Exploring faith and life
Depression and anxiety have reached epidemic proportions ….. but you may be surprised to know that the Bible has a lot to say about them. Often ….. those who experience the highest highs also experience the lowest lows. The prophet Elijah was such a man. After an amazing victory on Mt Carmel in which God used him to prove He is the one true God ….. the next chapter sees him running away and fearing for his life. Here’s God’s recipe for dealing with depression. 1. Rest 2. Food and drink 3. God got him to acknowledge where he was and what he was feeling. 4. God addressed his fears and assured him he was not alone. 5. God gave him a new assignment and gave him a companion to work alongside him. He will do the same for you if you allow Him to.
Do you feel like you are alone and that no one else understands what you are going through? Does it feel as though you are dangling in mid air? Do you feel vulnerable? I want you to know that you are being carried by a very strong support system. From where you are ….. you can’t see the whole picture. But if you could ….. you would know that there are others ahead of you who have completed the journey and cheering you on. And also ….. there are still others following behind you who will need your encouragement. No one can do life for us ….. but we can support one another! Hang in there!
It’s funny how ….. when something happens outside of our realm of understanding ….. we try to explain it away. Many read the Bible with a ‘pair of scissors’! They keep the bits they like ….. but cut out the passages that don’t fit with their theology. These include miracles ….. and things that challenge their comfort. If they were to believe these things ….. they would have to change the way they live. The Resurrection of Christ is one of the events that has had lawyers and judges setting out to disprove its authenticity ….. only to come to the verdict that the evidence proves it happened! Jesus appeared to more than 500 people after his death and burial! Why did it cause so much controversy? Because ….. in rising from the grave ….. Jesus overcame sin and death for us all. He proved He is God ….. and made it possible for us the be saved! 
Today we celebrate the most amazing act of love the world has ever seen. A Father ….. seeing the need of us His children ….. and knowing there was only one way to meet that need ….. gave His only Son to die in our place ….. as a sacrifice for our sin. Crucifixion was one of the cruelest and humiliating ways to die. But Jesus’ focus was on you and me being reconciled to God and able to live with Him forever. He even prayed for our forgiveness as He was dying. What should be our response? Jesus made it possible for us to be saved ….. but the choice is still ours. The term ‘unconditional love’ is used a lot lately but you won’t find it in the Bible! It’s true in the sense that a parent never stops loving their child no matter what they do ….. but that same love forces them to punish wrong behaviour. We have a choice to make! And it’s Heaven or Hell! Yes, there is such a place as Hell ….. but nobody will go there because God doesn’t love them. On the contrary, they will go there precisely because they have willfully chosen to reject His love, freely offered to them in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. ‘Choose you this day whom you will serve.’ 
