Four Steps To Climb Out Of A Pit Of Depression

While planting my first church I experienced the worst depression of my life. It seemed as though I had worked so hard with such minimal results. I felt like a terrible failure.

At meals I hardly spoke and stared blankly. I was too embarrassed to share my feelings. I suffered silently, miserably and alone.

Sadly, I even doubted God’s love and His Word. This caused me to question whether I should be a pastor. My negative doubts and thoughts threw me into a tailspin of confusion and despair.

I was stuck in the pit of depression.

Since then I have learned to manage life and discouragements better.

From the Life of Elijah, here are Four Practical Steps to Climbing Out of a Pit of Depression:

1. Develop Trustworthy Friendships

Though highly revered, James 5:17a says, “Elijah was a man just like us.”

Like us, Elijah suffered with depression: “Then he traveled through the wilderness for a day. He sat down under a broom plant and wanted to die. ‘I’ve had enough now, LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life!'” (1 Kings 19:4 GW)

When discouraged, God wanted Elijah to engage with people and not isolate. God had Elijah train Elisha as his successor and he became his close friend.

“The Lord said to him, ‘Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.” (1 Kings 19:15-16)

One breakthrough for me came when I confided in three trustworthy friends. They were helpful, and listened compassionately.

A skilled professional counselor can become a great confidant and advisor for those dealing with depression.

2. Get Proper Nutrition, Rest and Exercise

Elijah was exhausted and that fed his depression. So God provided rest and nutrition.

“Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.’ So he got up and ate and drank.” (1 Kings 19:5-8a)

Don’t overlook the importance of caring for your body in order to manage your emotions.

3. Give Your Problems to God

Elijah gave his problems to God: “And the word of the Lord came to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’” (1 Kings 19:9b-10)

Elijah thought all the Israelites had rejected God. But 7,000 remained who were faithful.

Talk with God. Unload your burdens and gain His perspective.

When my mother died suddenly at age 69, I mourned her loss deeply. I was angry and confused by her relatively young passing and I shared my feelings with God. I honestly complained that she died too young.

My open and straightforward dialog with God helped keep me from depression.

I did not curse, threaten, abandon or insult God. But I shared my problems and emotions.

Instead of hindering my relationship with God, my grief became the catalyst for drawing me closer to Him.

If you doubt that we can be honest about our emotions with God, just read the Psalms—such as Psalm 69 and 88.

4. Listen to God’s Gentle Whisper

“The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” (1 Kings 19:11-13)

Elijah heard God’s gentle whisper and was led out of depression.

Phillip Keller wrote in his autobiography about his half-hearted commitment to the Lord. Determined to hear from God, like Elijah, he went to a mountaintop. He paced for hours, with arms raised, crying out for God to fill him.

God whispered that submission, not emotion was required.

Phillip wholly committed his life to the Lord. This sacred interlude between man and God’s Spirit left him radiant!

Special Crisis Information:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)

3 Steps To Slay Your Giant-Sized Problems

When I was leading a church plant in the early 1980’s (wow that was a long time ago!), we were meeting in a city recreation center. The city was hospitable and it was a good facility. However, two Sundays a year we were coopted by two previous tenants: a flower show, and a dog show.

This was the building and that’s the pastor (me) family (Carolyn & Gabriel).

I guess you could say our church location went to the dogs!

These two Sundays created a problem for our fledgling congregation—where do we go and how do we adapt? It was a giant-sized problem (or maybe a dog-sized problem, ha ha).

So we improvised. We met outside in an amphitheater one time (which definitely was not ideal), in the Boys & Girls Club building, and in another city-owned building once or twice.

Have you ever faced a giant-sized problem? I am sure you have. Problems are inevitable, but like David we can choose to stand up to them with courage.

Goliath said, “‘I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man that we may fight together.’When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.” (1 Samuel 17:10-11)

Goliath was certainly a giant-sized problem. He towered over David at 9’9”. How would you like to face a guy like that who wanted to remove your head from its God-intended location?

Goliath was menacing, threatening and yelling curses at the army of Israel, blaspheming the name of God. David had a tender heart for the Lord and determined to defeat him.

David responded, “‘Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.’ And David said, ‘The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you!’” (1 Samuel 17:36-37)

We can learn from David how to slay our giant-sized problems in 3 steps:

1) Identify

Richard Sloma wisely said, “Never try to solve all your problems at once–make them line up for you one-by-one.”

Identify just one current problem that you are facing and write it down. It might be:

• Financial stressIllness

• Grief

• Marital conflict

• Other relational conflict

• Business setbacks

Attack that one of your giant-sized problems first.

2) Divide

David encouraged himself by remembering his past accomplishments. He set aside his setbacks. As he remembered his successes in defeating lions and bears, he grew in confidence that he could overcome this giant also.

Likewise, we can divide our past victories from our failures and gain courage as we focus on victories.

We can remember failures and things we’ve heard like:

• “You’ll never be a leader.”

• “You are not very fast.”

• “You don’t know how to work with people, numbers or books.”

• “You will always be a loser.”

Or

We can remember successes and recite confidence builders such as:

“All things are possible for the one who believes.” Mark 9:23“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13“If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31

Think and write down five confidence builders or accomplishments you have experienced in overcoming major giant-sized problems.

3) Conquer

Read 1 Samuel 17 and you will see that people questioned David’s ability to defeat Goliath due to his lack of:

• Age

• Experience

• Size

• Weapons

• Armor

What did David do? He challenged their assumptions that he was incapable and generated solutions.

“Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:40)

Goliath was a goner.

We must remind ourselves that God is not limited by our lack or by our weakness.

Think of and write down 3 to 5 solutions you may have never tried. Circle the one with the greatest potential and the lowest risk. Then begin to act on it.

You will begin to defeat your giant-sized (or dog-sized) problems!

How To Medal In Every Event Of Life

Olympic medal winners must overcome huge challenges in order to come out on top. It is the same for all of us. Helping to build DCPI (Dynamic Church Planting International) from the ground up has had many difficulties.

Last year Carolyn and I got to visit Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics. This is what is left of the original Olympic stadium there.

Soon after I partnered with Paul Becker in developing DCPI, his first wife died of cancer. Our training attendance was low, we experienced financial struggles, and staff members gave up and left.

We could easily have allowed these trials to defeat us. But through prayer and faith we persevered and are now seeing remarkable success.

Our vision is “Equipping leaders to plant 5 million dynamic churches.” Over the past five years (2009-2013), we equipped 51,280. Research indicates that each of those churches will plant 2.7 more churches and the total will become 138,456 churches! Our research indicates that ultimately there will be over 6 million new Christians brought to Jesus through those churches!

The Apostle Paul wrote: “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

Within this short verse there are four attitudes that can make us winners in every event in life, no matter what:

#1: An “I Can Do” It Attitude

Do you find yourself repeatedly thinking of your past mistakes and think you cannot “win”? Have faith.

“What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen.” (Hebrews 11:1a TLB)

FAITH is a Biblical word for choosing the right positive attitude.

If you think this is unimportant, consider Hebrews 11:6 which says “And without faith it is impossible to please God…” We MUST cultivate this attitude.

#2: An “I Can Do Everything” Attitude

Everything means everything that is:

Right

Our efforts must be ethical, moral and relatively safe. Make sure God is for you! The best way to know this is to study the Bible.

Everything also means everything that is:

Reasonable

“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought; rather think of yourself with sober judgment.” (Romans 12:3b)

Is your goal stretching yet reasonable? I could not reasonably expect to win the US Open this year—I am not a golfer! But I could have faith that I could learn to golf and maybe win a local tournament next year. Have reasonable faith.

#3: An “I can Do Everything Through Him” Attitude

Christians can have a winning attitude because we have the power of God working in us. We also have the wonderful promise that “all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28).

We can be like David who wrote “Yes, though a mighty army marches against me, my heart shall know no fear! I am confident that God will save me.” (Psalm 27:3)

We can face difficulties and overcome incredible odds with:

• Confidence

• Faith

• Boldness

• Peace

• Courage

• Expectation

So why not ask God to give you a God-sized vision? Then persevere by continually reviewing the verses in this article and others like them. Ask a friend or family member to hold you accountable to maintain a faith-filled attitude.

📷

Here I am ready to race (haha) at the starting line in the original Olympic stadium.

#4: An “I Can Do Everything Through Him Who Gives Me Strength” Attitude

God will give you strength like He did for Glenn Cunningham. At age 8 Glenn suffered severe burns from the waist down in a gasoline explosion, which also claimed the life of his older brother. Young Cunningham’s distress resulted in his doctor’s recommendation to amputate his legs. While he and his parents rejected this amputation, the prognosis was that he would certainly never walk again.

Two years later, however, after intense therapy and incredible perseverance, he walked again. Later he was even able to run.

Amazingly Glenn became one of the fastest runners in the world. In 1938, Cunningham set the world record in the 800 meter run and he also set a world record in the indoor mile run of 4:04.4.

Through his ordeal Glenn’s favorite Bible verse was Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Are you facing immense trials? Do what Jesus did and “wait on the Lord” to give you strength. Jesus spent the night before his crucifixion praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. He prayed so earnestly that He sweat great drops of blood. His prayer was, “Father, not what I will but your will be done.” The next day, He bore our sins in the unfathomable agony of the cross.

Psalm 46:1 promises that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.”

One practical way that I have been able to cultivate a winning attitude is by keeping a daily journal of my blessings. I have listed over 20,000 so far! It has also helped me immensely to realize God’s purposes in suffering which you can read about HERE and HERE.