[PASTOR MARK JESKE] Have
you ever struggled with
feelings of depression or
do you know somebody who
has?
Pastor Mike Novotny has
some encouragement for you
from God's wonderful word
for you today.
[MUSIC]
[PASTOR MICHAEL NOVOTNY]
Dan's friends had
never seen him depressed.
But the day he lost his
job, he seemed to lose
everything they loved
about him - his energy,
his enthusiasm, his
laughter, his jokes, his
positive mindset - seemed
to walk out the door when
the boss shared the news.
But being good friends,
they wanted to help and so
they invited Dan when they
were going out but Dan
just wanted to stay at
home.
They texted him job
opportunities and
applications and openings
but Dan never seemed to
follow-up.
The friends started to get
frustrated with their
depressed friend and so,
they did what any good
group of Christian friends
would do; they googled it.
And Google gave them a
whole list, a treasure
trove of wisdom: Do this
and don't do that.
Stories of people who
escaped and overcame
depression.
Do eat right and don't
forget to exercise.
Do get out of the house
even if you don't want to
and don't forget to
connect spiritually.
Do be open and honest
about your struggles but
don't forget therapy and
medication.
They were so excited about
all these practical ways
to escape depression, they
invited their friend out,
they shared the list - do
this, don't do that.
We're going to help you
through this; we're going
to walk with you through
the darkness.
And they gave him an
entire easy-to-follow
list.
But after a day, none of
the boxes got checked and
then after a week, and
then after a month, and
the paper stuck to Dan's
fridge with a whole list
of unchecked boxes made
him feel even more
depressed.
Have you ever been there?
Seven percent of U.S.
adults struggle with some
form of deep depression in
any given year.
Depression actually comes
from the word "depressio"
in Latin, which means to
press down.
And it's not the drops of
sadness that rain on all
of our heads in this
broken world; it's the
storm that clouds the
forecast for weeks on end.
And if you've ever lived
under that storm or if
you've ever loved someone
who's going through that
storm, you know that
depression is not so
simple to fix.
It invades our lives in so
many different ways.
Maybe depression is part
of your genetic story.
Mom struggled and grandpa
struggled and now you
struggle.
Maybe depression surprised
you after the birth of
your child; a postpartum
bout that made those late
nights and lack of sleep
even more difficult.
Maybe it happened after
the loss of someone you
loved; a death you didn't
expect that seemed to
crack your soul.
Maybe it happened because
of an addiction; maybe
when you started going to
divorce court.
Maybe after you lost your
job or declared
bankruptcy.
In a thousand ways,
depression invades our
lives and if you've been
through it, you know all
about the list.
We Google it in our
desperation: "How do I
beat this?"
And like Dan's friends,
you're going to find a
whole lot of incredible,
practical medical and
scientific wisdom: Do
exercise, even if you have
to cry on your treadmill.
Get out of the house;
raise your natural
dopamine levels.
Do stay connected with
family and friends.
Be honest.
Express your thoughts.
Don't believe your
feelings; depression
invades us with lies in
disguise, negative
emotions that aren't even
close to true.
Talk about them.
Do set goals.
Don't forget to volunteer.
Do this and don't do that.
And then, if you're a
Christian, there's a whole
other list, isn't there?
Do pray and don't stop
going to church even if
you haven't showered all
week.
Do stay connected to
Christian family and
friends; open confession
with your pastor.
Don't forget to be
grateful.
Do remember the promises
of God.
And all of it is good.
In fact, I would say all
of it is great advice but
do you know the problem?
A friend of mine shared
the story when she battled
genetic and then
postpartum depression and
her husband had all these
good ideas: We should be
thankful.
Think of how bad some
people have it.
Think of how good our
family has it.
And then not only was she
depressed, but she felt
sinful and ungrateful,
unappreciative, spoiled,
and the depression got
worse.
And that's why I'm so
excited to share this with
you today because right in
the middle of your Bible
is a song that was written
out of a deep and dark
depression.
And in the middle of this
song, we find God's to-do
list for the depressed.
It comes actually from a
pair of psalms that were
written about 3,000 years
ago; Psalm 42 and Psalm
43.
And we find out the author
was a worship leader who
seemed to be in a pit of
despair.
But the thing is, God
inspired this song.
God wanted it included in
the Bible.
God actually wanted his
people - not just back
then, but even today - to
sing psalms like this.
And you're about to find
out why.
So listen what one of the
Sons of Korah says in
Psalm 42: "As the deer
pants for streams of
water, so my soul pants
for you, my God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When can I go and meet
with God?
My tears have been my food
day and night, while
people say to me all day
long, 'Where is your God?'"
Those are good questions
that depressed people ask,
right?
When and where?
When will this be over?
God, where are you?
Why don't you fix this?
This marriage and this
mess, this cancer, this
chemo, this chemical
imbalance, this divorce,
my children, my body -
God, when will I see you
and when will you fix
this?
Like a deer who is running
from his predators, he
says, "My soul is thirsty;
my soul is panting for
God.
I'm sick of running.
I want to find a new day.
I want to find crisp and
refreshing water for my
soul."
He is down and he is out.
So what will he do?
Well, he has an idea.
He sings next: "These
things I remember as I
pour out my soul; how I
used to go to the house of
God," under the protection
of the mighty one, "with
shouts of joy and praise
among the festive throng."
That sounds a bit more
hopeful, doesn't it?
Shouts of joy, songs of
praise.
See, he's remembering how
we used to go to God's
house and be with God's
people and the thought of
worship revives his spirit
and that's really good
advice, isn't it?
When you're down, to
remember, to think, to
count your blessings.
And we can focus on all
the things we don't have
or we can choose to focus
on the blessings that we
do.
Or maybe that's the to-do
that will cure depression.
Or maybe not.
Did you catch that phrase?
He said, "Used to."
Oh, I remember how I used
to!
When I used to go to
church instead of not
wanting to get out of bed.
How we used to shout and
sing and raise my hands
instead of curling up in
the fetal position at
home; I remember.
How my body used to work,
how my family used to be,
how much I used to enjoy
my job, the vacations we
used to take and the
thought of what used to be
and what is now just
drives his depression
deeper.
And so, he tries something
else.
He breaks out into the
chorus of the song; words
that he's going to repeat
three times in these two
psalms.
He sings, "Why my soul are
you downcast?
Why so disturbed within
me?
Put your hope in God, for
I will yet praise him, my
Savior and my God."
Now he turns the song into
a solo and he sings
directly to his own soul.
He says, "Soul, why are
you downcast?
Why do you feel this way?
Why are you so low?"
He starts to interrogate
his own heart; he starts
to examine his feelings.
He preaches to himself, in
a sense.
He says, "Heart, I will
praise God.
I will put my hope in God.
I'm not going to follow
you just because I feel
this way.
No, this is my God and my
Savior."
And that's really good
advice.
I learned from talking to
many depressed people that
one of the top things that
happens in your heart are
lies are hatched by the
minute; just negative,
spiraling thoughts that
have no basis in reality.
God's not here, God's not
going to fix this.
There's no plan for this;
this will never get
better.
My life will always feel
this sad.
And so, the psalmist has
great advice.
Question your heart.
Point a finger down at
your insides and say, I
know we feel that way, but
feelings are not facts.
And I don't have faith in
my feelings; I have in the
facts.
God is with me - fact.
Jesus is my Savior - fact.
God has a plan for the
biggest messes in life -
that is a fact.
Maybe the to-do that makes
depression done is talking
to our own hearts,
questioning our own
feelings; maybe that will
work.
Or maybe not.
Because the very next
words after the refrain is
done say this: "My soul is
downcast within me."
I want to grab this guy
and say, "Wait, what?
Didn't we go through all
this already?
Like we talk to our
hearts, God's our Savior,
put your hope in God not
in all this other stuff.
Didn't we fix this?"
But maybe that's the
point; maybe you can't
cure depression with a
catchy chorus even if the
chorus is about Christ.
And if today you'd read
the rest of these two
psalms, you would find
this manic, depressive,
rollercoaster of faith and
doubt that lasts into the
very final word.
After expressing his doubt
and downcast soul, he
says, "God, all your waves
have swept over me.
It's like I'm drowning
here and you send wave
after wave after wave
until I just want to cry
out, 'Seriously?'"
Have you ever prayed
that prayer?
Seriously, God?
Now?
I'm going through the
divorce and now this
happens?
And then my car breaks
down after I lose -
seriously, God?
But then the very next
verse, verse 9, he
returns: "But I say to God
my Rock."
I say, Yes!
That's going to fix the
depression.
Don't put your faith in
the shifting sand of your
circumstances.
God is faithful and God is
solid.
He's on the right path
until the very next line
which says, "God, why have
you forgotten me?"
I pray and I pray.
Do my messages go right
into your junk mail, God?
Because you are not fixing
this.
So he sings the chorus
again: "My soul, why are
you downcast?
Put your hope in God."
Then the very next verse:
"God, why have you
rejected me?"
And then he goes back to
the chorus and then the
song ends.
And that's in your Bible
and I love the fact that
it is.
It's never going to be
inspirational enough for a
Kidz Bop album, right?
But it is so good for
grown-up faith because
what does it teach us?
It teaches us that you can
be an inspired author;
that God can choose you to
write the songs that his
people will sing for
millennia and there is no
quick fix.
There is no "just believe
this" or "pray that" and
the depression will leave.
In this broken world, it's
something that God's
people in the church, who
love God, who believe that
he is their hope and their
Savior, struggle with.
Maybe I can picture it
like this: You know who
this is?
It's Sadness if you
haven't seen the kid's
movie "Inside Out" like I
have 1,017 times.
If you've seen the movie,
you know that Sadness is
always depressed.
Half the movie, she's flat
on her back, lamenting
about what if and worst
case scenarios and
negative spiraling
thoughts.
And Joy tries to cheer her
up but if you've seen the
movie, you know that
Sadness gets up and then
back down.
And she takes the first
step and then she's flat
on her back and Joy has to
drag her along all the
time and because the
depression doesn't leave
quickly.
You know what some people
think in the church?
Some people think that if
Jesus would show up and if
he could just say the
right things and believe
the right promises and
repeat the right prayers
that we'll just jump up to
our feet and the sadness
will be gone.
If we just give the right
advice, if we just say "do
this and don't do that,"
and if we have a chapter
and a verse to prove it,
well then, depression will
leave.
But then you read this
psalm and it's not that
simple.
So what am I supposed to
say to you today?
Pray more?
Count your blessings!
Make sure you go to
church.
I'd be right but it
probably wouldn't fix it.
So I'm going to give you
something else today.
My absolute favorite part
of this psalm.
You ready for it?
I want to give you a
Chiasm.
You don't seem excited
[Pastor: Laughter].
You ever hear of a Chiasm
before?
C-h-i-a-s-m.
A Chiasm was an ancient
technique in writing songs
where the author would put
the main point of his
poetry right in the
middle.
In modern pop music, we
put the main point in the
hook or the chorus, right?
Justin Bieber writes a
song, you know the main
point because he'll sing
it 78 times so you'll hum
it and you'll sing along
with it, even if you don't
want to.
That's what we do.
That's not what they did.
They would take a song and
they would find the very
middle of it and sometimes
they would just say the
line once but if it was in
the middle, you know that
it mattered.
It was like a song
sandwich, right?
All the ingredients God
chose, but he's going to
put the meat of the
message in the middle.
And do you know what
happens if you take Psalm
42 and 43 and find the
very center?
You'll find three stanzas
that each end with a
chorus, go to the second
stanza, find the very
middle verse, and you will
find God's to-do list for
the depressed.
It's the only time in the
entire psalms that it's
not "God, I feel this
way," or "God, you should
do this," or "God, please
help me with this."
It's the only time that
God is the subject of the
verb.
This is what it says in
Psalm 42:8: "By day the
Lord directs his love, at
night his song is with
me."
That's so good, let me
read it again: "By day the
Lord directs his long, at
night his song is with
me."
Day and night, when the
sky is down and out, God
directs his love.
It the midst of all the
crying and moping and
doubting and forgetting,
God directs his love.
You know, the word
"direct" in Hebrew is the
same word as command.
Normally, we think of the
Ten Commandments where God
tells us, "do this" and
"don't do that."
But this time, God is
commanding not us but his
love.
Picture his healing and
sustaining and empowering
and forgiving love at his
side and he's commanding
it; he's saying, "Go!
My sons are so sad; my
daughters are so
depressed.
I'm commanding you, I'm
directing you, go be with
them.
Go help them and go heal
them."
It turns out that God's
to-do list for the
depressed is not something
we do; it's something that
God does.
So what exactly does that
look like if you're
depressed?
If someone you love is
down and out, that God is
directing his love?
Well, I'm going to give
you five examples.
The first one is that God
directs his love through
pastors.
Can I tell you one of the
best things about having a
pastor?
Your pastor could care
less about how you feel.
I don't mean that pastors
don't care about people,
we don't care about your
feelings.
But before we get up to
preach, did I ask any of
you today, "Hey, how are
you feeling about God's
love?
Because if you're kind of
doubting it, I just won't
say it."
No, we pastors get up and
no matter how you feel, we
say what God says.
If you feel like a loser?
I don't care; you're more
than a conqueror through
him who loved you.
You feel all alone?
Who cares; God is with
you; he'll never leave you
and he'll never forsake
you.
You don't think there's a
point in your suffering
and pain?
I don't care if you think
that because there is.
Everything - all things -
work together for the good
of those who love him.
You feel ugly and
worthless, that life is
not living?
No, I don't care.
I know the plans - one of
the best things about a
pastor is he hears from
God and he preaches it
whether you feel it or
not.
So you can think you're
unforgiveable, unlovable,
your life is pointless.
You can look in the mirror
and hate yourself but a
pastor will say, "I don't
care.
God loves you.
Fact."
God directs his love
through the leaders of his
church.
Number two, God directs
his love not just through
pastors but through the
Scriptures.
Have any of you ever had
the scary experience of
trying to buy a Bible from
a Christian bookstore?
Have you ever gone into
the like super
intimidating aisle of
17,000 translations and
there's the NIV and the
ESV and the KJV and the
new KJV and the message
and the NASB.
I've stood before those
walls but do you know what
I've never seen?
I've never seen a copy of
the RDV - the Really
Depressed Version.
That takes all the
promises of God that end
in periods and exclamation
points and edits it for
question marks.
God so loved the world?
I don't know; probably
not.
[Pastor: Laughter] Because
God doesn't care, right?
He just doesn't care what
you feel in that moment.
He is coming with an
authoritative word that
cannot be questioned.
And so when you're
depressed, if you open the
Book and if you raise your
hands to rejoice or if you
cry on the page, it will
still say God's mercy is
new every morning.
I will be with you always,
Jesus will say.
Period.
Not ellipses, as if it's
in doubt.
God directs his love
through a word that does
not change and cannot be
broken so that we know his
love for us will never be
changed or broken.
Number three, God directs
his love through you.
One of my friends who
battled a deep depression
said the best thing she
experienced was what she
called the "We" version.
You ever hear of the "You"
version, the downloadable
Bible app?
The "We" version, she
said, was just Christians
who didn't try to fix her;
they were just there.
They knew there was no
quick answer to depression
so they were with her and
they prayed with her and
they spent time with her
and it meant the world to
her.
Mary Keith is a Christian
who's battled depression
and admitted that she
didn't get all the to-do's
done.
She once confessed on her
blog: "My shield of faith
was mostly lying next to
me on the ground.
And I didn't make a
gratitude list and I
didn't trust God and I
didn't count my
blessings," and she would
sometimes cry out, "God,
where are you?"
But then he showed up in
the two Christian friends
who knocked on her door
who came unannounced with
a meal and said, "We
cooked.
I know it's hard when you
don't feel great."
And she realized that
God's presence and God's
love was right there in
the people that God
directed and sent to love
her in her darkness.
God directs his love
through pastors, through
Scriptures, through
brothers and sisters, and
number four, through
doctors.
You know, some Christians
don't believe that.
I heard an incredibly
depressing story of a
woman battling depression
and anxiety whose friends
and family told her, "If
you really trusted God,"
as if pills and promises
were on a teeter-totter
and you could only have
one or the other.
One of my friends is a
pastor who has diabetes.
Do you think I tell him,
"Well, it's either insulin
or faith; you pick!"
[Audience: Laughter] No,
we would never say that.
If a kid broke his leg
would you say, "Well, it's
either a cast or Jesus
Christ; what are you going
to pick, bud?"
"Oh Johnny, I see the
crutches, you of little
faith."
No, we would say when
something happens to our
body, we thank God for
medical advances and
technology and medicine so
what would be so different
if it didn't happen here
or down here but up here?
And so, God directs his
love through good
medication and wise
doctors and I want to say
to some of you: There is
nothing small about your
faith if there are pills
in your bathroom because
God directs his love
through good doctors.
But most importantly, God
directs his love not just
through pastors,
Scriptures, brothers and
sisters and doctors, he
directs it through the
Savior.
You know what I love when
I think about Jesus?
That the Bible says he
didn't just come to give
depressed people good
advice.
Isaiah 61 said that Jesus
would come to bind up the
brokenhearted and Psalm 34
tells us how.
The Lord is close to the
brokenhearted.
The great prophecy of
Isaiah said that Jesus
will be a man of sorrows;
a man who would thirst
like a deer panting for
water.
A man who would go to the
cross and cry out, "My
God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?"
Why did he say that and
why did he do that?
So that you and I and our
loved ones would know that
Jesus is not up here
waiting until we pick
ourselves up and work our
way up to him.
No, here's how God directs
his love: He comes down
and he sits with the
depressed.
When they're not better,
when they're still broken,
when they feel hopeless,
when they feel unlovable,
they won't have to look up
to the top of the ladder
and wonder how long will
it be until they're with
God.
They would look to the
side and know that God is
already with them.
So if you battle
depression or someone you
love does, Google it and
take the advice.
But more than anything,
remember God's to-do list;
to love his depressed sons
and daughters who didn't
anything done.
[MUSIC]
[PASTOR MARK JESKE]
You know, sometimes
we don't like to admit
being weak.
I sure don't; I don't like
the people around me
seeing me as weak.
And so, if I'm really
struggling with some
self-doubt or with some
self-hatred, I might try
to bottle it up or deny
that it's there or pretend
as though it hadn't
happened.
But that isn't really safe
or very healthy, is it?
My counsel to you when you
encounter those feelings
is to share them with
someone you trust or with
your pastor and, above
all, with our Lord.
I'll be back in just a
minute to pray with you.
[PROMOTION] Hi, my name is
Jason Nelson.
I've had the privilege of
writing many Grace
Moments devotions and
several books for Time of
Grace.
My recent book is
entitled, "Keeping the
Last Promise." And in it,
I share some very personal
lessons I've learned about
addiction and recovery.
So I wrote this book for
two reasons.
One, is to provide some
camaraderie.
If you know somebody who
is battling to be
unpossessed by drugs or
alcohol, you are not alone
and you don't need to feel
ashamed.
I also wrote this book to
sketch out a little
framework for hope.
We found hope that enabled
our loved one to begin to
put his life back
together.
And recovering people need
the power of God's grace
in their lives and when
they have that, they have
the ability to keep their
last promise to remain
sober for one more day.
Thanks so much for your
gift to help connect more
people to God's amazing
grace.
[PASTOR MARK JESKE] You
know, there's no shame in
admitting that you
sometimes have feelings of
depression.
Talk to your friends about
that; talk to your pastor.
And, above all, talk to
your God.
Let's pray right now,
shall we?
Heavenly Father,
Sometimes, you know that I
feel pretty low.
I don't like myself very
much.
I feel like a fool and a
failure.
At times like that, I
really need you.
Send your spirit into my
heart.
Speak your words to my
ears and let your spirit
then encourage my heart so
that I will see myself as
the wonderful creation you
have made; loved and
redeemed by Christ and the
spirit of the Lord lives
in me.
Give me strength to fight
the devil's temptations to
be blue.
I pray these things in
Jesus' name, Amen.
For Time of Grace, I'm
Pastor Mark Jeske,
celebrating God's amazing
grace with you and it all
starts now.
[MUSIC]
[ANNOUNCER] The
preceding program was
sponsored by the friends
and partners of Time of
Grace.
super affiliate network review
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