Do You Have Ingrown Eyeballs?

Charles Swindoll has called depression a "bad case of ingrown eyeballs."  As comical as that phrase may be, the truth hidden within it is enormous.  Depression occurs in life when we become so fixated on ourselves and our problems or emotions that we cannot focus clearly on anything else.

I know that I will be treading on dangerous ground as I speak to this issue of depression.  Because our society has chosen to look at depression as an illness and give it the name of a "disorder," many people have determined to justify their depressive states by adopting the stance that "...I just can't help it.  I have a medical disorder, you know."  Rather than finding the courage to look at the causes that have led to their depression and acknowledge the role of sin in their lives, they remain content to wallow in their self-pity and wait for the medical community to come up with some "magic bullet"-- a pill that will quickly and surely make them feel better without any real effort on their own part.  OUCH!  Don't think for a moment that I do not fully appreciate how much that statement will sting.  In fact, I know that many of you (upon reading it) will decide to simply log off this site and relegate me to the heap pile of "...idiots who don't have the faintest idea what they're talking about!"

Well, let's look at some of the statistics about this diagnosis of "depressive disorder" (as compiled and reported by a major U.S. health organization):
*  18.8 million American adults struggle with it.
*  9.5 % of the U.S. population over 18 years of age are considered clinically depressed.
*  Depression is appearing earlier in age than ever before.
*  Twice as many women as men are affected by depression.
*  Women between the ages of 25-44 are most affected due to their inability to express or handle anger.
*  Depressive disorder is linked directly with anxiety and substance abuse problems.
*  According to a study by the World Health Organization, major depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States today.

Looking at these statistics may lead us to adopt the mentality that depression is a form of illness over which its victims have no control.  I believe depression (whether major or minor) is directly linked to sin in our lives and our unwillingness to acknowledge it, repent of it, and turn to God for a complete release from its power.

An exhaustive study completed on the causes for depression has listed 12 main reasons for the problem.  Over my next few posts I would like to take a closer look at these causes and correctly identify how sin is directly related to each one.  I warn that doing so will be uncomfortable for most of us, since everyone I know (myself included) engages in at least one of these sins from time to time, and many do so habitually.  Facing sin head-on, accepting the conviction of the Holy Spirit into our hearts, feeling sincere and Godly sorrow for it (otherwise known as repentance), and turning to our Holy Father for cleansing and release is never easy... but it always leads to restoration.

Repentance is required for salvation.  John the Baptist preached repentance vehemently.  Jesus called for repentance.  The Apostle Paul taught of the necessity of repentance for salvation.  The Bible makes it clear that God requires repentance for cleansing and restoration in the believer's heart.  Nowhere is Godly repentance offered as an option; it is a definite requisite for mankind.

"Bring forth fruit that is consistent with repentance [let your lives prove your change of heart]."

(Matthew 3:8)

"From that time Jesus began to preach, crying out, 'Repent (change your mind for the better, heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"

(Matthew 4:17)

"For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: 'In returning to me [in repentance] and resting in Me you shall be saved; in quietness and in [trusting] confidence shall be your strength."

(Isaiah 30:15)

"And Jesus replied to them, 'It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to arouse and invite and call the righteous, but the erring ones (those not free from sin) to repentance [to change their minds for the better and heartily to amend their ways, with abhorrence of their past sins.'" 

(Luke 5:31-32)

"So repent (change your mind and purpose); turn around and return [to God], that your sins may be erased (blotted out, wiped clean), that times of refreshing (of recovering from the effects of heat, of reviving with fresh air) may come from the presence of the Lord."

(Acts 3:19)

"Yet I am glad now, not because you were pained, but because you were pained into repentance [and so turned back to God]; for you felt a grief such as God meant you to feel, so that in nothing you might suffer loss through us or harm for what we did."

(II Corinthians 7:9)

In the blogs to follow this one, I will list and address many of the causes for depression that have been established by the medical and psychological communities, compare and contrast them with the Word of God, and pray fervently that those who read what I write (and suffer from depression or know others who have/are experiencing it) will be convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit to confess their sin, turn from it in true repentance, and return to the safety of a loving Heavenly Father whose Son stated:

" The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

(John 10:10)