Kingdom Strategist

Do you ever feel like you’re losing it? No… me neither.

My sister has fought depression and anxiety pretty much her entire adult life. It’s not my place to share the details but it’s been pretty intense at times and for many years I have played an active role in trying to help her.

Depression is an ugly thing that steals the light and the beauty from God’s creation.

I don’t want what I’m about to talk about to be misconstrued as a commentary on what causes depression. Nor am I endorsing or discounting different types of treatment; the merits of one treatment over another should be determined by the patient, their doctor, and their loved ones. Over the years, we tried some things work and others that were disastrous.

To me depression is a lot like diabetes in that some core problem(s) creates a series of additional problems that become intertwined and become increasingly difficult to treat. With depression, these problems aren’t just physical, they affect you mentally, spiritually, and socially.

I believe that a the root of all of the factors that contribute to depression is that fact that because of sin we are separated from God. We were not designed to be separated from God and as a result we are physically, mentally, and socially out of whack. Depression is just one of the many afflictions where this is affect is magnified to debilitating proportions.

The cure? No, that’s bad terminology. The resolution is God’s final redemption of creation achieved through Jesus Christ who bore our sin and all of its effects in order to free us from its bondage. When will that happen, no one knows. Until then, the hope for healing begins with faith in Jesus. Only the Gospel of the Kingdom of God has the power to create any real transformation in this life.

Why am I writing about this? Because I see the desperate need for Gospel transformation in my sister’s life. Over the years, I have seen her put her faith in false god after false god, relying on the empty promises and temporary relief of everything from medication to relationships as her hope for relief. And every time, without fail, these things fail her. And each time her misplaced faith is shattered, it leaves her more and more despondent.

She’s going through it again. She (like many people) falsely believes that a child will provide her the joy that is missing in her life. I know what that feels like. I idolize my children; it’s a constant struggle for me to not let their importance in my life become an ultimate thing.

Why am I sharing this here? Because I can’t keep it inside. Right now I am being tossed around like a rag doll by life. And that’s okay. It’s frustrating and exhausting but it’s okay. I love my sister and I know deep down that she needs to hear the truth about God. The God who loves her so much that he became man, endured hurt, betrayal, fear, abandonment, torture, and death. And more over, that man willingly gave up his perfect union with God, the source of life and love, enduring a hell far greater than anything she or I or anyone will ever experience. All so that she can be restored to the fullness that God created in her and for her. That is the truth that she needs to hear.

It’s so much easier to write it here than to say it out loud. Let alone to actually say it to my sister.

Maybe part of my hesitation is that I know that whatever I say won’t make her depression go away. It won’t make her life any easier. The challenges of this life will still exist. I feel (and have always felt) pretty helpless to relieve her suffering.

But she will no longer be a slave to life’s suffering. It is freedom that I need to share with her. How can she find relief is she isn’t free.

So, friend(s), if you pray, would you mind praying for my sister? Pray for her heart, that life would be born again within it and that life would flow throughout the rest of her body and her life. Pray for her husband too. He’s a good guy.

And would you pray for me? Pray that I wouldn’t be such a chicken and a brute. Pray that I would claim the power that has been given to us and that the Holy Spirit would work powerfully through me however he will to bless my sister.

Thanks.

p.s. Having people in your family who suffer with depression is particularly worrisome when you yourself are going through rough times.

You might also like:

1. Triperspectival Prayer