We value asking questions to better understand how to live life in a God-centered, Christ-exalting way. Let’s face it, life is tough and trying to find your way on your own just makes things more difficult. But where can you go to find biblical answers to life issues? We believe that church should be THAT place. So, we have a “GraceTALK” every quarter in which some of our pastors answers questions that you have submitted.
- (1:19) What is the difference between Catholics and Protestants?
- (24:14) If God knows what I need and what I may ask in prayer, then why do I pray? Also, if He is in control of everything and has a Divine plan, does my prayer change anything?
- (39:34) I experience emotional “ups and downs” like everybody, but lately, I have found myself fighting what my friend calls depression. I am not sure if my friend’s “diagnoses” is true or not, given, depression seems to be a catch-all for everything these days. Therefore, how do I know if I am “depressed” and how do I remedy it?
Submit a future GraceTALK question.
I wanted to see if I could get some clarification on the anxiety/depression issue. I think what’s mostly been talked about recently is ‘normal’ levels of anxiety and depression and not ‘clinical/medical’ anxiety and depression. Is this the case? The reason I ask is that my husband suffers from clinical anxiety (severe social anxiety to be specific) and we’ve prayed for God to heal him of this, but at this time it does not seem to be in God’s will that this burden be taken from him. However, things are better when he takes medicine. I think care needs to be taken to differentiate between these different types of anxiety and depression. We’ve all, at various times in our lives, dealt with anxious moments, but that is not the same thing as a clinical diagnosis of anxiety and the two cannot be handled the same way. Telling someone that they need to trust God when they are in the midst of an extreme anxiety attack is not going to help most people and can push them farther from God by making them think that they aren’t ‘good enough’ Christians if they can’t control their anxiety through prayer. I would appreciate your thoughts on this…
Thanks for the follow-up question. To be sure, as stated in this past GT session, the issue of depression can be vast and complex. To simplify our counsel to merely contain “trust God” responses and not wrestle with and struggle for the person undergoing the situation would not be loving nor helpful. With that being said, would any answer aimed at being loving and truly helpful not involve trusting God at its core? Whether it be mild depression or clinical anxiety, would not trusting the Lord be the ultimate goal on which all other strategies (including medication to stabilize a dangerous situation) would rest? The Apostle Paul speaks to his discovery of this goal when he says:
“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11-13)
A cursory survey of the life of Paul will reveal that he was regularly anxious and overwhelmed even to the point of what we would call “clinical anxiety.” When writing to the believers in Corinth Paul revealed how high his anxiety was – to the point of death!
“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death.” (2 Cor. 1:8-9)
Paul discovered that in every and any situation, the key or “secret” of contentment to his anxiety was believing or trusting or having faith that he “can do all things.” Paul “learned” that a high-anxiety situation demands a profound trust in God’s provision, the faith that God will strengthen him in order to honor and enjoy the Lord through the situation. Paul believed he would never face a situation in which God would not provide for him everything he needed to make it through. In other words, Paul learned that faith is the key to dealing with his anxiety.
Therefore, let’s be both careful and helpful to recognize there are vast and complex dimensions of anxiety AND our resources find their root and remedy ultimately in trusting our God and gracious God. We can certainly administer helpful techniques and possibly even medical resources but never at the expense of trusting the resources provided for us in a faith-saturated, God-dependent outlook in life. The Bible is very clear regarding the resources available to us because of Jesus through the Holy Spirit:
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” 2 Peter 1:3-4
While it is true that all people struggle to believe God’s provision for them (across the spectrum of life) and that we all need to discover how to trust God more, we should not and must not conclude that believing the truth or “having faith” is not enough. The problem is not with “faith” the problem is that we struggle to trust God.