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MAY 2017 SPARE CHANGE

I Get Depressed Too: 5 Ways to Cope with Depression

It may shock you, but I get depressed sometimes.  Sometimes there is an apparent reason and sometimes there isn’t.  Sometimes life is going great, but it still happens.  Now my depression would be considered mild, I don’t need doctors or medications to help.  Some people do and I don’t begrudge anyone for getting help from trained professionals or
counselors for depression.  This issue is a common issue that affects many people.  Statistics say one in five people suffer from some form of depression.  In my personal experience, I would say it is much, much higher.  For me it is a part of life, it comes and goes.  There is no telling when it will come or how long it will last.  However, I have discovered some important things that have helped me to cope and, in many cases, get over bouts of depression.  These five things can help Christians struggling with depression:

1. Identify the Cause – 1 Peter 1:6-9

As I said before, sometimes there is a cause and sometimes there isn’t and sometimes I just haven’t discovered it yet.  I have found myself getting down in the dumps for no apparent reason only to be shown the reason later.  Often for me the reasons are stress and self-worth issues.  I am the kind of person that needs to stay busy and to have a purpose, but that also gets me in trouble with saying yes to too many things and getting stressed out.  So, for me, balance is very important (we will talk more about that in a moment).  Often if I look hard enough and ask the Holy Spirit to show me, I can determine the cause, which means I can begin to heal.  If you frequently find yourself depressed, start to examine your life and ask God to help reveal the cause to you.

2. Turn It Back to the Lord – Col. 3:2, Heb. 4:16

One of the really bad things depression does is it turns everything inward.  It makes you think about yourself…a lot.  That is not healthy.  You must get out of your head and turn your mind back to the Lord.  When we focus internally we forget that our Lord is walking through life with us.  He cares about our feelings and He cares that we feel bad.  I begin with prayer and ask God to help me to refocus on Him.  I like to journal or listen to worship music.  These things help me to put the focus back on God.  Sometimes that is all it takes.  The point is, depression is not wrong or sinful but having a me-focused attitude is.  Jesus wants to us bring glory to Him, to think about others needs first and to serve those around us.  We can’t do that if we constantly think about ourselves.

3. Refocus on Spiritual Disciplines – Prov. 3:5-8, Psalm 119:105

Spiritual disciplines are huge!  My Bible study and prayer time are essential to my spiritual, as well as my mental health.  Please consider your time and how you spend it.  I am sure you can carve out some time for the Lord.  It really helps bring balance to your life and balance is the key.

4. Seek Balance in Life – Mark 12:29-31

As I said, we need balance.  When we focus too much on work, or too much on entertainment, or too much on our kids, or too much on ourselves we get out of balance.  We need to have a healthy balance in life.  We need to make sure we work hard, spend time with our family, serve in our church, get plenty of sleep, etc.  How do you do all of that?  By planning your time carefully.  Remember, you control your time or your time will control you.  Don’t say yes to everything.  Family is essential, church is essential, work is essential.  Everything else is optional.

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Talk About It – James 5:16, Eccl. 4:9-12

There is a stigma, especially with men, that we can’t talk about feelings.  Now I am not advocating we all go around talking like we are on a Dr. Phil episode.  But we all need one or two close Christian brothers (or sisters if you are a woman) that we can talk to about this stuff.  Sometimes just admitting you are depressed and you need someone to pray for you is all you need to kick it.  We also don’t need to be afraid to talk to trained biblical counselors.  This is a big deal, we all need help from time to time on a variety of issues.  Biblical counseling can and does help.  Don’t be afraid to talk to a counselor.

The bottom-line for me is, depression is not always a bad thing.  It helps me grow close to God and depend on Him more.  It also makes my heart tender so I can see others that are hurting around me.  So, don’t look at it as a complete waste, maybe the Lord wants to use it in your life to teach you.  Finally, I will leave you will one last encouragement, 2 Cor. 7:6 tells us “God comforts the downcast”.  The next time you feel the dark shadow of depression creeping in turn to the Lord for comfort.

April 2017 Spare Change

 “All for the Sake of the Gospel”

The past political season has been brutal for our country.  We have seen more displays of disunity recently and they have even made their way into Christian circles.  Lately, Southern Baptist leaders have been at odds.  Most of the tension revolved around support for Trump.  Some leaders were saying it was not right for Christians to support a man like Trump, others were saying it was not right to not vote for a candidate that supported pro-life agendas and religious freedom.  This has caused a rift between some that even caught the attention of the Washington Post.  Eventually, the Executive Director of the SBC, Frank Page, stepped into it to try and bring harmony to the situation and it seems to have calmed down for now.

However, once again Southern Baptists are known for something other than the gospel.  Things like disagreements over politics get us off track and keep us from focusing on the most important thing – Jesus.  I recently have been studying 1 Corinthians.  I get the sense from Paul that he doesn’t want anything to take the focus off the gospel.  Throughout the entire book he is advocating for unity in the church for two reasons-- to build-up the church and advance the gospel.

He deals with issues of sin and sexual immorality for the sake of the church.  He addresses the issue of laying down rights for a weaker brother through the context of eating meat sacrificed to pagan idols.  He encourages the church to not let spiritual gifts divide them, rather focus on loving each other in spite of differences.  He even rebukes the Corinthian believers creating a division over who baptized them.  All of this is to build up the body of Christ, he is so concerned about the unity of the church.

But not just in church-- Paul writes about his willingness to lay down his personal rights and preferences for the sake of the gospel.  He says in 1 Cor. 9:20-21 that when he is with Jews he takes up the customs of Jews, but when he is with gentiles he acts like a gentile (not in a sinful way, rather referring to their manners and customs).  He brings all this to a point in verses 22 and 23, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.  I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessing.”

What if our attitude was like Paul’s?  What if we were primarily concerned about unity in the body and the advancing of the gospel?  This should be our attitude in all things, even politics.  I don’t mean that we shouldn’t have political views, but if we are known more for our politics than we are for the gospel then we have a problem.  The banner we carry in our lives as Christians should not be one of republican or democrat, or Trump or Clinton, it should be of Jesus Christ.  We must
remember whose kingdom we are building; it isn’t a kingdom of a political view, it isn’t even a kingdom of America, it’s the kingdom of God.  The kingdom of God is where we will spend eternity, it is our true home.  Brothers and Sisters, we are just sojourners in this world, let’s not get so tied down that we forget our primary mission – to build up the kingdom of God.

Consider how people perceive you, when they look at you do they see Christ or do they see a political party?  In the past, I have been very vocal of my political views; however, after seeing how it has divided the SBC recently, I have been convicted.  I don’t want my politics to cloud people’s view of Christ in me.  I want to become all things to all people that by all means I might save some!