It's a battle

One of the Living Room facilitators emailed me with a comment - something I have been lax to accept but now realize there is a lot of truth in. In fact, it's something that should not be ignored. My pastor's wife pointed it out to me as well last Saturday. I'll quote some of what this facilitator said:

"When Jesus told us that if we have faith we can say to this mountain 'be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea' (Matthew 17:20) and don't doubt in our hearts, nothing will be impossible to us. We aren't told to pray to the Lord to have him remove the mountain. We speak to the mountain in his name. When a depression threatens to overtake me I don't ask the Lord to remove it. He's already given me the authority to get rid of it in his name. I refuse to receive depression and when I sense it looming, I rebuke it in Jesus' name. And if the depression persists, I persist more. If the depression doesn't lift right away, don't be discouraged. Keep rebuking it in Jesus' name. Keep praising Jesus and use your God-given capacity to get angry at that depression."

Last night and this morning I did that. I commanded the depression to leave me in Christ's name. And you know, my mind cleared and I found a new strength and confidence. And there was joy in that strength and confidence.

I'm not saying that depression is not a medical problems, but I'm saying that spiritually there's a lot we can do about it.

Now I'm going to go for a workout, something I can physically do for myself. Something else that will help clear those cobwebs. And because I've looked after my spiritual self, I am encouraged to get out there and move my body - to do all the things that are good for me. Maybe I'll even get creative. We need to look after our whole selves - and God made us into some pretty complicated beings.

God is so amazing and so good, isn't He?

Cure or healing?

At Living Room on Friday we're going to discuss the difference between cure and healing. Jesus asked the blind Bartimeus, "What do you want?" "I want my sight," Bartimeus said to Him. And Jesus healed him.

There are so many stories like this in the Bible. On Friday I will ask the question, "What would you ask Jesus for if He asked you what you wanted?" "Would you ask for a cure for your mood disorder? Or would you ask for healing?" And what's the difference anyway?

Ezine Articles has a good piece about the difference between the two, written by Wil Langford.

Myself? I don't think I'd ask Jesus for a cure. Who I've become and the purpose I have found for my life is too much tied to my disorder. If I didn't have bipolar disorder God would not have given me the work I do. And I like the work I do. It's challenging. It's rewarding. Helping other people and trying to erase the stigma attached to mental illness is what my struggles have prepared me for.

Yes, I don't want a cure. But I do want healing. I want the peace of knowing that God is there for me in my struggles - especially my struggles with depression. I pray for strength and the ability to accept and deal with whatever difficulties might come along.

Isn't healing far better than a cure? When God heals us we become whole people. A cure isn't necessarily going to do that for us.

May God heal you, whatever problems you might be dealing with. May God bless you.