Stretched?

Matt.11:28 (AMPC) “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. (I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.)”

Every believer needs a place where they can openly express their worship to God. And every believer needs a small group where they can freely share their struggles with others.I understand that it takes time to trust people. However, the truth is that God always always makes provision for someone that can come alongside us and strengthen us. That safe place is required and we see that from Hannah’s story. For people who are struggling with clinical depression, in addition to having a safe place and being part of a small group, they need a third place and that is a support group.

I have a friend who is a consultant psychiatrist, she is also known as the Riscovery Doctor. Riscovery simply means turning risk into discovery. She sent me a video illustration a while back using an elastic band in which she pulled the elastic band and pulled. Depression is a spectrum and stress facilitates it. When people are being stressed, they are being stretched. Everybody has an elastic limit. If such people do not have a way of turning the risk into recovery, their limits are seriously tested. It gets to a point where the pressure applied on the material is greater than the material’s flexibility and it will snap. When people snap, what they need is intervention.

Clinical depression and mental health issues require professional and focused spiritual attention. Professional help as far as therapy is concerned, is so important. Sometimes, we try to spiritualise everything. In God’s Favourite House we are working underground, with professionals and setting up depression support groups. So that people can be helped in a biblical way, by Christian counsellors, before they snap. This is a big deal because people have tried to tackle advanced stages of clinical depression with prayer and fasting alone. I am sure you know that I believe in prayer and fasting, so do not get offended at the things I am about to say.

I have seen cases where people have gotten to the end of the spectrum and snapped. They are now dealing with issues of clinical depression, but they think they need to fast more and pray more. Then these people start hearing strange voices and they think it is God talking to them. People have done crazy things claiming, ‘God told me’. No, it is depression. You need help.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, I bring my life and struggles before You. Lord, cause me to rest, relieve and refresh my spirit, mind, soul and body, in Jesus Name. Amen!