I am
quite happy in my life, content in almost every area. I have never contemplated
suicide... never even close. I rejected Buddhism for this one reason; the
premise of the religion is that life sucks. My life is awesome. Yours can
be too.
Most people that are in this
state you are in will stay in it because the answer is so obvious and easy, but
the people in this state find it distasteful and unrealistic. I ask that you
take a moment to push away your preconceived notions about existence. If you
want to change, something is going to have to change, and I'm going to do my
best to identify what needs to change. Try it out! It might work for you.
A quick note on diagnosis... Emotions are a complicated issue. If it was
simple, you wouldn't need our help. If it was easy, there wouldn't be so many
depressed smart people. We know our brains produce chemicals that can bring us
into euphoric states, and that same brain can produce chemicals that can remove
us from our sense of drive and purpose. We may find that we had unmet
expectations that change our emotional state, and we might also find that
unexpected joys change our state as well. Sometimes these emotions are stable.
Sometimes they are in flux. Because they are so very complicated, so VERY
complicated, you can't expect me, you, or any professional to spot the problem
after reading a short paragraph about your current state of existence. You may
need new perspective, or rest, or, as the song says, "We can all use a
little change." If you don't find an answer from someone who is trying to
help you, please don't be angry with us. We're trying to help. Instead, try to
be thankful. "Don't tell me what to do!" is not as good as,
"Thank you for your advice." So be prepared to change your
perspective. Be ready to think differently. Your brain already produces all the
chemicals you need to live in a perpetual state of joy. And though drugs are
often necessary to get your bearings, most people on the internet and in life
who are feeling down do not need to visit a professional or take drugs. They
need a sounding board. In short, they need to learn how to take advice. And if
that doesn't work, take my advice... see a professional.
Another consideration is that if you think that everyone hates you, that
everyone is about to stab you in the back, that you will never be happy again,
one of two things are probably true. Either you are in a really broken
community, where people really are out to get you, nobody loves you, etc., or,
more likely, you have a little bit of an imbalance. It could be a chemical
imbalance (which is often treatable), a perspective imbalance, a spiritual
imbalance. If you read the definition and description of "paranoia"
and agree with it, I recommend you see a professional. If you can't imagine
ever being happy again, that nobody loves you, and you have people helping you,
giving you food, time, encouragement, you may be depressed. Go to a
professional. If you hear voices that are not your thoughts, see a
professional. It could be that taking a pill every day will make you less
paranoid, less depressed, less afraid. It could be another solution (see
transfered evil below). Someone is willing to help you. They went to college
and studied so they could help you. Let people help you. Finally, consider
this. Regardless of your cause, depression affects the people around you. Click.
I'm assuming here that your
depression is long-term and not situational. If your depression is
situational, find someone to grieve with. Get a hug. It will
pass. Keep a broad scope; keep an eye on the end goal. This world
has been spinning for a very long time, and there will be a happy conclusion to
the matter. It has been foretold.
I'm also assuming that you are reading this to get some ideas of what
you can try. When you finish a meal and
still find yourself hungry, chances are that you need to eat a variety of
fruits and veggies to see if what your missing is somewhere in the mix. Most people don't start with a nutritionist,
but at a grocery store, and, likewise, I am assuming here that you are not a
long-suffering, special case depression.
Sick people need a doctor, and it's often necessary for even a doctor to
see another doctor about his own body.
You have to open yourself to the possibility that this will not be cured
without a professional sounding board.
Nobody is expert in everything.
Wisdom is found with many counselors.
But for most of us, helpful tips may be found here.
Where depression is not:
·
It's
not in your location. I have lived in more places than I care to
count, and I've found that there's contentment to be found even in unnaturally
hostile places. Changing locations probably won't fix you.
·
It's
not in your job. My job is nothing at all to brag about. I have a
lower-middle class income with an 8-5, never a hope of being made into
something more important. I don't need to be more important, and whether it
happens or not, I don't care. I know people without jobs that are
perfectly blissful.
·
It's
not in what you own. A couple months ago, I wanted nothing more
than a new computer. Now here I sit, typing on my new computer and I find that
I still have desires for things that I don't have. I'm thinking about my really
old phone. My camera barely works, and I'm about to go on a camping trip.
Sometimes I take things away from my son. He instantly responds, "You
don't love me!" Now, how can he say that? Of course
I love him. Of course he knows it. So how can he say
it? Focus in on his focus. Yep - there it is. His focus is the problem. His
situation consists of having something he wants taken away, and though he has a
million other things he could use to satisfy his impulses or boredom, it's the
one thing that he wants that gets him upset. It limits his ability to see
rational truths (such as that I love him). Yes, you too could use a little
adjusting where it comes to your perspective. People in poverty are often
full of joy.
·
It
is not in what others have done to you. Your mom and your dad
don't make you. He may influence your decisions, but the decision is yours. It
would be like a guy offering you $20k to kill his wife. You can say that he
made you do it, but it really is your own fault. He's not making you depressed.
You're letting yourself get depressed as a result of what he did. What I'm
trying to tell you is that you need to take the blame for it. Don't blame other
people. Is the guy who wanted his wife dead guilty? Yes! But you can deal with
others as soon as you get your own act together. Blame cripples
people. I know people like me who have terrible family connections who
are quite happy for the same reasons I am. I know people with terminal illness
and pain, and they are still happy. ** See below for information on transferred
evil. **
·
It's
not in your lack of pleasure. Pleasure is deceptive, because it
feels good for a short time. It brings you out of your depression for an
hour or two, so some people get the idea that prolonged exposure to pleasure
will result in permanent pleasure. It won't. Masking the pain this
way leads to destructive behaviors.
·
Unless
it's the direct cause, it won't go away with romance. I mean, yes, it
will go away for a little while when she's around, but then it will come back.
She may break your heart and then you'll have even more depression. It will go
in this cycle until you realize that she cannot take your depression. What can is getting a proper perspective on the things that cause you
grief. You have to see that your parents are flawed. They are you, just a
little older. And if you don't want to make their mistakes, you'll emulate what
they do well and reject the actions in your life that lead to their failures.
The fact is, my generation did worse than my father's generation at marriage
relationships. The next generation is doing even worse than mine. If you don't
do your relationships right, they end in divorce. See the failure in others and
turn it into your own success. Don't do things like kiss girls that you're not
engaged (or married!) to, don't be alone with them where the chance of
intercourse is possible. These things lead to babies, and they are completely
selfish until you're married. Become traditional in your values. Our
predecessors were much less depressed than we are, and it's mostly because they
followed the example of Jesus. (click - you
can be content without a spouse.)
Was this section helpful? Yes / No / Maybe, I'll try it
Some valid reasons:
Romantic relationships give us
all trouble. Don't pick a mean person for a spouse. If you already
have a mean person for a spouse, get some people around you who can build you
up and help you to see your situation more clearly. If you're broken up,
learn how to be nice to them. Change them by kindness. If you're
getting divorced, let this be a lesson to you for your future. Never pick
a guy because you want a baby. Never pick a girl because she's
pretty. Those are reasons, but they are secondary. And NEVER be
impulsive about romance. Keep your head in the game. Your romantic
juices will stop flowing, and then what will you have? People are always
nicer to you when they're trying to win your hand in marriage - or worse, to
win your womb for pleasure. Even when it's hard, try to love the one
you're with. Think of their good before your own good.
Parent child relationships have
gone awry. This is a valid reason to be depressed, and the best thing you
can do for it is to get good advice from good people. Remember
love. These conflicts generally resolve themselves when you've been apart
for a little while.
You have no (good)
friends. Go to church! People there are often genuinely caring, and
they will look after you. When people find themselves at church and
depressed, it's generally because the rest of the congregation is not enfolding
or you're not listening. If you hear Jesus' words and *put them into practice*,
your house will be built upon a rock (Mt. 7). Jesus taught us to lay down our
lives and live for God and others. So do it! And
if the church you attend doesn't have people who lead by example, find another
church. Good churches still do exist.
Was this section helpful? Yes / No / Maybe, I'll try it
I don't believe you:
If you know you have
depression, but you don't think I have the answer (maybe it seems to you that I
have a chemical imbalance in the positive direction), what do you have to lose
in trying this method out? I have been
depressed before for weeks at a time, and when I implement this method, it
always works to bring me out of it. I'm
not completely ignorant of the feeling, and I speak here as an experienced
overcomer of depression.
You may object that I have
only had two weeks of "depression" and never have had a clinical
diagnosis. My answer to that is, for
one, not all depression has the same cause.
It may be that ten people who have been clinically depressed could never
help you because your source is not the same as theirs was. It is nice to be comforted through
depression, to have someone who knows what it's like be there with you, but it
is far better to overcome it. People who
are in depression don't have successful solutions. For two, you are absolutely right. I have never had long term depression. You are free to laugh at me and my
stupidity. I welcome it with a smile on
my face. All I ask is that if you don't
find healing with my advice that you keep looking for an answer. There are people in your position that have
overcome depression. Find them and find
out how they did it. The best place you
can go to get a list of those kinds of people is at a professional's
office. You may not like hearing
that. They really aren't that scary once
you get to know them. If you can't find
healing on your own, see a professional counselor.
If that wasn't enough for you, this
article says much of what I do here.
Was this section helpful? Yes / No / Maybe, I'll try it
We've defined the problems. Ready for the answer? Well, the solutions are
as diverse as the problems:
·
Stop
being focused on yourself. If you want to save your life, you will lose it.
·
Make
the pleasure of others your main goal in life. It can't be only one person, or
even one group (your kids or spouse, for example), because that's called
codependency. It needs to be a lifestyle. Be kind without
expectation of anything in return. Forgive their debts. Do their
dishes. Feel their pain instead of your own.
·
The
whole self-esteem movement is wrong. "It's not having what you want, it's
wanting what you've got." (click) You shouldn't
artificially inflate your self-image. You shouldn't cultivate pride. What you
should do is see yourself accurately. You don't beat yourself up for something
you can't do when you can do it. That's false humility. It's all about accuracy.
You can't say that you're not potty trained, because you are, and you shouldn't
get a big head over being potty trained either. Just know what you can do and
what you can't. And, here's the key, when you find that you can't do something,
adjust your view of yourself. If you can almost do it, looking to the future,
keep that view of yourself. If you can no longer do it, looking to the past,
accept that about yourself. Accuracy is very important in keeping yourself out
of stress and depression. If you know where 100% is, you can rightly keep
yourself at a reasonable 80% pace. If you do too much, you get stressed and
burnt out. If you do too little, you get bored and condescending. Once you've
adjusted your expectations of yourself to be accurate, keep adjusting. You will
not be the same person in a year (let alone a month), and you should constantly
see your growth as well as your withering.
·
Be
a part of something bigger than yourself. You can join a relief organization or
start a charity. Join a flash mob organization. If you don't find that you are
useful for something more lasting than your own simple life, you will never be
content.
·
Be
thankful. Thank people with sincerity. Thank God without falsehood. And you
don't have to be fake about it. If you aren't used to it, you can start out
with small things that you really are happy to have. Coffee. A warm blanket and
a couch. A/C. The more you practice thankfulness, the more it will define your
character.
·
Be
moral. There is a direct link between depression and evil. Sexual
deviancy makes people depressed. The spouse is depressed. The kids
are depressed. It makes me depressed, for cryin'
out loud. Homosexuals are more depressed. Atheists are too. (click,
click,
click)
"In 2005, a study of youth between the ages of 10 and 17 concluded that
there is a significant relationship between frequent porn use and feelings of
loneliness and major depression." (click,
click) And you know that if you keep lying,
stealing, pranking, etc. that people will like you less. So manage your behavior. Sometimes if your hand makes
you sin, you have to cut it off. (Mt. 5:30) But
whose hand has ever made them sin? It's your desires that cause you to
sin, isn't it? So you know what feeds your
desire. Cut off the food supply. If it's TV, turn it off. If
it's beer, buy a shirt: "If you let me buy beer, you're a horrible
person." No excuses!
·
Believe
in the value of life. If you think life is meaningless, how can you
possibly find meaning? Decide to believe that there's value in existence.
You may simply hate yourself. You may hate your actions. You may
hate your situation. If this is true, get good friends who can speak into
your life. Expose your life to them and accept their perspective on your
life. Choose to believe what they say about you. There may indeed be something about you that
needs to change. There may not be. If you're depressed, you're probably not
seeing yourself with a proper perspective.
Get some outside perspective.
·
Get
chemically balanced.
o Sometimes people don't eat
veggies. Sometimes they only eat veggies. Your body can only use
what it takes in, so if you're hungry for something, and it's not addictive, or
you don't already have too much of it in your diet, eat it. How is your
digestion? Does your stuff come out solid? (I know this seems like a probing
question, but it's relevant.) Some of the depression symptoms are actually the
result of unbalanced gut bacteria. You may need to cut out dairy and take some
probiotics. See Dr. Axe's site (draxe.com) for
information on that. Also look at this video. I don't
agree with everything in it, but it will give you some things to think about.
o Get exercise. Your body needs
it.
o Get rest. If you never sleep,
you start to lose hope. You stop caring. That includes nightly
sleep and vacations - weekly, monthly, and annually.
o Supplements to help with a depressed
brain include: fish oil, turmeric (curry with black pepper), coconut oil, and
St. John’s Wort (a plant).
What you should avoid eating: Sugar (!) and wheat. GMO foods have poisons sprayed on them, so
avoid them. Anything that makes your
body enflamed will put pressure on your brain, so testing for allergies is
advised.
o I hope to soon make a page about my
personal journey to digestive health, but for the purposes of this page, let me
say this. If you have to go to the
bathroom shortly after you eat, if you don’t go for several days at a time, if
you have lots of gas, if you often have pain in your stomach, this could be the
cause of your depression. Many of the
chemicals that cause emotions are manufactured in the intestines. If you have low stomach acid, overgrowth of
bacteria, fungus, or parasites (click), you should not expect to have perfect
brain health. If any of these symptoms
are happening in you, I advise that you eat only veggies boiled in bone broth
for a week and see if you feel better.
No sugar. No bread. No potato chips. Just cooked veggies in bone broth. Add some really good ones like ginger and
garlic. Expect to feel hungry for a few
days. Sugar is an addiction. You should expect to have more regular
digestion at the end of it. You should find
that your cravings have changed. Before
you eat more regularly again, keep a food journal. Add things in slowly. Take probiotics: a teaspoon of apple cider
vinegar with the mother at every meal, sauerkraut, and goat milk kefir (yogurt). If your gut health improves, your whole body
will be healthier. In addition to the
week of veggies, you could try intermittent fasting. That means you eat all your food within the
space of 4-5 hours every day. For 20
hours every day, your system will have time to heal.
o Some people need medication.
Don't be afraid to use it as a last resort.
Grade the advice: A, B, C, D, F
If you only do one or two of these things, that's the return you'll get.
Diversify your investment. If you want to be truly happy, do them all.
~ I saved the best
advice for last. ~
It's
the one thing that people seem to reject before they consider it, because it
really is the change that they have already decided won't work, but it does
work! It has worked. It's the secret to everything!! You have to devote
yourself to God. God made us. He has the answer to depression.
Many depressed people feel
that God is not a desirable companion. The God they have been exposed to
may not be, but the God I know is a wonderful person. Let me help you
reason through to a proper perspective of the nature of God. Let's just
start with the assumption that God is not evil, because if an all powerful evil was in charge, you'd have nothing to
complain about... lol. He'd just zap you for fun. So
God has to be good. We can't think he's anything like Zeus - moody and
imperfect, because that would mean that God is not immortal or eternal. He's
still learning, thus He was made or created with less
understanding than He has. So He's eternal and good.
That means the fault lies in us. There are some who would say that God puts us
through terrible evils because He wants to teach us. I don't see that as a good
way to teach, because I've seen movies and read books. It's easier to learn
from parables than from personal pain. God is not evil. So
we assume all around that God is good. He has to be good. There is no benefit
to us or anyone to believe otherwise.
I'm also going to assume your
God is the one referred to in the Bible. It's the most popular version of God.
If you're talking about Islam or something, ya. I can
see why you think God is evil. Just rid yourself of that idea of God. Our God
is good. So, why would He make something like hell? There are many reasons to
think He might. Some say God has to punish evil. I don't think that this is the
case. I know God can forgive evil. Some say it's just
separation and darkness. I think some of that is true. If you can ignore evil,
or store it and expel it, it's better than thinking about it all the time. Some
see hell as a kind of purgatory, where your evil is burned off of you and
whatever is left is taken to heaven. Some say hell burns for a while and then
uses all of its fuel, and the souls therein are annihilated. I personally think
that they're either expelled, like filth from a body and ignored, or they are
annihilated, or God waits for them to turn and eventually forgives when they
do. I don't see any of these as evil, because, frankly, we choose our
destination by our loyalties and the way we live our lives. Even if you thought
God had it all wrong, you could still live a good life. That's up to you. You
want to make the world a better place, show God how it's done! I bet you won't
even come close to the kind of good God gives out.
Sometimes the solution is
physical. Sometimes it's mental. Sometimes it's spiritual.
See more below at Transferred Evil.
But we know that a person
can't create faith out of thin air. We have to cultivate it. You have to find
answers for the nagging philosophical questions. I point you to two sources.
One is others who are on this same journey (a good church); the other is the
Bible. There are objections to both options, but there are great counters to every
argument. The counter-arguments are found in the two sources. It goes in this
nice little circle until you make your final choice for or against
religion. That's where my site can help you. (History proves that Noah is our common
ancestor.)
There's some really good
reasons to think that Jesus was God's son and that the Bible is true. The
first thing you have to accept is that the major premise of science, that the
only knowledge you can have is through experimentation, is false. You have to
accept anecdotal evidence from personal experiences sometimes. If someone says
they love you, you have to accept it even if you can't test it in a lab. That
said, you have to accept that miracles (or events that defy the laws of nature)
can happen. Rest assured, anyone can deny this, and you can find any excuse for
miracles. (E.g., the disciples stole the body of Jesus.) If that one didn't
stick, there would be something else.) In accepting those things, Creation becomes
believable. You can't recreate that event - it was a one time deal. The plagues of Egypt were a one time deal. The list goes on.
Once you accept that, you can move on to whether the Bible is trustworthy
(because, let's face it, the other religions all have fatal flaws - atheism is
meaningless and depressing, etc.). Jesus quoted from Moses extensively. He
quoted from the other prophets. Genesis (Moses) pointed to Jesus. The names
from Adam to Noah have meanings. It forms a sentence. "Man (is) appointed
mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death
shall bring (the) despairing rest." This is one of hundreds of fulfilled
prophesies. I also point to Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22. You can find sites that
deal with this topic in detail, and I don't have to go into it here. Jesus also
read the prophets word for word, paying attention to every detail. (Mark 12:27)
And if you ever find "contradictions" in scripture, rest assured, I
have read thousands of them, and I have been able to reconcile them all to my
satisfaction. Some will say God made evil, but the answer is that He didn't
make evil, he made choice, and He defined evil. He allowed evil because it
would have been a greater evil to destroy Eve without letting her be redeemed.
And Eve was real, there's tons of evidence for that. Christians have been
documented as being gleeful while being burned at the stake. Being burned
may not be a desirable trait, but being happy through it should be.
Man appointed mortal
sorrow... Depression is foretold.
Ian McCormack -
Atheist's death scenario
Don Piper -
Persistence through pain
Perspective on
Addiction
Suicide because of
depression.
7
things to do that will make you happier
Morals defined
- read through ch. 7. I'm going to ask you to
look at these chapters before you make a determination on them. Prejudice kills
people and keeps them from eating Cracker Jacks.
Don't read Matthew 5-7 once
and make a judgment. Read it through a dozen times. Then take each line one by
one. Learn it. Memorize it. And read about what it is that makes the foundation
of sand. Put it into practice. No, seriously, do the stuff. This will change
your life. If you do it and it doesn't work, I'll give you your money back.
Feel free to keep blaming God. Blame me. If you never try, there's only one guy
to blame. To quote Mr. Monk, "You'll thank me later."
Ever hear of selling your soul
to the devil? They make movies about it where the guy with the guitar wants to
be awesome at guitar, so he sells his soul to the devil to get the skill in
return. He has women and happiness. But he's bound to eternal damnation in
exchange. Those movies are rubbish! Nobody who sells their soul to the devil
(or the works of the devil) are ever happy. They find despair and grief. They
have no hope in spite of their skills. I'm not asking you to sell your soul to
the devil. But I am asking you to sell your soul. Give everything you have to
the service of Jesus. Anyone can do this, even if they have already sold their
soul. God has purchase power for souls,
and He already paid the price - all you have to do is make the choice. No, your
past sin is not a disqualifier. Repent (meaning turn away from your old
ways, and condemn them so you won't be condemned with them), and God can
forgive you. Yes, be a follower who will have peace and a smile while
being burned at the stake. Devote yourself to the service of God, and you will
find happiness.
One final thought. God
doesn't want you to be depressed. God can miraculously heal you of your
depression. He can fill the void in your heart and soul. I've seen
that happen too. Take a step of faith toward Him, and He will run to
you! Ask him, and He can heal you! (James 4:2)
You don't have to have a manufactured high self-esteem. You are
dirt. But God loves the dirt that He breathes his life into. (click, click)
Was this section helpful? Yes / No / Maybe, I'll try it
Summary:
Demons are real, and they often have to be resisted and cast out. I have
many examples of this in my own life, but they won't convince you. Resist
the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
Sometimes you have to keep resisting, because the temptations keep
coming back. Sometimes you need others to pray for you, and the demons
will leave on Jesus' authority.
Details:
This may change the way you
view depression just a little bit. Instead of thinking that you have a brain
disorder stemming from abuse, this is what you need to see. You have spiritual
battles happening around you all the time. Instead of thinking your brain was
broken as a result of rape or bad parenting, think that demons who were with
your rapist were communicated to you when you felt hatred for him.
Now this might seem to you
like it's going into a delusion, but I assure you, I'm perfectly sane, and this
is how I see the world. Some of the best, most rational people I know think
this way, and we have lots of evidence to prove it. It's a whole other world that takes years and
years to understand. If all of the world
is completely material, no gods, ghosts, demons, UFOs, etc., we become
decomposed corpses, and nothing we believed about it will matter to us in 500
years anyway. We have all experienced
the irrational fear that comes upon us in the dark. We just get better at ignoring it as we get
older. Ask any kid under 10, and they
will confirm that there are sometimes monsters in the closet. I just happen to have the experience of
driving them out of my home in Jesus' name.
The choice we have here is to ignore the irrational fear, the voices in
our heads, the pain and depression, or we can be completely rid of them, with a
genuine love to replace them. Delusion
or not, this mindset has made me very happy.
What's more, I actually believe it to be true. It is a belief based in experiential
fact. Some of the material solutions
like drugs will mask the symptoms, but they rarely fix the problem. The problem
is much deeper. Until you learn to deal with this stuff in spiritual terms, it
will probably never go away.
Do you want to see evidence
that this happens? Extraordinary claims
require extraordinary proof. Consider this case. Watch this
movie. Read the Bible - especially the book of John. Luke 10:17-20 The seventy returned with joy,
saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to
them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have
given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power
of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless
do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that
your names are recorded in heaven.” But those won't convince you in the way firsthand
experience does. Start walking in this
stuff and see it for yourself. Get
prayer, receive the Holy Spirit, and God can change your life.
Ridding yourself of Demons...
Here's the good news, demons
can be gone completely from your life. Spiritual warfare is easy!! I had a
particular addiction, and I'm pretty sure it was demonic. My wife had
depression. We both did what I'm going to tell you about, and the demons are
gone.
How did they get there?
Someone in your life probably taught you the way of evil. He probably had a lot
of demons dumping on him, and he abused you. When people open themselves up to
sinful kinds of lifestyles, they come in. If you become bitter at someone who
wronged you, instead of pitying them and hoping for the perpetrator's best,
they come in. You have been exposed to too much evil. You need to get yourself
out of it as much as you can to limit the influence as much as possible. Stop
doing bad things, and I'll tell you what right and wrong are in a minute.
Now
you have one of two options. You can hate the people who did those evil things
to you, even blaming God for other people's evil - or
for not stepping in. Or you can love the people who did those things to you,
love God in spite of the evil that was done to you, and do your best to step in
when other people are being hurt. I've seen it a hundred times. The people who
are abused don't learn how to be different, so they end up being exactly the
same as those who committed crimes against them. You have to learn to live your
life differently, no matter what other people are doing to you. You may or may
not be able to influence other people, but you can change yourself. Your
depression will go if you learn to live for others, especially to live for your
Father in Heaven, as Jesus did. Jesus forgave the people who hung him on the
cross. Can you do that?
This is something you have to
be proactive in. For one, you have to resist the temptation to be bad. You also
have to start doing good. Once you do that, half the demons will leave right
away. They hate to be resisted in that way. Thirdly, and this is the most
important, you have to switch sides. There are two sides in this battle. The
side of selfishness and the side of others focused love. You stop living for
yourself, and start living for love. I'm not talking sexual lust, or emotional
manipulation... love. Thinking of the other person's good before your own. The
camp has a leader, and that is Jesus Christ. Demons fear his name, and they
flee at his authority. They won't leave because you're anything special, but
because they're afraid of what God will do if they don't. If you're following
Jesus' example, that makes you a Christian, and Christians have authority to
drive out demons. Give yourself over to Jesus, and you will be
healed. Live your life by prayer, worship, and submission to God's plan
for your life.
1 Sa. 16:23 "Whenever the
spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief
would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave
him." Listen to worship music. (click, click, click)
If you find any success in
trying what I recommend, but there are still things there, you will find
healing with time and communion with other believers. Can someone help? Yes,
indeed. You will need to find a Pentecostal church that believes the Bible.
They believe in the power and authority of Jesus' name. I recommend Vineyard
church. If you search Google maps in your area, maybe it will come up. Go there
and ask for prayer of one of the pastors. Count the cost. Freedom from
your current life in exchange for contentedness in life. I liked the trade. You
may like it too.
Was this section helpful? Yes / No / Maybe, I'll try it
--
Post script:
If you
haven't read the things above, don't read this first. The vast majority of reasons for depression
are found in the advice I give above.
This section is specifically for those who have put all the above into
practice and still need help.
For Christians who are depressed...
We
cannot accept that long-term depression is a part of God's perfect design. I believe that God created sadness (the
emotion). I believe He uses it to shape
us up, to conform us to what we ought to be, but we cannot accept that such a
terrible situation is God's plan for anyone's life as a whole. He promises
eternal bliss because that is His plan for us. If you are depressed, God's
probably trying to get your attention.
Make it your goal to find out what He's saying through it.
Shame
is normal. It's only normal because we
all sin. I wish it were not normal,
because that would mean there is no sin. Read Ezekiel 18. No, don't keep
reading this. Read Ezekiel 18 and come back to this. The obvious answer to habitual shame is to
stop the habitual sin. Of course, that's
harder than it sounds. Remember what I
said above about cutting off your hand.
If there's a trigger for your habitual sin, avoid it like the
plague. With time and effort, I've been
able to get rid of all the habitual sin in my life that brings me shame. I pray that you are given the fortitude to
work your way out of your habitual sin. Take a listen to this song: click
Shame
can also be abnormal. One time I was at
an event where the speaker asked "the children" to come up. It's not uncommon at such an event to have children
come forward, so my wife and I both let our children go forward. It turns out that the event was for a special
set of trained children, and I felt shame wash over me as they were allowed to
stand there instead of being sent back to us, to be allowed to look like they
didn't know what they were doing. Being
head of my family, I was responsible to keep them from that shame, but I failed
them. I know intellectually that this is
an abnormal kind of shame. The kids
didn't know anything was wrong, and my wife got over it almost immediately, but
I still feel it as I think about it. I
believe this kind of shame is abnormal - a spiritual oppression. There are two things you can do with
this. You can pray about it and you can
ignore it. With time, shame related to
past behaviors can go. Mentally crippled
people feel no shame, and nobody expects them to. Let your past mistakes go. Feel the shame and reject the actions, and
take the steps to prevent it from ever happening again. The measure of your shame is likely to be the
measure of your future avoidance of those actions. Chances are, people aren't as ashamed of you
as you are of yourself, and most people should feel more shame about their
mistakes than they do. Learn to praise
God for shame, as it's a tool we can use to become more perfect in our actions.
2 Cor. 7:9-10: "I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because
your sorrow led you to repentance. […] Godly sorrow brings repentance that
leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."
Great
men have had great bouts of great depression.
King David writes extensively about his own depression. Martin Luther has been the topic of many
papers regarding his depression. Take
captive your thoughts, and do what I recommend above. You might be being subject to a Job-like
testing of your quality. Praise God for
the opportunity to prove yourself. Praise
God that the devil has taken such an interest in you. May you come through your ordeal stronger and
wiser than you were before.
Lastly,
some of our sadness comes from our own view of the world. If you find yourself dwelling on things that
make you sad, think happy thoughts.
Sure, our world is degrading by the day, but it just gets us one day
closer to the heavenly take-over.
Rejoice. I've said to be happy,
so now you have to do it! Remember what
it says in Nehemiah 8 (click)
"Be still, for this is a sacred day. Do not grieve." Joy is a choice you make, my friend. Don't worry.
Be happy.
Was the advice for Christian
depression helpful? Yes / No / Maybe, I'll try
it
Forgiving
Ourselves
Philosophical questions:
Why did God make the Devil?
You're a little devil, aren't you? I know, compared to the devil, you're a
saint, but compared to God, you're gum on a shoe. You're spit in a $4 beverage.
God made the Devil for the same reason He made you. And the devil went bad for
all the same reasons you did. It comes down to this one word: selfishness. You
wouldn't be asking this question if it weren't for selfishness. If you've ever
seen Star Trek DS9 or read Harry Potter (don't watch the movies, read the
books), I have two examples for you. One is the Weyoun character of DS9. He was
selfish in every way until it came to his gods. Then he was completely
selfless. If you're not like that guy toward God, you are thinking of yourself,
and you are selfish enough not to be able to stand in judgment of Him. If you
have read Harry Potter, the house elves are also a great example of a selfless
lifestyle. Again, if you're not like a house elf, you're selfish. You are a
source of evil in this world. You're so quick to judge the devil, but the only
thing stopping you from being the devil is that you sometimes have selfless
moments. The degree to which you give up your personal agenda for the sake of
others, that is the degree to which you become like God. If you want to achieve
the lofty goal of being like God, the promise given from the Serpent to Eve,
you will have to give up on serving yourself. (Luke 17:33)
But that didn't really answer the question. Why did God make the devil? Because
God had good plans for the Devil, plans to prosper him and not to harm him. But
the devil went his own way. God gave the Devil choice, and the Devil chose to
be evil. Do not follow his example.
Why does God allow suffering?
This is a very popular question, and there are many angles you can come at it
from, but I like the slippery slope angle. Just how much is too much food?
Should you have eaten one less bite? Ten less? How much is too much food? How
much is too much light? How much is too much noise? Food, light, and sound are
all good things, and it's still possible to have too much of all three. But we
can't identify exactly how much is too much, can we? When does purple become
blue? It's too fuzzy to tell. How much is too much evil? Is it the lie you told
last week? Is it the slaughter of half the population as part of a science
experiment? I think we'll all agree that it's somewhere in between. So we understand why God didn't annihilate Eve the moment
she ate the fruit. We get it that God didn't zap them both when Adam ate it.
But some of us wonder why Cain was allowed to kill his brother. Surely murder
is too far. It is, darnit! But God is more merciful than that. He sees the
future, and He knows that he will forgive murderers (i.e. king David) and liars
(like you and me).
But just like the question with the Devil, that didn't answer the question. Why
does God allow evil? God allows us to make choices. We choose evil. And if He
didn't let it happen, it wouldn't be a choice at all. Could you imagine, bubble
wrap everyone - no sharp edges; make all the terrible choices you want, and
nothing will happen to you. So God does allow evil as
a result of allowing choice. Choice is not an evil, but a gift. Use it wisely.
Were the philosophical points
helpful? Yes / No