Tag: depression

God Knows About the Darkness

On By Archie L. GilmerIn Culture & Conviction, Life & PerseveranceLeave a comment

Any of us who have been around the block even only a few times would know that life is not always sunshine and roses. However, often times once we put our faith in Christ for salvation, we soon find out that not even the Christian life is always sunshine and roses. In fact, Jesus taught that there would be trouble. He taught that there would be trouble because people would hate Him. Not to mention that we just cannot get along. That is why we need Jesus.

I remember when my wife and I received salvation. It was urgent in my heart that we both accept the forgiveness that God had offered us through the sacrifice of Jesus. I remember it brought such a peaceful feeling into my life that I had never experienced before. Then it was not long before we both began to get involved with the work of the Church. As we began to grow, we began to realize that life was still hard at times. We quickly realized that accepting Christ did not mean that life would be stress free.

It has been thirty-two years and a few months since my wife, and I got saved. During that journey, many trials and dark times have come and gone. I still remember times when it seemed that all had failed, and I began to question everything about my life and ministry. It was very confusing and very defeating during those times. Loneliness and depression became a very real part of my daily life during those dark times. I remember feeling like I was all alone. Even though I never believed that God had forsaken me, at times I had to continue to tell myself that He was there. Even though I could not see or feel His presence. As I think about these times, I think of them as the dark days of despair.

The dark times I am referring to had nothing to do with any of our efforts to share the gospel or make disciples and evangelize the lost. No, I am referring to the challenges and troubles that came about between the believers. That’s right. I am referring to the trouble that happens within the church. The times I am referring to usually were brought on by extreme situations brought on by only a few.

As I reflect, I think of 1 Samuel as we read about David being on the run from Saul who was desiring to kill him. We read that God had called David to become the king of Israel and Saul had turned from God and began to be threatened by David. We find in 1 Samuel that David at one point was hiding in a cave in the wilderness. While his heart was filled with anxiety and confusion, David expressed his feelings, and they are found in Psalm 142. It is in these verses that I find truth in my dark times.


In the first two verses, David simply cries out to the Lord in the darkness of the cave. He is honest about his feelings and condition before the Lord.

I cry aloud with my voice to the Lord;
I make supplication with my voice to the Lord.
 I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my trouble before Him.

Verse 3 shows that David is dealing with a situation that is bigger than himself all while expressing his trust in God’s knowledge and involvement.

When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
They have hidden a trap for me.

It is when I read verse 4 that God reveals to me that I am not the first to feel alone and desperate. I am not the first to be overwhelmed by the troubles of this world brought on by others. David felt hopeless and totally alone.

Look to the right and see;
For there is no one who regards me;
There is no escape for me;
No one cares for my soul.

It was at this point that I would have to force myself to continue to read through verses 5-7 of the Psalm. It is imperative to see how David was able to encourage himself in the Lord and cry out to God for deliverance.

I cried out to You, O Lord;
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.
“Give heed to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are too strong for me.
 “Bring my soul out of prison,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;

The righteous will surround me,
For You will deal bountifully with me.”

You see, David knew that God had picked him to be the next king of Israel. He also knew that God would do things in His own time. So, we can see in this Psalm how David was able to trust God in his darkness by believing God and trusting in His promises. He knew that the only way to find his way through the darkness was to trust and wait on the Lord to deliver him.

Just as David was able to survive his dark days, we too can take note of how he would cry out to the Lord and depend on Him even when he felt all alone and like no one cared about his troubles.

I can testify that God has never failed me. He always delivered me from the darkness and many times sent a brother or two into the darkness to wait with me. Also, I have never seen Him fail anyone else who would cry out to Him while trusting in Him and His timing.

Notice that David’s request to be delivered from his trouble was ultimately so he could praise God and give Him the glory!

I praise God that each and every time I cry out to Him from the darkness, He is faithful in delivering me. It has always been in His time, and I have been learning to wait on Him in the darkness.

I would encourage anyone who is going through some dark times and feeling alone and anxious, read Psalm 142 and begin to cry out to our Lord. Lay your heart out before Him and trust what you know to be true about Him and He will deliver you in His time.

I love you and the Lord loves you,

To God be the Glory.

How can the Preacher be depressed? I thought he was a man of God!

On By Archie L. GilmerIn Church & Ministry, Faith & Discipleship, Life & PerseveranceLeave a comment

What is depression

PicsArt_01-18-07.11.09
God sometimes answers prayer with medication!

Spiritual depression has everything to do with where a person is in their spiritual journey. Many times, a spiritual depression leads to doubts about God and His faithfulness. This kind of depression is often dealt with by a heavy prescription of prayer and fasting along with time spent in scripture.

 

Mental depression on the other hand, is of a physical nature. There are many different causes of mental illnesses and emotional instability. Some are side effects of other illnesses or medications. Sometimes there can be some chemical imbalance. It is even a possibility that some of those can be hereditary. Regardless of the source, many times the answer to mental depression is medication which is prescribed by a Family Medical Doctor or Psychiatrist.

I want to talk about the mental depression and its effects on the Preacher.

Depression has the same effects on the preacher as it does on any other person. The struggle to get motivated. The low self-esteem. The frustration of wanting to be productive but just cannot force it to happen. All the negative thoughts and feelings are there. All of this creates somewhat of a spiritual battle within the heart of the preacher. The pressure the expectations, on and on week after week, day after day.

There are felt expectations from the congregation and others in the community that add-on pressure. Some of those expectations are there and some are simply by products of the depression. Many church goers and community members look at the preacher and hold him to a standard. In some ways that standard is appropriate and other ways it is way too much of an expectation. It is true, preachers need to practice what they preach. It is also true that preachers are just men.

Oh, and let us not forget about the expectations from God. Yes, we all have expectations from God. If we truly believe what we say we believe then we should be living according to it. However, this creates a major problem in the mind and heart of a preacher who is dealing with depression, especially if there is a need to take medication. He will begin to question if he trusts God and at the same time remind himself that the medication is God’s answer to his prayer for relief. The battle in his mind and heart continues to go back and forth like some never-ending game of tug-o-war. Soon, the expectations that God has for the preacher seem overwhelming.

Ultimately these things are thrown in to the slow cooker known as his life. These variables mingling together battling for position in the heart of the preacher. He then begins to feel discouragement and failure at times and other times is praising God for giving him the strength to overcome and succeed each day. Sermon after sermon written and preached, all a product of the battle in the darkness. The battle between his faith and defeat. All the while doing his best to serve God and the people to which he has been given charge to care for spiritually.

Preachers are simply human beings assigned by God to a task

It is true that preachers and church leaders are held to a higher expectation by God and even the people in the church as well as the community. However, that in no way means that the preacher is better than anyone else or somehow should be more spiritual than anyone else. The fact is simply this; the man who is preaching in your church is no more than a man. A human being. That man has emotions, struggles, problems, temptations, and short comings just like the rest of the world. Mental depression is one of those things that many preachers struggle with daily. It does not mean that the call on their life should change. It does not necessarily disqualify the man from being a preacher. It just means that he is human. After all, it is God working through the man, He is the one who called him to preach.

Because the preacher is simply a human being, he has the same needs as anyone else. People who deal with depression are prescribed medication and sometimes go to counseling sessions. There are many people who can manage this kind of depression from day-to-day. Some good and some bad days. If your preacher is dealing with depression, this struggle is real for him. So just because he may be on medication for depression, or maybe in counseling, does not mean that he is incapable of preaching and doing what preachers do. After all, it is God who is working in him and through him, and it is God who called him to preach.

What if your Preacher struggles with depression? What will you think of him? Will it change your opinion of his Ministry?

Many times, when people find out or hear that their preacher deals with depression, they seem shocked. At first, most people would never have known. Usually, because many preachers have become experts at putting on a good front. Sometimes, it is because some have already place the preacher in the category of not being a good preacher. Everyone, once knowing that the preacher deals with depression, has a need to process. After the processing moment, then what? Some lose faith in that preacher. They see him as spiritually weak and maybe sometimes even a hypocrite. They may not leave the church or ask for the preacher’s resignation, although they might, but they have less of an opinion about him as a faith filled man of God. Also, there are some who see the preacher as a man. Those are the ones who will surround the preacher with love and prayers. Those are the ones who God will use to minister to the preacher.

What you should do if your preacher is dealing with depression?

First, you should know this; the preacher who struggles with depression and continues to stay in the fight, he is the one who is like Job. He is the one who is fighting to be faithful, he is the one who, beside the fact that there is a massive daily battle going on, continues to press on. He is the one who is just like anyone else in the world who is living life trying to honor God with his life.

Second, think about being that person who prays daily for that preacher. Ask God what you can do to support him and help him in the ministries of the church. Make sure you are not using his struggles as an indicator that he lacks faith in God.

Finally, be on his side. After all, he is your preacher, he is on your side. Do not allow others to bring him down because of his struggles. Build him up and help him overcome so that he can serve the lord as the preacher, and do it well.

Do all of this for the glory of God!