Welcome to Gaia! ::

I know I've already posted, but I just wanted to add that I think the pope's right when he said "Your suffering is never useless, dear sick people. Moreover, it's a precious thing. If you bring together your suffering and pain, you can be his privileged helpers in the salvation of souls.". I know he's talking about a differant kind of pain, but he's right.

ok. i already posted in this thread before.. and i have read up on more of what people have said since then. I see a lot of people who seem to be under an assumption that all depression is caused by not trusting in the Lord, drifting wawy from him, etc... and this is not always the case. Again, let us look at Job. His friends said the exact same thing, and they were wrong. Job isn't the only one who is tried. I think that book of the bible survived and was found and made part of the bible to be a testimony to those of us who followed afterwards might have a guide.. because often times, trials and tribulations will come to our lives for no other purpose but to try us. It is a baptism of fire that goes on for a long time. It can come to each of us in different ways.. customed for our specific life and learning experiences. Even tho we feel like crap during these times, we should also feel thankful. If you are being put to the test.. maybe it's because the devil was complaining about you? and wanted to pick on you? i mean... it's sure not fun... or.. in some cases hardly beareable.. but ya know.. the fact you're doing well enough to merit his attention like that is sort of a good sign. you must be doing something right, ne? wink

But, I myself over the years occassionally dips into minor depressions. I feel them... i have never tried to get help for it because psychotherapy is expensive.. and being a mom raising her kid.. i just can't afford that. but, make no mistake.. I have a very close relationship with my Lord... he is my best friend.. he is always number one in my life.. i am grateful to him. without him i'd be a mess... even with him i'm a mess sometimes.. redface but, at least he is there to help me get out of my ruts... and he heals me... so.. it's not always true in all cases that one's depression is related to their walk with christ...

ya know... sin is in this world.. tho we be born again; as long as we remain in this world; there will always be sorrows.. there will always be hardships to endure. The Lord causes his sun to rise on the just and the unjust... his rain on them both. So... we will go through hard times. we will see rough days.. but that is why we have a body of Christ.. that is what we are here for. We are here to lift each other up.. and help each other. We need to be working together. in ecclesiastes, it says again fi two lie together, then they have heat; but how can one be warm alone? and if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. it says in revelation that one day, the accuser of the brethren shall be revealed for what he is.. and it is written that we shall say "is this him who troubled the nations???" in disbelief because we'll see he was nothing.. but it also says that we overcame him by the blood of the lamb, adn the word of our testimony.

We must bind together. We must be actively engaging in prayer or our brothers and sisters. We must lift each other up. And the ones you see not in church or those who are struggling, pray for them fifty times more.. because it's them who are being beating down.. they need to be lifted up.. they need help. We must help each other... testify to one another. remind each other that our God is a waymaker. adn that even tho we might get depressed.. and we migth feel lower than dirt... that there are people who love us and care about us.. adn they will be there to help us find our way out of the mire. 3nodding

I was always "depressed" when i was younger...i literally cried EVERY SINGLE DAY. and my fam made it worse by laughing at me, but eventually i got over crying over stupid stuff, but of course now i cry at nothing. i havent cried really in years. but right now, i seem to get feelings of depression not because "the world treats me badly" or "tommy made fun of me", but because i know that i have to live in this horrible world that has been corrupted by the devil. everyday i have to see my stubborn friends who continue to turn away from God, i have to see this every single day and there is nothing i can do about it. i can tell them, as i have already done, but ultimately i know that God is the only one who can save them. so i get depressed, because i dont want to have to see that everyday and deal with the fact, but i also know that i cant just quit (aka suicude) because God said i cant, so i really feel trapped here on earth. i know that in heaven everything will be perfect and glorious and i wont have to see Satan tempting and discouraging my friends, and i get depressed knowing that i cant hurry up and get there. i wish all the time that i could just kill myself and go to heaven but i know that i cant, so i get depressed. is there something wrong with me. does anyone know how to help me out?...
smile

I do believe in it, I have experienced it, and it's supported with the Scriptures. Jesus felt like that when he prayed and sweated (sp?) blood. David felt like that and expressed it through many of his writings in the book of Psalms. Martin Luther also felt like that, as well as a lot of men and women of God.

We live in a world were we are prone to depression, or sadness, or sickness, or temptation, or anything that could take our happiness away, no matter how short the duration of it. Jesus said we'd have affliction in this world. Christian depression (spiritual dryness, or however you want to call it) is something real, something that happens.

I have 20 months as a Christian so far. My first three months were marked by strong study of the Bible, finishing the New Testament in less than a month and a half. From September to December 2005, it was like if I had backsled, but I got confirmed by God on the 24th of December. From January through June 2006, I was marked by a burning desire of serving the Lord in everything. I directed public worship for chapel in highschool, I preached and evangelized, I directed prayer meetings, and whatnot.

However, from late June through December 2006, I went into spiritual depression. But guess what? That was the means God used to teach me valuable lessons:
-God seemed to be telling me what He told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9. Thus I learned to put my faith in the Lord, instead of in myself.
-I learned that I don't depend on feelings, but on the grace of God. Now I can worship God more freely, even when I don't feel His presence.
-God can let us live our whole lives with a specific situation (health problems, a specific temptation, etc.), so that we don't become proud and put Him aside.
-Spiritual dryness are a consequence of one or more of the following factors: a)Spiritual undernourishment b)Spiritual overfeeding c)Unconfessed sin d)Disregard of our body e)Loss of balance.

It is not a sin per se that we go into spiritual dryness. The vast majority of Christians experience it at one point or another in their lives. I had been tormented by it for about seven months, and I can now see how my character has been strengthened by the Lord. It was definitely a trial, a trial such as the one described in 1 Peter 1:6-7. A trial that will help us serve our Father in an even better way.

I often thought the term "Christian Depression" is when you feel deeply saddened when someone you love refuses to believe or even mocks God no matter how hard you keep trying...