreted the dreams, and the Governor made Joe his second-in-command. As a result, Joe saved the area from a famine by storing up food during the seven good years, and then distributing it during the seven years of famine that followed. That’s what the Governor’s dreams were about. 

Overcoming Betrayal

Near the end of these 14 years, the famine was so severe that it effected a huge area, even beyond the Governor’s area to where Joe’s father and brothers lived. His family heard that the Governor’s region had food, so they went there hoping to get some. So much time had passed, and the brothers had forgotten about their little brother. They did not recognize Joe, but he recognized them. Long story short, at this point, Joe forgave his brothers and was reunited with his father. 

Stick To Your Guns

Joe’s story is a testament to the power of forgiveness and the importance of staying true to oneself and God. Even during the most difficult of times, Joe was able to remain strong, wise and compassionate because of his commitment to God.

Note: The story is a modernized paraphrase of the story of Joseph in Genesis 57 – 60.

What can we learn from Joe’s story?

Joe was ripped away from his home and everything familiar.

His brothers sold him to total strangers. That would definitely mess with your mind. And Joe had a long time to dwell on it. Maybe he did dwell on it, maybe he didn’t. But we do know that he did keep trusting God through it all.

Thrown into Prison.

That would make me depressed for sure. And then add on to it, he didn’t even commit a crime! He was being faithful to do the right thing. The world can do that to us, quite frequently.

We need to remember that following God does not mean life is a bowl of cherries, and all rosy. Jesus Himself said “In this world you will have trouble.” But please remember everything Jesus said. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace… But take heart! I have overcome the world”. John 16:33. Expect bad stuff to happen, especially if you are following Jesus.

There for the Price of Asking

But that doesn’t mean we should be depressed and gloomy. Instead realize that if your troubles are truly because you are doing the right things, then you can pray for Jesus’ peace to help you. He already offered it to you. It’s yours for the asking.

No one Said LIfe was Fair

Life isn’t “fair”. We all know that. But when we experience it firsthand, it still hurts. Compounded hurts can overwhelm us at times. That’s why it’s vital to a successful Christian life to stay connected to God.

What Can We Do?

Let’s look at this from a holistic approach. Let’s look at some different areas of our life that we can work in to help us have a better solution to dealing with depression.

Psychological Approach

One thing I find myself doing quite a lot that is REALLY bad is negative self-talk. This stuff can keep tearing you down. And most of the time, we are doing this to ourselves! Like it isn’t bad enough that the world likes to beat us down, so we need to join in THEIR party. Well, there are ways to help work on this. Send me a PM id you’d like to know more about dealing with this.

Emotional Approach

Take time to do something that makes YOU happy. It doesn’t have to be some big thing. I find that doing something small is usually better for me. It takes less time, easier to make it happen, and I can do it more often. And the side benefits are great. Getting that little smile on my face from something that the world would say is trivial. Remember, you are NOT here to make the world happy and more – live by their standards. There’s a good chance that trying to live by their standards is a cause of your depression.

For me, something I try to do as often as possible is spend a few moments with my puppy. Maybe it’s just letting her lick my face, or play tug-of-war with her. They love it (bonus for them) and I love it too.

Friendship Approach

You might not like to hear this (I know I didn’t). But maybe I need to look at who I’m spending my time with; whether it be on any one of the oodles of social media sites, or an actual real person; like at school or my job. It has been said that we are the average of the people we surround ourself with. So look at who you surround yourself with. Are they supportive, positive? Order they cut you down, especially with those ‘cute’, ‘meaningless’ one-liner ‘jokes’. You know the ones, they cut at you. A little poke at you. You are better than that. You do not need a daily diet of jabs at your self-esteem. I can guarantee you have a much less chance of healing if you keep the negative influences around you.

So take a look around you, and see if maybe you need to prune the ‘friends’ in your life. By the way, I think we overuse the word ‘friend’. I think we have many more acquaintances than friends. And an acquaintance is no problem to dissociate from.

Physical Approach

Let’s keep this one simple for now. Get a little exercise into your life. Start small and slow. The benefits will be seen very quickly in your attitude. But remember, slow and steady. Maybe just a walk, or start stretching in the morning. You’ll be surprised how helpful it can be.

Spiritual Approach

Here’s a few to encourage you:

Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Here’s one related to our story today:

Genesis 39:21: “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.”

Conclusion

I pray you found this helpful. I’d like to hear your thoughts and questions.

Mostly, I’d like to hear your story, struggles. Knowing may help me be able to write better content that can then help you more.

Until Next Time,

God Bless,

DonR