Many
articles and blogs have been written in the past week regarding the
actor Robin Williams and his struggles and untimely death. He has been
described in a much more fluent way than this blog could ever begin to
relate. Suffice it to say, the actor Robin Williams was our
generation's Charlie Chaplin. 36 years ago, he was cast as an alien on
Happy Days, and the rest as they say is history. Awards from colleagues
and accolades from fans would be forthcoming as he made his mark on
Hollywood and the world with his performances, comedic and dramatic. He
will be known to a generation as Mork. To another generation he will
be known as John Keating or Patch Adams. My children's generation will
remember his voice better than his face as he became Aladdin's beloved
Genie in 1992. (yep that was 22 years ago...) More recently, his
Theodore Roosevelt won the hearts of this generation as he assisted in
the protection of the nocturnally alive exhibits at the American Museum
of Natural History. With each of these and many other performances, he
was embraced by a new generation of adoring fans. Unfortunately, he
will also be known for something quite different than many of his on
screen persona.
Each
year millions of people around the world are diagnosed with clinical
depression. Far many more are not diagnosed and find themselves in a
seemingly powerless state to control any aspect of their lives. If you
took a poll, almost everyone experiences or has a loved one who has
experienced this tragic illness. Many skillful physicians attempt each
day to make things better for their patients who suffer from
depression. Sometimes it is a chemical condition that can be made
better by prescription medications, other times it manifests itself in
ways that are not treatable.
Redeemed
followers of God are not exempt to this disease any more than they are
exempt from getting the flu. The Bible is filled with example after
example of men and women who suffered incredibly difficult battles with
depression, but never lost the hope they have in eternity. The entire
book of Job, (whose events actually took place some time before the
patriarchs of Genesis) is a treatise on desperation. But Job remained
steadfast in his belief and hope that God had a purpose through his
sufferings.
If you do an in depth study on the life of David, you will soon find that while he may have been a man after God's own heart, he was NOT superhuman enough to overcome the depression that came with some of his poor decisions. Read some of the Psalms that David wrote. Some of them were written at the darkest moments of David's life. Not "Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy" literature by any stretch of the imagination. (David's family is a perfect case study in dysfunctionality).
Finally, Jesus himself was in such a deep depression during his Garden of Gethsemane experience that he began secreting blood through his pores like sweat. ("Did Jesus Really Sweat Drops Of Blood" - answers.net). How did each of these men survive this tumultuous time in their life?
As
you read the stories or the poetry describing the heart wrenching time
these men were going through, you see a thread that runs through
each...a glimmer, sometimes very dim, of hope. In Romans, Paul writes
of the source of this hope:
Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. - Romans 5:1-5 HCSB
Please do not think I am implying that if you just hope for good things you can overcome the moments of depression you feel. Sometimes assistance is needed. There are innumerable good Christian doctors and counselors to assist those with chronic and life threatening depression. What I am relating is that the source of your hope can be enough to help in times of despair. There is a great old hymn that speaks to this notion, perhaps you have heard it..."My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus name."
This
sickness is terrible. Sometimes it is treatable with medications.
Sometimes the only way through is to have hope. Many times what is
needed is a cry for help. Christian friend, sometimes we just need to
listen to someone who is crying out for help. Sometimes we need to
provide an opinion or advice, but only if it is solicited. Rarely do we
need to act like a blue genie and attempt to grant wishes to pull
someone out of depression. But, we are always called
to love and to serve in any way we possibly can to those who need
help. In that way, by showing love and serving others, we can boldly
declare...
"You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend
You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend
You ain't never had a friend like me
You ain't never had a friend like me, hah!"
'Til Tuesday
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
Randy
No comments:
Post a Comment