09 September 2010
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
"I know that God has forgiven me but I just can't forgive myself, and the more that I think about what I have done, the more I get depressed." Whenever I deal with the subject of depression, our mail response jumps, and the theme of many letters is the opening sentence or two which relates depression to something that happened, which the writer just can't seem to get out of his or her mind. In most cases the writer mentions that he or she is a believer, that he or she has personally made a decision to receive Christ, but the depression is still there. That memory or failure haunts an individual and drives him or her to the despair of depression.
Let's analyze it for a moment and make it personal. If depression is related to guilt, you have to determine whether your guilt is actual (whether something is still unforgiven) or if you are actually being depressed by guilt feelings or a troubled conscience. There is a big difference.
I am thinking of a woman who was confident that God was punishing her children for what she had done years before. She was not only depressed but at the point of complete despair. Repeatedly she had asked God's forgiveness, and I am confident that she was sincere. On the basis of what God says in His Word, I believe God had long since forgiven her, but she could not accept His forgiveness and forgive herself. The resulting trauma left her constantly depressed.
Are you like that? Are you depressed because you came to the foot of the old rugged cross and said, "God, wash away this sin"? No, forgiveness never leaves you in a state of depression! Question: Did God forgive you? Do you remember the promise of 1John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness"? All right. Did God mean it? Then did you confess your wrongdoing? If you did, then God forgave you once and for all.
The Bible clearly promises forgiveness to those who will ask for it. If you have done this, realize your depression is not from God, but from the enemy of your soul who defeats you spiritually by hanging a cloud of depression over your head. "For God" wrote Paul to Timothy, "has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV). If, of course, you have never come to the fount drawn from Immanuel's veins, your depression may be linked to something you need to confess to God, and will dissipate only by coming to Him and receiving His forgiveness.
The second step in the process of applying this "depression stopper" to your life is to forgive yourself. Ask yourself, "What right have I not to forgive myself when my Heavenly Father has forgiven me? Am I greater than God?" Your answer points out the foolishness of allowing yourself to live in a state of depression, which is the very opposite of the kind of a life God intends. Read Galatians 5, and notice how the cluster of characteristics or qualities relating to the Spirit‑filled life are the very opposite of depression.
With the forgiveness of our Heavenly Father, there can be the strength of the Holy Spirit to live above the carnal plane that drove you down initially. Depression is contrary to God's plan and purpose for your life, so realize that when God has forgiven you, you must also forgive yourself. He has provided for a victorious life, so apply the truth of His Word and begin to live and walk in His power and strength.
Only the grace of God can turn despair and depression to joy, but God's grace is there, and it does just that. Believe it, and see the change take place in your life.
Resource reading: Psalm 1