Ever wonder why sometimes healing seems so hard? Ever wonder why being Christian doesn't seem to be enough to fix your past wounds? Have you tried to pray your way out of pain but it didn't work?
A great book I recommend: "Healing for Damaged Emotions" by David Seamands. He talks about depression, perfectionism and how we can be too hard on ourselves etc.
A quote from the book, "Isn't it true that 'by their fruits ye shall know them'? Yes but it is also true that by their roots you shall understand, and not judge them. (amen Ex. Over here is John, who may appear to be more spiritual... and responsible as a Christian than Bill. But actually, considering John's roots and the good kind of soil he had to grow in and out of, Bill may be a saint by comparison. He may have made much more progress than John in really being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ." This is good, always consider where people are coming from. There is always a reason for things.
A quote from the book, "Isn't it true that 'by their fruits ye shall know them'? Yes but it is also true that by their roots you shall understand, and not judge them. (amen Ex. Over here is John, who may appear to be more spiritual... and responsible as a Christian than Bill. But actually, considering John's roots and the good kind of soil he had to grow in and out of, Bill may be a saint by comparison. He may have made much more progress than John in really being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ." This is good, always consider where people are coming from. There is always a reason for things.
I love his intro to the book. He said there are so many Christians that, no matter how much they read the Bible and pray etc. they don't seem to make progress in their walks with God. The reason, I think, is that often churches do not hit at psychological issues that plague people. Issues that stem from sexual abuse as a child, or neglect, or critical parents etc.
There is a chapter on depression. In reading it I realized that I have not struggled with depression too much. I certainly did after someone close to me died though. I would cry about it at least once a day for about 6 months and ask God why really. But this blog really helped me in that time to not sink into the pit of despair and wallow in my misery. Writing has always been my best therapy and a means to feel like I am still doing something. I can contribute something to the world. I don't know who you are reading this, but I hope you benefit from what I write. :)
But if you have struggled with depression a lot definitely check out this book. He talks about that we need to be ok with our sadness or depression when it comes on. To get mad at yourself for being depressed will only make the problem worse. Sadness is a part of living in a fallen world. There are plenty of things to be sad about and it's totally logical that we would be sometimes.
David says, "Certain areas of our lives need special healing by the Holy Spirit. Because they are not subject to ordinary prayer, discipline, and willpower, they need a special kind of understanding, an unlearning of past wrong programming, and a relearning and reprogramming transformation by the renewal of our minds. And this is not done overnight."
For sure when we are scarred by things in our childhood we are programmed to think a certain way about certain things. If our parents were critical, we are programmed to think that no one approves of us ever, including God. If we were sexually abused or abused in any way we learn to be fearful of people and untrusting. If we never felt our parents were pleased with us, we will be very self-critical and think we need to accomplish an insane amount for anyone to approve of us. What we learn as children WILL follow us into adult hood, unless we can see the lies from Satan for what they are, and start to believe the truth about the world rather than the lies. Amen? Amen.
May God bless you and heal you as you seek to follow Him! :) Grace and peace be with you. :)
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