However, I’ve some questions, which might be beneficial for others to read and grapple with too. So here they are:
1) Is spiritual depression a sin?
2) Is one who suffers from Spiritual depression a, “very poor representative of the Christian faith? (Martin Lloyd Jones)”
3) When it comes to this matter – spiritual depression – what thoughts are given to Jesus being, “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief?”
4) What about the prophets? What about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? What about David and Solomon? Did they deal with spiritual depression?
5) Mountains or beach?
Now, I’m serious when I say, I want your answers if you’re willing to give them. So either leave them as a comment (anonymous if you’d like) or e-mail to me here: samorris882007@yahoo.com
5 comments:
Can you define spiritual depression? It will help with my answer. -Loren
"I believe help my unbelief" This post might help: http://aspiringspurgeon.blogspot.com/2011/01/i-believe-help-my-unbelief.html
I don't think it is necessarily a sin. As fallen humans we will lose sight of the joy and strength found in Jesus occasionally. I think if we choose to wallow in that depression then we are sinning. If we are constantly finding ourselves in that situation I would agree with Lloyd Jones. They are not a great example. Jesus, the prophets, Abraham, and all these biblical people of course had sorrows and troubles. But it's interesting to see how they dealt with them. They seem to cry out to God and seek Him for strength the worse their situation becomes. I think sorrows and grief are a part of living in a fallen world. Even the creation groans for something better. But to sit and wallow in the sorrow is a sin. The right response to all of this sorrow and grief is to cry out to Jesus for the grace to continue and the strength to get through whatever may come our way.
I've given it much thought these last two days, and I've come up with a slightly different idea of spiritual depression.
In a sense, seeking to be with the Lord through struggle. That is to say, praying for oneness with Him by giving up life into His hands. Unwilling to handle struggles through life and seeking to be removed and put into heaven and in peace.
Hey Sam,
Sometimes we just exist in the valley. I think of Job, Elijah, Jeremiah, several times in David's life, etc. Recognizing our limits, knowing that even in our faith, we don't know all the answers, (however, we do know the One who does), is simply being honest in our relationship with God. Michael Card has an excellent book out called "A Sacred Sorrow" dealing with many of these Biblical figures. One of the most striking things he said to me was that "churches have lots of praise teams. Where are the lament teams?" The language of Psalms and Lamentations reflect the long faith tradition of crying out in our desperate times.
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