Depression and Broken Hearts Are Cruel Human Killers
The greatest killer in America has become the emotional problem called “depression.”
It is estimated that 95% of all suicides are committed at the height of a bout with depression. While no professional reports that I have read would dare suggest that they understand this problem, there are suggestions of different physical causes. There is a strong effort to give this dark problem a physical or medical explanation, if for no other reason than to boost the self-esteem of the victims. I admit that depression certainly destroys the sense of “self-worth,” “usefulness,” or “mental health” of those who fall under its devastating powers. In fact, the very attacks of depression are intimately related to “usefulness,” “self-worth,” “self-esteem,” “personal value,” and loss of “inner peace.”
Could we possibly be dealing with nothing less than a spiritual problem altogether? I do not want to be simplistic in a way that minimizes the seriousness of depression. I do want to at least focus on the possible spiritual link and offer some suggestions that give people another choice besides the mind-altering drugs so prevalent. Please remember that any solutions that offer you a drugged high will also let you down at the end of the high. Plus, there are side effects that may be as bad as the problem or even worse.
Let’s Give Our Creator A Chance At The Problem
Shall we start by trying to understand the make-up a human’s life? You are both a human creature and a spiritual creature. It is absolutely clear that men/women, our youth, and our children all have both physical and spiritual needs. Any person who approaches life without a balance of the spiritual and the physical is going to encounter inner problems. The balance between these two worlds is absolutely necessary for any “whole person.” Even Karl Marx, the notorious writer of the Communist Manifesto, admitted that man was “incurably religious.” We have a “God-bent” inside our human spirit that is our compass of life. This compass is our North, South, East, and West finder in the inner recesses of our heart. Without this compass, we are in a twirl.
An example of this can be seen in the pagan religions of the world. These different religions represent some of the most absurd ideas possible to discover. Worship of animal creatures, exasperating pilgrimages, and chilling encounters with the spirit world are prevalent, but the people of those religions are still in better health mentally than the secular society of the west that has sought to remove God from its world. A bad religion makes healthier people than no religion at all. We are all discovering that the youth of many of these pagan cultures are far ahead of the secular, rock music worshipping youth of our western world. Suicides among our younger generations are exploding, far ahead of the pagan world.
A Godless Society Produces A Vacuum
Our godless societies in the west are a hotbed of depression and empty living. Within our secular world, there are now developing numerous cults and connecting links to these pagan religions. All this is supposed to fill the void left by our humanistic descent into the nothingness of a “godless” world. Mankind just cannot survive a world without the spiritual component. We are both physical and spiritual in nature.
Look at what the cults are doing to men and women that fall under their sway. From Sun Myung Moon back to the recent comet cataclysm, these cults do the exact opposite of our humanistic world. They lead their disciples into a physical denial and make the spiritual side of man all dominant. Any person joining a religious cult is immediately separated from his/her natural world of family and friends. A wall is erected in their spirit that cuts them off from the physical aspects of their life. This unnatural world is just as devastating as its opposite.
Any religious group, cult or otherwise, that denies the human or physical needs and creates a total denial of the natural makes wrecks out of its disciples. Also, your family, your physical needs, the relationship of a husband and wife, and the need for the extended family is perfectly natural and extremely important for a healthy person. Our society is producing an abundance of extreme groups as a reaction to the emptiness of our godless bent. This will always occur when God is booted out of the day-to-day world.
The Balance Of the Physical and Spiritual
Again, we must understand that the balance between our physical development and our spiritual satisfaction is paramount. Within a healthy society, community, or church family where there is a wonderful balance of the needs of its members, the chance for depression is extremely limited. Of course, in any setting there will be those who resist the spiritual needs of their life. Those persons will open themselves up to the same problems as the world outside those walls. The enemy of the human soul will invade any gaps where unprotected individuals can be found.
Every person reading this article must take responsibility for their balanced living. You are a physical person and you are a spiritual being. Do not use the excuse that your family is dysfunctional or your church is a flop. “You” can take responsibility for your life. You can develop a daily balance in your personal walk. You can rise above your circumstances. The Creator has endowed every created soul with the capacity to choose. Your destiny has been firmly placed in your hands. Take responsibility today and start feeding the two natures of your life. If you have accepted that you have both physical and spiritual needs, let’s explore what the Bible says about your life. If you are having bouts of depression, let’s see what the Bible offers as an absolute cleansing of all your inner difficulties. There is an answer.
A Biblical Viewpoint: What Causes Depression?
The Bible is a manual of instruction for the human person. Every part of your being is delicate and requires exact prescriptions for living. Your soul is just as delicate as your eyes; a speck of sand feels like a boulder. So also is your inner person when invaded by a contrary lifestyle. Small unnoticed sins accumulate into mountains of brokenness and trouble. The only hope for a firm and sure life is the Manual of Truth. A person who fills himself/herself with truth and obeys every word is going to complete what is missing in their personage. Jesus said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) This is the foundation.
The next great truth is the grand promise of being totally “born-again.” Can you believe that God offers a person, whose life is a mess, a totally new beginning? He wants to help you start all over again. He will actually cancel all of your debts to Him, clean up your personal record and start you afresh. That’s about as good as you can get. No other agency, counselor, or doctor can make this offer. Jesus Christ paid the debt for you. He actually shed His blood just to offer you complete forgiveness for all past sins. He does not remind you of those sins either. Often a family member will say, “I forgive you;” however, the first time they get mad they throw it up to you. Not the Heavenly Father, He forgives and He forgets.
He does not just forgive; He repairs the brokenness. This is a forgotten truth in today’s world. Being born-again is a radical transformation of your entire person. The Holy Spirit moves inside of you and does a thorough cleansing and renewing. He repairs the broken emotions, renews the inner spirit into a God shaped form and throws out the imposter that had set up abode. When the Holy Spirit arrives in a sinner’s heart, it is like squatters had set up tents and shabby quarters. The Spirit of God pulls all of those shacks down and throws them out. Then, the Spirit sets up His abode and puts a lock on the gate. The Bible calls that “being sealed by the Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 1:13)
The Holy Spirit also establishes a new standard of living in the renewed human spirit. The things you used to love suddenly lose their luster. There is no interest in the renewed spirit for sex sins, dark habits, strong drink, or any other unclean thing. The person is a new creature and the lifestyle of a born-again person reveals those changes. Cleaning up on the outside does not change you, but the changed inside will no longer tolerate that old mess that reflects the past. Legalism says, “Clean up the outside,” but the changed truth says, “I will clean up the inside,” and a clean inside will desire, from your heart, a clean outside. You will be amazed at the pure self-esteem that follows a clean heart. You will suddenly, by His Holy Spirit, feel wonderful about yourself.
The world today promotes the idea of doing your own thing. The clearly projected spirit of this age tells you that you are your own boss and nobody has a right to tell you how to live your life. Yes, every one of us is totally dependent on our parents, from the moment of birth, to an array of other people and, finally, somebody has to dress us for our grave. Independence is a word that never shows up in the Bible. It is never present in the original text of Scripture. We are born to depend on the Creator and the family of fellow humans.
Because of our dependency, the Heavenly Father totally condemns “rebellion” and “stubbornness.” The Bible elevates these two human emotions to the same level as “witchcraft” and “idolatry.” In other words, “rebellion” and “stubbornness” is the sin of worshipping the source of all independence, Satan. Bowing before an idol god is the same emotion as rebelling against God’s perfect will. When you rebel, you are committing witchcraft. This reduced a great godly king to inquire at the hidden den of a witch (the witch of Endor). He was judged by death on that very day. (I Samuel 5:23). Remember, that “stubbornness” and “rebellion” are nothing but false emotions that have attached themselves to your heart. They are exactly like “witchcraft” and “idolatry.”
Backsliding from formerly held conviction of truth and Godliness is a powerful factor in creating a troubled heart. Some of the darkest people you will ever meet are those who were raised to know the Lord or that were in the past truly devoted to the Lord. Backsliding opens the heart to powerful factors of destruction. It is impossible after having once held good convictions about the “Great God” and His “Crucified Son” to walk away without great turmoil deep in your God-like Spirit. You were created for His presence, and having once known that presence, leaves a vacuum never filled by anything. It cannot be forgotten.
No wonder the Holy Bible speaks strongly to backsliders. Solomon said by the Holy Spirit, “The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.” (Proverbs 14:14)
A great percent of people with manic depression were once closely associated to the great truths of the Bible. I believe that good standards known or once held or great faith forsaken leaves those individuals deeply broken and a prime object for evil attack. Satan looks for the weak to destroy them.
Premarital sex, fornication against your husband or wife of your youth, or any unnatural sex act, is going to break you apart. It is impossible to be emotionally stable and hold an unforsaken sex sin in your heart. Of all the sex sins, even including homosexuality, nothing is more destructive then unfaithfulness to your partner in marriage. Malachi spoke about this sin and its consequence. He said, “And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously” (Malachi 2:15-16) Sex sins will tear you apart. It is impossible to have pure emotions if your spirit is not pure. Flee fornication with all of your heart.
You must not equate every dark valley you pass through as “depression.” This world is full of trouble and faithful Christians will have their share. Apostle Peter warned the believers that these times would come. The Spirit said, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.” (1Peter 4:12)
Right always prevails! Sometimes this path to right leads us through the valley. Do not turn to the right or to the left. Stay in the narrow Biblical way and the sun will shine again. Probably tomorrow.
The Blood Of Jesus Will Make You Whole
One of the most beautiful words in the Gospel stories is the word “whole.” Jesus does not just forgive your sins; He also makes you whole. He puts you back together “right.” He united this whole man, body, soul, and spirit in the fellowship of His kingdom. Do not just pray and believe for forgiveness of sin, but remain at the “Sinner’s Altar” until you are raised up “brand new.” The great revivals in the past required repentant sinners to kneel and pray until they were transformed people. We try to do it with just words and head stuff. No, God wants you to surrender and seek His face until you come up a new person. He said, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)
The powerful words that Apostle Paul used show an utterly renewed individual. His words were, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (II Corinthians 5:17) No promise can exceed this. Regardless of your sins, He will transform you into a brand new person.
“Whole”
The most important word I can leave you with is the word “whole.” The message of the cross where He shed His blood is “whole.” He will make you “whole.” He does not fix you up; He makes you a new person.
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