FROM THE DAWGHOUSE…
DEPRESSIONS ANTIDOTE
This morning I saw on Twitter that I’m a part of an apostate cult. That’s how one American interprets my faith as Evangelical and Reformed. I was lumped into his category of deplorable people apparently. Mmmm. Sometimes I am deplorable for sure, but not for my Christian positioning.
(Disclaimer: I don’t interact on Twitter and only read it for about 2 minutes once a day, if that. It’s the black hole of social media if there ever was one.)
Still, I realize that I’ve been developing a low-level depression about the state of our world, the moral state of a lot of people, and our nation’s leadership in particular. By “low-level” I mean that discouragement over…well I could list close to a dozen issues…was, is, sort of becoming like an operating system underneath my daily life.
I’m up early, having my DAWG, studying the Word, producing messages, speaking and getting with men in individual coaching appointments, while mowing my lawn weekly and trimming my bushes monthly. I’m working out and spending time with my gkids. I’m in the fight for men’s souls. I’m fulfilling my calling.
Yet deep down I find I have to work harder to keep the hyenas of depression at bay. At my objective best I do believe we are in extremely discouraging times for many American Christians. I’m not alone in this I know.
How about you? Are there factors in your life that are running a program of depression of whatever magnitude underneath your regular operating system?
What’s nagging at you? Your marriage, kids life decisions, work situation, health issues, transitional challenges, busy-ness-( ie success brings challenges too!), your inability to control addiction tendencies, or maybe like me, the state of our nation? Something else?
What’s the antidote?
Here’s a start:
- Admit that something is not quite right inside you.
- Early in the day in your DAWG, before busy-ness causes you to ignore the symptoms of dis-ease, just say to the Father: “Lord, something is not right inside me and I don’t know what it is. Help me recognize what it is for Your glory and my better leadership of my life and family.”
- Read a Psalm, a Proverb or some portion of Scripture in a Gospel or a letter, or, wherever. Get your mind thinking in sync with God’s and keep on reading, looking for Your Father to make clear some key idea to you. He will. Truth will set you free (John 8:32).
- Write out in some journal what you’re thinking. Writing burns the fuzz off our thinking; it helps us unjumble the tangle our minds can become at times.
- If you make progress, great. If not, keep coming back daily until clarity comes. Rarely does the Father drop big ideas of clarity on us the first day when we start listening. It takes time for us to get accustomed to catching His deeper wisdom for our lives. He will give you “street smart spirituality” to deal with the issues you face.
- Wait on God to lift your emotional discouragement. The more time you spend with Him, the more time He has to deal with your emotions and your soul. The real you no one but He can see. It’s amazing, but time in the Bible actually touches and transforms my emotions from negative to positive and get’s me ready to hit the bricks every day. It’s supernatural. Live supernaturally not merely materially. Prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit are how we thrive!
- Pick a trusted friend, grab your journal, make an appointment and talk about it. Let your Fire Team buddy know what you’re facing so he can fight for you in prayer, and, who knows, some good input. No battle is won that we fight alone.
Depression, discouragement, dis-ease, frustration, anger…we face the full range of emotions in this broken world in which we now live and fight for the good of people and the glory of Jesus Christ!
Connect with God, and something supernatural can happen. Ya, I don’t hear that negative running system right now. It will probably resurface. That’s the world we live in. But I’ll shut it down again. Well, my Father will. Today is going to be good.
Living supernaturally today,
Pete Alwinson
