Prepare For Depression

13When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick – Matt. 14:13-14 NIV

Star Bulletin – Sept. 17, 2009. Hawaii businesses will have to pay nearly $1,000 more per employee in monthly taxes come April to help keep the government’s unemployment fund afloat.

The rising number of unemployed is sapping the state’s unemployment money at a rate of $32 million a month, triggering the drastic tax increase called for by law.

Businesses currently pay an average of $90 per employee each month into the unemployment fund, but that figure is expected to rise to an average of $1,040 by next spring.

Hawaii pays some of the most generous unemployment benefits in that nation, giving the unemployed a maximum of $545 per week.

Individual unemployment benefits last just over a year before they expire.

The state of Hawaii and all over the country are facing terrible consequences from the condition of the economy. As was stated in one of our local newspapers, a massive tax increase on businesses in Hawaii will force employers to pay an extra $1000.00 a month per employee in unemployment benefits starting in April 2010. As of now the average business pays around $90.00 a month per employee. This massive jump in tax increase in April will cause many of the Hawaii businesses to stop hiring and to lay off more of its employees thus adding to the pool of those who are already unemployed and collecting benefits. Folks, things are going to get bleaker.

What can we do as Christians? Jesus, of course, provides the answer. One of Jesus’ best friends and a relative of His was John the Baptist. Remember, John’s mother, Elizabeth, was Mary’s relative (Luke 1:36), perhaps her cousin, but we’re not told exactly the degree of blood relationship.

When Jesus had heard that his friend and relative was killed, He withdrew Himself to a secluded place (Matt. 14:13). Jesus was obviously sad and wanted to be alone. This is common and natural. When we grieve, we simply want to be alone to do our grieving. Nothing is wrong with this. But grieving can often turn into a mild state of depression. And if not dealt with in a right way, a mild depression can turn into a severe form of depression.

So what is the right way to deal with depression, especially as one grieves over the lost of a friend, loved one or anything that was taken away such as employment?

Here it is. Read carefully: When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick (Matt. 14:13-14).

Did you see it? Jesus saw people and rather than moving away from them, He moved toward them to help and minister to their needs. You see, people are God’s gift to us in times of depression. Now of course, you may not see it as that, but it’s true. We often in our depressive state want to avoid people. We get a phone call and the last thing we do is answer it. We don’t want to talk to anyone. We don’t feel like leaving the house for fear of running into someone we know who might stop to talk to us. Or we sneak out and go to a 7-Eleven and see something parked out in front and keep driving. We do not want to talk to anyone let alone serve or help anyone. But that is precisely what needs to be done!

While Jesus was grieving over the lost of his relative, God brought to Him a multitude of people. Notice the three things Jesus had done:

1. He SAW
2. He FELT
3. He HEALED

This is the threefold remedy out of depression. People who are depressed need more than ever to “see” others. In other words, they need to get their eyes off of themselves and onto someone else. Depression exists because we tend to focus inward. A better way is to focus outward. For this to happen, we need people in our lives to enable this to occur. We cannot remain isolated. While in depression, if God brings a person knocking on your door, or your phone rings and on the other end is a friend, pick it up and talk. You need to see that there are others out there who need you.

Once Jesus “saw” the crowd, He “felt compassion” on them. Now His feelings go from inward to outward. Jesus as God knows that there is a bigger world than His own world of grieving. If He focused too much on His world, depression would only remain. He instead, looked beyond Himself, saw the people and felt compassion on them. Now He was no longer feeling His own pain, but the pain of those whom God had brought into His life.

When compassion sets in, then the third step follows – He “healed” or in other words, Jesus served others in order to meet their needs. By doing this, Jesus was not ignoring His pain and hurt or the tragedy that occurred with His relative, rather He was not allowing such a severe tragedy to paralyze Him from fulfilling His mission.

You see, for those who are depressed, people are God’s gift to them. When God brings people into our lives, He does so to help and enable us to redirect our focus away from ourselves and onto others. Too much self-focus tends to paralyze us and keeps us in seclusion. The remedy is to focus on others and meet their needs.

Remember this when you are depressed over the lost of someone significant in your life or anything for that matter, such as the lost of a job or a career opportunity. The Lord will send our way a phone call or a visit from a friend or others, so that we can “see,” “feel” and “serve.” These things ingredients are your steps toward healing and usefulness. It seems severe times are coming. Now is the time to prepare.