Week of May 7, 2007
One way to beat depression is to stop thinking of ourselves and start thinking more deeply about Christ.
Let me tell you something to avoid asking a friend who is feeling down. I am not saying it is always wrong, but be careful. Ask this question and you may make the situation worse.Here is the question to avoid, “How are you doing?” “How’s it going for you?”
Not always, but often, people think themselves into a mental tailspin. Introspection, thinking about how you feel, can be a kind of mental quicksand. When you ask a person with that struggle, “How are you doing?” You only encourage him or her to continue focusing inward.
Psalm 77 is the story of someone in a mental battle. The Psalmist said he couldn’t sleep and felt like God was against him. Twice he says that he “mused.” I looked that word up. “To muse” means to turn things over and over in ones mind without achieving any resolution.The turning point came when the Psalmist stopped thinking about how He was doing and began to focus on God. He asked Himself, “Has God’s unfailing love failed?” The answer to that question is obviously “no.”
So, maybe instead of asking people how they are doing, we should ask them, “How is God doing?” The answer to that question is that God is glorious. There is none like Him. He never sleeps or slumbers and He always accomplishes exactly what He seeks to do. He is a loving, merciful God. And, If you are truly a Christian, then He works all things together for your good.
This is also true when you’re having an interpersonal conflict– sometimes it works to your disadvantage to hash through all the negative emotions related to the disagreement. Better again, to acknowledge God’s goodness in working all things (even this argument) together for his good.