Depression vs Faith

Sweet Faith

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SweetPlum
Try reading the Scripture every day. Just one chapter is enough and it only takes 10 minutes. It’s a real faith booster! Start in the New Testament.
I’ve been suffering from a chronic pain condition for nearly 20 years. Every day is hard to get through, but it is adversity that God uses to make us like Christ. And isn’t that what we want most? I’ve dealt with depression too because of the pain. But I found a very special little book (I believe the Lord led me to it) by a very special author. You will love it, it’s called: Rose From Briar, written by Amy Carmichael. She was a missionary in south India many years ago. She too suffered from chronic pain from an accident while serving in India. She didn’t understand why the Lord would have allowed this because all she wanted to do was to lead others to Christ, and she went half way around the world to do it. She became bedridden. But I can see why the Lord allowed it, He wanted her to write, because He knew that through her writing she would bless many thousands of people. Every time I feel depressed or sorry for myself, besides the Scripture I turn to Rose From Briar, or another similar book she wrote called: Gold by Moonlight. Both books are written for those going through adversity, and Rose From Briar was written for those in physical pain. But is not depression a physical pain? I can answer that with a big, AMEN! These two books are in and out of print, but if you can’t find them on Amazon then look for them on EBay. They are well worth the effort to find them. They will help you through the depression, and help to keep you close to Jesus. God bless you dear sister. —Sweet Faith
 
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Grandliseur

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I'm struggling so much right now. I keep asking myself, why does it even matter if I am a Christian or not? What's the point?
I still call myself a Christian. I can't imagine that ever changing. But the passion/flame isn't there. I don't feel a connection. I feel empty, like my faith is gone. It feels like a struggle to convince myself to care about God. And that's what's confusing. I've always felt that being Christian was just part of who I was. It use to be easy. But now it's like I have to put in an effort to convince myself that God matters. It's not that I'm questioning if he's real or not (although I guess some part of me is). It's more that I wonder, so what if he's real? So what if I'm Christian? Does it make a difference either way? I'll either go to hell or heaven. Am I just trying to force myself to care because there's a possibility I'll go to hell if I don't?

I've come to the conclusion that it must be my depression that is making me feel this way. I'm questioning my own worth, my own friendships, and now even my own religion. And nothing makes these thoughts stop. I don't know what to do anymore. I just wish I could care. I miss feeling something.

[+ I use to never pray. I felt like, well, God has everything planned anyway, so if I pray what difference would it make?
But ever since I started getting these bad feelings, which has been maybe a year now, I started to pray. But I feel like it doesn't do anything. Yet I still keep praying and praying. I pray for these bad feelings to go away, yet they just get worse.]

Edit: I just wanted to give a huge thanks to everyone who has replied. You've made me feel a lot better. I wasn't sure if I should post in here or not, but I'm very glad I did. Rest assured I am reading all these posts, even though I might not reply to all of them. Thank you to each and every single one of you :)
If you are living the Christian life and avoiding to live a life of sin as much as possible, ask for the pain to be taken away for comfort, read the Psalms, and other places of your choice.

At the moment we are living in the last days, and as promised, things are difficult indeed for many Christians and even non-C's.

Do you not have any family to cheer you up?! Church members?!
 
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Tolworth John

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Just wanted to say that mental illness seems to becoming more and more common. I am suffering from bipolar depression and it really sucks. I spend every night before I go to bed reading the Bible and praying. I'm on medication and in therapy, but staying close to the Lord is what is helping me to feel grounded. I'm so happy I was saved this year, and I'm looking forward to heaven where I won't feel depression and pain anymore. I will keep you in my prayers that you will gain a closer relationship with the Lord, and find whatever medical help you may need along the way.

It is good to see you are coping with your bipolar. In addition to what you are already doing, sometimes having a job or a course of study by giving purpose and structure to the day can help with mental illness.

Otherwise it is a case of taking each day as it comes.
 
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riesie

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So sorry you're feeling this bad. The meds take if it are SSRI's at least six to eight weeks to work properly. In my experience that's true but after a few months they still can be working better and better.
Please pray and give all you're feelings, anger, despair to God!
He will comfort you. He's there for you through thick and thin!
 
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Rachel2000

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I'm struggling so much right now. I keep asking myself, why does it even matter if I am a Christian or not? What's the point?
I still call myself a Christian. I can't imagine that ever changing. But the passion/flame isn't there. I don't feel a connection. I feel empty, like my faith is gone. It feels like a struggle to convince myself to care about God. And that's what's confusing. I've always felt that being Christian was just part of who I was. It use to be easy. But now it's like I have to put in an effort to convince myself that God matters. It's not that I'm questioning if he's real or not (although I guess some part of me is). It's more that I wonder, so what if he's real? So what if I'm Christian? Does it make a difference either way? I'll either go to hell or heaven. Am I just trying to force myself to care because there's a possibility I'll go to hell if I don't?

I've come to the conclusion that it must be my depression that is making me feel this way. I'm questioning my own worth, my own friendships, and now even my own religion. And nothing makes these thoughts stop. I don't know what to do anymore. I just wish I could care. I miss feeling something.

[+ I use to never pray. I felt like, well, God has everything planned anyway, so if I pray what difference would it make?
But ever since I started getting these bad feelings, which has been maybe a year now, I started to pray. But I feel like it doesn't do anything. Yet I still keep praying and praying. I pray for these bad feelings to go away, yet they just get worse.]

Edit: I just wanted to give a huge thanks to everyone who has replied. You've made me feel a lot better. I wasn't sure if I should post in here or not, but I'm very glad I did. Rest assured I am reading all these posts, even though I might not reply to all of them. Thank you to each and every single one of you :)
 
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Blade

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SweetPlum. Sometimes I see.. writing everything how I feel in a letter to God then burn it. Why? Don't know its what I see.

I will say something you might not or will not understand. Jesus is real. I didnt read other posts. So what I want to tell you is very simple. There is no.. perfect prayer. There is no perfect words one has to say. Whats a "Christian"? It was a word that was used to make fun of those like you that simple have a relationship with Jesus.

Who.. is with you.. in you. Never left you. No matter what you do.. He is and always will be faithful and VERY happy to see you hear you..talk and sing.. sing? Simple is this.. KNOW that He hears you. Now just talk to Him. Tell Him.. what is not there.. tell Him all. The difference this time is...you know He heard you. You know HE WILL answer. This NEW Fire so to speak.. can only come from Him. This JOY that comes from a GOD..that HELLO is your DADDY! So..you think.. I feel nothing I heard nothing (maybe)..yet I believe He heard me and I believe.. I KNOW He will answer no matter how I feel right now.

This is not a hope.. not a prayer. Its what I KNOW. Jesus is real. And.. when EVER we really from our heart call on HIM... hold ON! Something NEW is about to happen! You asked.. no? He made everything..for YOU. Talk about LOVED! Ask Him. All made for you. As if you were the only one. Yet He does this for ALL His Children. I do not know how He can do this.. well make EACH one of us feel as if we ARE the most important thing to Him. Yet He does this for all. You are the MOST important thing to Him.

Isa 41:10 comes to mind "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand".
 
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faroukfarouk

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God bless you. This morning I read Isaiah chapter 61. In verse 2 it says: put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Depression is an attack. When our spirits are lifted up through praises to God in psalm, songs, hymns and worship the devil must flee. The depression will flee even if it for a while, so that we can constantly look to God for deliverance and depend on Him. His grace is sufficient for us for in our weakness (whatever it might be) His strength is made perfect. The joy of the Lord is our strenght.
I do love Isaiah. :)
 
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faroukfarouk

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@Alicia Schout :

"For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall." (Isaiah 25.4)
 
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Emmy

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Dear SweetPlum. Depression is very sad, but Jesus gives us good advice. In Matthew 22: 35-40: Jesus said: The first and great Commandment is: Love God with all thy hearts, with all thy souls, and with all thy minds. The second is like it: love thy neighbour as thyself." God is Love, and God wants loving men and women. Depression is sad, but LOVE will overcome even that. In Matthew 7: 7-10: we are told: Ask and you shall receive." We ask God for Love, then we thank God, and share all Love with all around us. Love is very catching, and love will help us in any hardship, whatsoever. We ask and we shall receive, Love will overcome all, and Satan and his followers will flee from all love and compassion. That is easy to remember, and will ALWAYS HELP.
The Bible tells us: give up all selfish wishes and wants, ask and thank for LOVE and COMPASSION, for joy and peace. God is our Heavenly Father, and God will always give us what we ask for. It is easy to remember, SweetPlum. Try and find out for yourself. Love God and love each other, treat all as you would love to be treated. I say this with love, and send greetings. From Emmy, your sister in Christ.
 
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lastofall

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[for me anyway] it all returns to the same matter, that "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17): therefore we cannot begin to make excuse for not submitting to and relying upon the Word of God, because that is from where only faith comes, regardless of our disposition; and if we lack faith, then we must more abundantly hear God's Word.
 
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aiki

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I'm struggling so much right now. I keep asking myself, why does it even matter if I am a Christian or not? What's the point?

And your answer to your own questions is? Do you have an answer? If not, maybe this is why you feel as you do.

You were made to know and to love God. That's the fundamental reason we all exist. It sounds, though, like you don't know God very well. It is no wonder, then, that life seems pointless and drained of its joy. The deepest fulfillment you can ever obtain is found in knowing and loving your Maker. That you aren't deeply fulfilled by Him and bearing the fruit of His Spirit in your life says something about the character of your relationship to Him. This must change if you want the love, joy, peace and contentment that can only be found in fellowship with your Creator.

I still call myself a Christian. I can't imagine that ever changing. But the passion/flame isn't there. I don't feel a connection. I feel empty, like my faith is gone. It feels like a struggle to convince myself to care about God. And that's what's confusing. I've always felt that being Christian was just part of who I was. It use to be easy. But now it's like I have to put in an effort to convince myself that God matters. It's not that I'm questioning if he's real or not (although I guess some part of me is). It's more that I wonder, so what if he's real? So what if I'm Christian? Does it make a difference either way? I'll either go to hell or heaven. Am I just trying to force myself to care because there's a possibility I'll go to hell if I don't?

If you have to make an effort to convince yourself God matters, you don't understand the God you claim to believe in. Nothing matters more than God. He is the Center of Everything, the Ground of All Reality, the Maker and Sustainer of the universe. Your existence is entirely dependent upon Him at every moment! So, whether you feel He does or not, God matters supremely!

If your relationship with God is motivated by a fear of Hell, you've misunderstood very fundamentally what it means to be a Christian. The First and Great Commandment God gives to us is not to fear Him, but to love Him with all of our being (Matthew 22:36-38) This is where the Christian life begins. All of what God calls us to as His children is supposed to flow out of a growing love for Him. Going to church, praying, tithing, Bible reading - these are all to be the by-products, the result, of knowing and loving God. When this isn't the case, when fear, or obligation, or religious pride motivate our walk with God, we come eventually to see walking with Him as a burden, not a joy, and then begin to wonder what the point is in doing so.

And nothing makes these thoughts stop. I don't know what to do anymore. I just wish I could care. I miss feeling something.

Why don't you try being thankful? Every day, two or three times a day, go through a list of those things for which you ought to be thankful to God: His love and mercy, His sacrifice of His only Son for your sins, your family, friends, a comfortable home, food to eat, clothing to wear, etc. Focus on the blessings of God in your life, not on your depressive state. There is no antidote for depression found in dwelling on it and fussing about it. Preoccupy yourself with Christ, think on his goodness to you, and the cloud of unhappiness that has settled upon you will begin to lift.

[+ I use to never pray. I felt like, well, God has everything planned anyway, so if I pray what difference would it make?
But ever since I started getting these bad feelings, which has been maybe a year now, I started to pray. But I feel like it doesn't do anything. Yet I still keep praying and praying. I pray for these bad feelings to go away, yet they just get worse.]

Praying for the feelings to go away makes you focus on them. And you will always be shaped by, and conformed to, what you focus on. The more you look at your depression, the more it fills your view. This is why the Bible tells us again and again what to occupy our minds with: Philippians 4:8; Psalms 1:1-4; 1 Peter 2:2; Matthew 4:4. When you pray, don't pray for the absence of depression but that God would make you more and more like Christ. (Romans 8:29) God's answer to things like depression is a life transformed such that it brightly reflects the Saviour. This is your way out of an unhappy, flat, grey life.

Hebrews 12:1-4
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
 
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MournfulWatcher

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Faith isn't actually about how you feel at all. I've heard some people make the case that the word "faith" in the Bible can sometimes be translated as "allegiance". So instead of "I have faith in christ" it would be "my allegiance is to christ". I think this helps some people who struggle to understand what faith actually means; it means that you've chosen jesus over satan, and you have been forgiven and are being forgiven by jesus, and that your hearts belongs to him.

Your feelings are not too big for God; they seem big to you, and they can be scary, but compared to God's greatness, depression is nothing for him. We all suffer, please know you are not alone in feeling like this. You aren't alone in your pain. There are some nights where I feel my faith is so weak that the only thing I can do is to rest my hand on my bible as I fall into a restless sleep, to show god and myself that my allegiance is still to him.

Dry periods are common in our walk with christ, but this can can be especially difficult for people with depression. Remember that in your time of greatest weakness, jesus is still the strongest part of you. It's okay to turn to others for help, like you did here, but I pray that you find christian brothers and sisters in your daily life that you can trust. Please take care of yourself; your depression is not who you are. Tell yourself this truth.
 
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Sarah G

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Faith isn't actually about how you feel at all. I've heard some people make the case that the word "faith" in the Bible can sometimes be translated as "allegiance". So instead of "I have faith in christ" it would be "my allegiance is to christ". I think this helps some people who struggle to understand what faith actually means; it means that you've chosen jesus over satan, and you have been forgiven and are being forgiven by jesus, and that your hearts belongs to him.

Your feelings are not too big for God; they seem big to you, and they can be scary, but compared to God's greatness, depression is nothing for him. We all suffer, please know you are not alone in feeling like this. You aren't alone in your pain. There are some nights where I feel my faith is so weak that the only thing I can do is to rest my hand on my bible as I fall into a restless sleep, to show god and myself that my allegiance is still to him.

Dry periods are common in our walk with christ, but this can can be especially difficult for people with depression. Remember that in your time of greatest weakness, jesus is still the strongest part of you. It's okay to turn to others for help, like you did here, but I pray that you find christian brothers and sisters in your daily life that you can trust. Please take care of yourself; your depression is not who you are. Tell yourself this truth.
99.9% sure that God moved you to post this for me! Is that outrageously egotistical of me? Well, your words are exactly the words I needed this morning, thank you for taking the time to write. God bless you!
 
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faroukfarouk

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99.9% sure that God moved you to post this for me! Is that outrageously egotistical of me? Well, your words are exactly the words I needed this morning, thank you for taking the time to write. God bless you!
A good verse:

"My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." (Psalm 73.26)
 
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ladodgers6

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I'm struggling so much right now. I keep asking myself, why does it even matter if I am a Christian or not? What's the point?
I still call myself a Christian. I can't imagine that ever changing. But the passion/flame isn't there. I don't feel a connection. I feel empty, like my faith is gone. It feels like a struggle to convince myself to care about God. And that's what's confusing. I've always felt that being Christian was just part of who I was. It use to be easy. But now it's like I have to put in an effort to convince myself that God matters. It's not that I'm questioning if he's real or not (although I guess some part of me is). It's more that I wonder, so what if he's real? So what if I'm Christian? Does it make a difference either way? I'll either go to hell or heaven. Am I just trying to force myself to care because there's a possibility I'll go to hell if I don't?

I've come to the conclusion that it must be my depression that is making me feel this way. I'm questioning my own worth, my own friendships, and now even my own religion. And nothing makes these thoughts stop. I don't know what to do anymore. I just wish I could care. I miss feeling something.

[+ I use to never pray. I felt like, well, God has everything planned anyway, so if I pray what difference would it make?
But ever since I started getting these bad feelings, which has been maybe a year now, I started to pray. But I feel like it doesn't do anything. Yet I still keep praying and praying. I pray for these bad feelings to go away, yet they just get worse.]

Edit: I just wanted to give a huge thanks to everyone who has replied. You've made me feel a lot better. I wasn't sure if I should post in here or not, but I'm very glad I did. Rest assured I am reading all these posts, even though I might not reply to all of them. Thank you to each and every single one of you :)
I have been down this road, you're on. Until I finally heard the sweet tasting watering Gospel that Paul preached. In that God justifies the ungodly, not the godly or the righteous. We keep looking for assurance and confidence in moral improvement or 12 step feel good program to get us through the rough times. Or we keep a score board of our good deeds vs our bad ones; hoping we can make up for the bad deeds, through our good deeds.

This is not the good news for the ungodly! This is placing us back under the Law, with the demands for perfect righteousness. Which will only bring hopelessness, unworthiness because we will always fall short. But the good news is that God who loves us. Came down into time and history;in the flesh; born under the Law; became sin, who knew no sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God. By which Christ fulfilled the Law demands for us! This is the only place we can stand before God, and have a loving relationship with him.

I have something for you, and hope you enjoy it.

Justification by Faith Alone
 
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I have been down this road, you're on. Until I finally heard the sweet tasting watering Gospel that Paul preached. In that God justifies the ungodly, not the godly or the righteous. We keep looking for assurance and confidence in moral improvement or 12 step feel good program to get us through the rough times. Or we keep a score board of our good deeds vs our bad ones; hoping we can make up for the bad deeds, through our good deeds.

This is not the good news for the ungodly! This is placing us back under the Law, with the demands for perfect righteousness. Which will only bring hopelessness, unworthiness because we will always fall short. But the good news is that God who loves us. Came down into time and history;in the flesh; born under the Law; became sin, who knew no sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God. By which Christ fulfilled the Law demands for us! This is the only place we can stand before God, and have a loving relationship with him.

I have something for you, and hope you enjoy it.

Justification by Faith Alone



Great post.."..could I intercede here to send plum to the Gospel thAt saves.....1Cor : 15. Paul said to believe it for yourself for salvation......faith plus nothing! God bless!
 
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