A Few More Thoughts On The Slough of Despond

     My post last week must have struck at the heart of quite a few people. I received quite a few comments here and on FaceBook that said as much. Because of that and because I am writing from a perspective that is a little higher up than last week, I will add a few more thoughts about ascending from the pit of depression. Remember, I am no expert, except by experience, so please don't take my words as anything except "one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread"!

      First, a word again to those who want to help someone who is under the snake's belly. Please remember that it rarely (if ever) helps to "exhort" the depressed person. It helps to listen and hold his/her heart, of course, and sometimes careful coaching will help as well. But again, unless you have experienced moderate to severe depression, you have no idea what you are doing to someone who feels so helplessly captured when you exhort them! Trust me on this one. :-)

     Now for those who sometimes or often find themselves viewing life from the slough of despond, here's a few more things I have learned along the way to wholeness.

• I cannot emphasize enough how healing the experience of intimacy with God can be in this! Obviously we cultivate intimacy with Papa because it's how He intends us to live, but intimacy with Him, being able to hear Him even in the dark, has been a lifesaver for me more times than I can tell. Early on in my journey, I memorized Psalm 94:17-19 (NIV), and these verses have proven true over and over for me. "Unless the LORD had  given me help, I would have soon dwelt in the silence of death. When I said, 'My foot is slipping!' Your love, O LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul. " 
• Resisting the natural tendency to be self-focused and isolated is helpful in climbing out of the pit. I have discovered in terms of depression that selfishness seems to increase it, whereas God-focused surrender helps to relieve it. 
• There are often (always?) root causes that feed depression. Discovering these causes then allowing God to transform lies into truth, heal the trauma, bind up the broken heart, etc., are essential parts of long term healing from depression. Many of the people I have worked with who walked into freedom from the pit had undergone lots of trauma from truly horrible things! These horrible and tragic things left the person with gargantuan, unhealed wounds and with faulty paradigms about God and His love. But as Papa revealed and healed these things, depression began to lift until it was no more or at best only an occasional visitor. (Note that I also recognize that there are genetic factors and other factors involved in depression, so this is not intended to be the one answer to everything. I am only sharing things I have observed and/or experienced).
• Holding on to a victim mentality seems to imprison the person in depression. I highly recommend Jason and Kris Valloton's comments on this in their remarkable book, The Supernatural Power of Forgiveness, chapter 4. (The whole book is worth the read!).
• There may sometimes be a demonic component to depression, but it doesn't help to expel the intruder without also dealing with the underlying wounds and other factors. Expelling a dark spirit without dealing with underlying brokenness is like going to a doctor who treats only the symptom, not the disease itself. Demons are symptoms that also become causes because they feed on what they aggravate and magnify. Removing them and what they feed on is necessary for complete healing. On the other hand, dealing with things only on a psychological level when "critters" are present may also result in incomplete healing. 
• Turning one's heart towards God, as I mentioned last week, cannot be understated in terms of how helpful it is. It is very counter-intuitive for a depressed person to do this at first, but it becomes second nature as intimacy with God is reinforced during the good times and Scripture is made a part of one's life. So I close with the following example of this turning to God from Dr. Brian Simmons' Passion Translation rendering of Psalm 143:3-9, an amazing prayer!

     "My enemies have chased me and caught me, And crushed my life into dust. Now I'm living in the darkness of death's shadow.

     "My inner being is in depression, And my heart is heave, dazed with despair!

     "I remember the glorious miracles of days gone by, And I often think of all the wonders of old.

     "Now I'm reaching out to You, thirsting for You like the dry, cracked ground thirsts for rain. 

     "Lord, come quickly and answer me, For my depression deepens and I'm about to give up. Don't leave me now or I'll die!

     "Let the dawning day bring the revelation of Your tender, unfailing love.

     "Give me light for my path and teach me, for I trust in You!

     "Save me from all my enemies, for I hide myself in You."

Hiding in Him,

Tom, one of Abba's "being healed" children