Depressed. Disillusioned. In despair. I meet people who may be described in one (or more) of these ways every day. I encounter some online and others face-to-face. After reviewing the causes of depression, disillusionment, and despair we’ll tackle possible solutions. In a nutshell, all are caused by this sentiment, “My life is broken and I can’t fix it.”
The purpose of our sites, Simple truth – Simple faith and Amazing Grays Ministry, is to promote faith that overcomes fear.
Christians are beginning to discuss the nature of the time we live in; “Is this the end time?” The issues are as diverse as the population:
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- Will the United States return to her former power and glory?
- Can the divisions within our population be repaired?
- How long will I be unemployed?
- My kids are getting out of control and I can’t stop it.
- I am sick and there is no cure in sight.
- I am a victim with no options on the table.
Depression
Depression may be rooted in hopelessness, fear, an unfulfilled lust, or a physiological imbalance. When you can see no way out of a present dilemma you may eventually lose all hope that a remedy exists.
Fear increases when you feel that you cannot control your circumstances and that you are powerless to save yourself or someone you love from a bad outcome. Depression also builds when you want something so much but no matter how hard you work to obtain it you fail.
The issue of depression rooted in a physical imbalance is tricky. My grandmother was manic-depressive and allergic to lithium. She was a brilliant and engaging woman but not always balanced. The touchy question is whether there is a real medical issue or one where an excuse and crutch is willingly offered by counselors or medical professionals. There are many non-pharmaceutical ways to achieve balance, but each one of them requires a commitment to daily, or even hourly, maintenance.
Depression is the result when your thought is, “My life is broken and I can’t fix it.”
Disillusioned
Illusions shatter when faith erodes and you realize that what you thought was true is not. Anyone who thinks that life is supposed to be “fair” or that logic will prevail will be disappointed. Life will not be fair and logic will fail because both depend upon what definition is applied to the terms and who has the power to determine what that definition will be.
If you’re waiting for your “fair share” or for logic to bring you victory – think again. If that’s your plan and you stick to it you may as well give disillusionment a nickname and set a place at the dinner table for it. It won’t be leaving any time soon.
Faith in the concepts of fairness and logic is a hopeless faith and will never deliver on the promise someone made you in the name of fairness or logic.
Disillusionment is the result of your thought, “My life is broken and I can’t fix it.”
Despair
Despair comes when there is no vision beyond your depression or disillusionment. Not only is your life broken, but you begin to believe it will remain broken – no repair is possible.
Despair is the result of accepting hopelessness, victim-hood, inevitability, and believing that your situation will never change. Despair is giving up.
The thought of despair is, “My life is broken and it can’t be fixed.”
Options – Faced With a Choice
The worst excuse ever is, “I had no choice.” There is always a choice. The problem is that the option you want many not be on the menu. That doesn’t mean you have no choice, it simply means you have to choose from options other than what you would most prefer.
It doesn’t matter what your circumstance. You may be in an abusive relationship, you may be broke, you may be sick, or you may be imprisoned. You may be on your knees with a gun to your head. Still, you have choices to make. The one you want may not be on the table, but you still have options.
You have the option to stay with, “My life is broken and I can’t fix it” or make the decision to go forward with, “My life is broken and I can begin to fix it.”
Fighting Depression, Disillusionment, or Despair
If a lack of faith, hope, fairness, or control is the root of your problems then the cure is to introduce faith, hope, fairness, or control. One or more of these remedies will handle all of these issues.
If you feel out of control or that you don’t have enough control over your life, then you need to determine what you are ABLE to do and what you are WILLING to do to fix your life. Control begins by accepting and embracing responsibility.
Hopelessness stems from (1) complete reliance on yourself coupled with the belief that you are completely unworthy of that responsibility or (2) that you are totally at the mercy of someone else and they either cannot or will not help you.
In either instance the base problem is you. In the first case you believe faith in yourself is wasted and in the second that your faith in that someone or something else is misplaced.
The answer is to transfer your allegiance and begin building faith in something or someone who is worthy.
Faith – The Remedy for Fear
When reduced to it’s simplest form, the problem of a broken life is broken faith. You may have faith in something or someone who is unworthy of your faith or you may not have any faith at all. In either case you cannot fix your life by reducing or eliminating fear with faith in something unable or unwilling to save you.
Before you can address the faith issue you must address the responsibility issue. Despair sets in when you choose to do nothing to fix your life and you believe that no one else will either.
I guarantee that if you are UNWILLING to do anything to help yourself then no one else can help you. You are simply unwilling. For some reason you have become comfortable in your despair and don’t want to lose that security. You have lied to yourself long enough that you think it’s not your fault, that you can’t change anything, and that no one can change anything. That, my friend, is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The first step is to decide to act. That means simply accepting the responsibility to begin fixing your life and taking a first step no matter how tiny it may be. Even if your ankles are shackled you can shuffle the toes on your right foot past the toes on your left.
Faith in One Who is Worthy
One you accept responsibility you will have choices about where you place your faith. You already know that you can’t fix your life all by yourself.
Where can you find someone who is 100% willing and 100% able to fix your life? Jesus Christ. Many others will complete for your faith. Test each one of them against the standard contained in the previous question.
Walking rightly with the Lord begins with the first tiny step. Jesus will not make you move your big toe. But once you do, He will help you walk in the right direction.
Faith is the answer to depression, disillusionment, and despair. The journey to repairing your broken life begins with a refocus of your faith and choosing to make the first move.
The question really becomes, “Do you want to fix your life?”
On a more personal note:
I’m knee-deep editing the manuscript for my next title coming out later this spring. These few lines from the Introduction in Rapture and Revelation are directly linked to the content of today’s message.
What you believe is a matter of life and death. Knowing why you believe what you believe is equally important.
There is an absolute need for messages that offer the truth about the times we live in. Trust is something you remember from the good old days, not something you teach your children by pointing out any politician, doctor, news anchor, minister, or teacher of our day.
Some of the people I interact with regularly are depressed, disillusioned, or in despair. There is no need for any of that for a child of God. I hope this book will communicate the simple reality of how blessed we are to be new creations in Jesus Christ.
Originally posted on LynnBaber.net.