Lead Worship

Usually it seems that depression hits us around the beginning of winter. The nights are longer and you stay cooped up inside substituting a social life with a television. Here recently I have had more people come to me and descuss a season of depression that they are in. So how does depression start, and how can I make it end? I am not going to cover any major areas of issues that might be causing depression. You might have a serious case. But for the rest of us who are just going through a season, here’s what you should know.

Imagine your body working like a car. A car has an engine, fuel system, heating and cooling system, hydrolic system, and an electrical system (and a few others that I am missing). Hydrolics do not go into the fuel system or the engine, and the cooling system does not go into the electrical system. Each system remains totally seperate but affects all other systems of the car.

All people have 5 basic needs:

1. Physical – You must take care of your body. Exercise (I know that makes me a hypocrite), eating right, staying STRESS FREE is very very important to your overall health.
2. Emotional – This side is usually what is looked at in depression. The emotions also includes long-term and short-term planning, having intelligent conversations (seldom happens with stay-at-home-mothers), learning, and your imagination. Have you ever given your imagination over to God?
3. Spiritual – We need God to help us with all 5 of our needs and not just this one. This one would include encouragement, respect, and being loved, and a hope for the future.
4. Financial – Try living without this one and you will soon see the huge necessity of it.
5. Social – You need friends.

What happens when depression begins is one of these needs begins to become weak. This happens to all of us. Something happens and you have to spend a ton of cash which weakens your financial needs. This can begin the depression. Next that follows is that all the other needs begins to concentrate and collide on the one need that needs help. This is when depression begins to spiral.

Financial burdens cause stress, which hurts the physical body and can make it hard to retain your focus (emotions). It can make you feel like a weak Christian and is very discouraging (spiritual). Plus it limits your social activities. All these things start this depression roller-coaster. And the next thing you know is you are “not talking” to someone because they didn’t shake your hand at church.

To break this cycle, always remember be proactive in your life. Find out which area is weak and plan to get out of it. Don’t let the rest of your needs take the toll just because one needs help. Continue to eat right, use some godly imagination, encourage others, hang out with some friends, or help out somewhere for a couple hours to increase your income for a few weeks. But with all this, depend on God and He will guide you through this.