Although this
final segment from my chapter on the Breastplate of righteousness frequently
refers to those who struggle with depression, it refers to anyone who faces
guilt – that should include everyone.
Openness, confession, and repentance
are crucial to dealing with the depression.
Sin surrounds depression, but the
depression itself is not sin. Depression can be triggered by sin, and the
depression creates great temptations that we often give in to, resulting in
sin. The sin needs to be dealt with, but the depressed person has great
difficulty separating the sin from the sinner, and the sin from the
depression. Here are some things that
have helped me.
Make a list of all the things you
feel guilty about. Get some help
distinguishing the accusations from Satan (false guilt) from legitimate Spirit
prodded guilt (conviction). What is the
difference? False guilt can be for
things that you have no control over.
I often feel guilty for being
physically ill and lacking in energy. I
have medical conditions that prevent me from doing as much as I want (or think
I should). Since I have no control, I
have not sinned and the guilt comes from
Satan’s hate-filled accusations.
I also may feel guilty about something someone else has done, for
“making” someone angry or upset[1], or about circumstances that legitimately
prevented me from following through on a promise or responsibility. Again, if there is no sin on my part, there
is no need for guilt.
Where there is sin (behaviours that
take you further from God), then there must be confession and repentance!
ñ lashing out in anger -- In your anger do not
sin. (Eph 4:26)
ñ shutting down and going to bed because you don’t want to face the
world – Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but
whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. (Pr 29:25)
ñ avoiding the phone and the doorbell –An anxious heart weighs a man
down, but a kind word cheers him up. (Pr 12:25)
ñ not going to church because “it is too hard” -- Let us not give up
meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing. (Heb 10:25)
ñ not reading or praying because you feel like God isn’t there, etc.
-- Let
us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive
mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Heb 4:16)
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out,
that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. (Acts 3:19)
“Times of
refreshing.” Doesn't that sound like
what we all need? Repentance is not
meant to be a chore, a punishment, or a drudgery-- it is meant to bring healing
and refreshing!
If we deal with
the sin surrounding the depression, much of the cloud of darkness will be
lifted. Part of the spiral that sends us
deeper and deeper into depression is guilt.
If we can eliminate the false guilt and tell Satan to take his
accusations back to Hell, that will help disperse some of the despair.
Deal with the
real guilt (conviction) through confession, repentance, and owning the
responsibility, and experience times of refreshing from the Lord! We must realize that we have hurt people,
often those who are trying their hardest to help us. We must apologize to the people we hurt. We must take responsibility for the sin and
not blameshift to another person, to God or to the depression. If you blame your sin on the depression, you will never fully recover because you
have welcomed one of Satan’s demons into your heart -- the demon of excuses.
The false guilt needs to be
surrendered to God, as well. If you have
not sinned, then there is nothing to repent of.
You must acknowledge that the guilt is just an accusation from
hell. Jesus defends us from Satan's
accusations!
If God is for us, who
can be against us? He who did not spare
his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him,
graciously give us all things? Whho will
bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who
was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for
us. (Heb 8:31-34)
[1] This is an area of
pyschology called boundaries. This is one area that I have found
professional help has really made a difference in my thinking. Also, I recommend a book by Dr. Henry Clound
entitled Changes that Heal.,
published by Zondervan. The book
addresses boundaries and other problems that cripple us emotionally.
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