Tuesday, May 20, 2008
God CAN heal depression: Part 2
10:03 PM by Christi Bowman
In my last post, I forgot the most important verse that I wanted to share on why I think God alone can cure all people from depression.
I Corinthians 10:12b (MSG)
Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence.
I know that people do not usually equate self confidence with depression. However, those suffering with depression, can put there confidence in a doctor, a medication, or in an addiction of some sort.
In the beginning of I Corinthians 10, Paul is comparing the Christian walk with the Israeli journey out of Egypt. Paul states that they were personally led by God with a Providential Cloud. He compares the Israelites walk through the sea, with our Baptism. Paul correlates God's miraculous manna and quail from the sky with our communion; and Paul also points out that they drank living water from The Rock, daily, and The Rock was Christ. But, after making this comparison, Paul goes on to say that experiencing all these wonders of God didn't mean much to the Israelites. Paul points out that they were defeated by hard times in the desert, and that the same thing could happen to us. Paul pleads with us to not depend on ourselves, but to depend on God.
Kevin and I have been listening to
Andrew Wommack. In one of his sermons,
Mr Wommack sheds some light on Ephesians 3:20 (MSG)
God can do anything, you know, far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
After reading the text,
Mr Wommack pointed out that most people who read this verse like to put a period after dreams, and quit reading. They miss out on what the verse is trying to teach them.
When we as Christians face hard times, we wonder where God is, and we like to quote this verse to ourselves...and wait. After waiting, and seeing little, if any, change in our situation, we give up on God. Our faith wanes as we question the validity or relevance of scripture today. We take matters into our own hands, deciding that God's promises aren't meant for us, and we learn dependence on ourselves. This is exactly what Paul warns against. If we were to keep reading Ephesians 3:20, we would see that God can do anything, but He does it through us. Don't get me wrong...I am in NO way advocating a "God helps those who help themselves" philosophy.
When we are spiritually reborn, Almighty God comes to live inside of us as the Holy Spirit. That is why it is HUGE to miss out on "He does it...by working within us, His Spirit deeply and gently within us." God CAN do ANYTHING (we can't even begin to grasp what our God is capable of), and He chooses to use US to do it. Ephesians says He will not push us around though. He refuses to rip the problems out of our lives as long as we depend on ourselves, and whatever worldly method we believe in to fix them. He does not want us depending on ourselves, He wants us to have God confidence...confidence in Him. And, when we start to trust in Him He CAN, and WILL, heal us...completely...and then He can do ANYTHING through His Spirit, ALIVE, and working in us.
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