Nourish Your Heart

The Full Original Copy of the Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, Taking, as Jesus did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it, Trusting that You will make all things right, If I surrender to Your will, So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

This morning I was reminded of how much God loves me. My small group is reading “Crazy Love” (www.crazylovebook.com) and this week’s chapter is on “Jesus Loves Me”. While meditating on Jeremiah 1 from the book, I remembered the verse given when my son was born. John 1:13 “They did not become his children in any human way—by any human parents or human desire. They were born of God.”

This verse was to remind my husband and I that our son was not born because we had planned it or because we had desired it. This tiny baby was born with a purpose, God’s purpose.

Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work.” Even before I was pregnant, God had plans for my son. His plans are what shape the desires and talents of my son.

These plans God has for us are mind-boggling. He is a God who is large and far-reaching. He is a God who knows me so intimately that he knew what he wanted me to do for him before I was made. He knows me. He understands me. He believes I am capable of carrying out his plans for me. Why? Because he gives me the desire to do his will. He gives me the power to do his will. He gives me the knowledge and the wisdom I need to do his will. He gives me what talents I need to do his will. I can no longer hesitate on the sidelines with a desire to do more. He compels me by his love to move forward into his work for him.

Peterson, in his introduction to John, has this to say: “Jesus doesn’t impose salvation as a solution; he narrates salvation into being through leisurely conversation, intimate personal relationships, compassionate responses, passionate prayer, and – putting it all together – a sacrificial death.”

When I look at my children I see some of Jesus in them. I see them showing God’s love to others through leisurely conversation. I remember when my middle daughter was in high school and the many times she was emailing or talking to her friends. She would have this passion in her eyes as she spent time discussing with them how much God loved them. I see my youngest daughter spending time she might have used to rest or study for classes, but instead she spends it in long conversations with students. I see the care my son uses to choose words to express his thoughts.

I see the compassion my son will show when considering the plight of others. I see the compassion my daughters also show for others. We are the light of this world. We are how God shows his love to the people of this world. We show this love for others when we take the time for leisurely conversation. We show others God’s love when we have intimate personal relationships with God ourselves and with each other. God’s love is revealed in our compassionate responses to others, whether in helping after disasters or forgiving them their acts toward us. We show God’s love through us when we spend time in passionate prayer.

God has a plan for us. He knew us before we were even made. He gives us desires, talents, wisdom and knowledge to carry out his plan for us. Then he gives us the strength to carry out those plans. He gives us the words we need to share. And he never leaves us alone. Why?

It is because he loves us. It is because we are born of God. We are God-Begotten.

The word ‘depression’ covers so much that it is impossible to say depression is a sin or not a sin. Many of those causes (guilt, disappointment, trauma and so on) will make us sad. They may sap our energy and our zest for life. They may feel like an overwhelming darkness. All these are classic symptoms of what people call depression. All of them are, I think, natural and often quite proper responses. But God also tells us to rejoice in the Lord. So in some people features of their depression can reflect a failure to have faith in God in some sense. They may doubt God’s grace and so be consumed by guilt. They may doubt God’s goodness and so be consumed by disappointment. They may doubt God’s care are so be consumed by fear. For some people their depression becomes an identity that enables them to avoid taking responsibility in life.

Does that mean I condemn them? Of course not. I sympathize with them. First, because what is causing them to be depressed is real. And, second, because I, too, struggle day by day to have faith in God. We all do. We are all sinners dependent on God’s grace. So I sympathize with them and I love them. But because I love them I also call on them to trust God and find joy in him. I will do this gently, patiently, persistently. I don’t expect instant change – the Bible does not promise instant change and I know from my own life that change takes a lifetime. But I also want to offer hope. There is good news for the person who is depressed. So I call on them to have faith in God, just as they call on me to have faith in God for the issues with which I struggle.

The telling statement in the email from the person who asked whether depression is a sin was one in which they said that someone with depression is viewed in the church as ‘less a Christian’; that there is a stigma attached to it. I am really sorry if this has been people’s experience. Really sorry. It is simply not true that Christians with depression are in any way lesser Christians. In fact it’s a horribly, ugly distortion of the gospel. But the issue is not whether some people think depression is a sin or not (as if Christians without depression are not sinners in a myriad of others ways?!). The issue is people believing anything we might do could make us more or less a Christian. That is the lie. I guess it’s a lie many people operate with, but it is a lie. Our identity is entirely based on God’s electing love, Christ’s finished work and the Spirit’s regenerating power. I can’t add to that and I can’t take away from that.

Grace acknowledges that we are all sinners, we are all messed up people, all struggling, all doubting at a functional level. But grace also affirms that in Christ we all belong, all make the grade, all are welcome, all are Christians (there are no lesser Christians). Imagine such a church for a moment. Here is Andrew: he sometimes uses pom because he struggles to find refuge in God. Here’s Pauline: she sometimes has panic attacks because she struggles to believe in the care of her heavenly Father. Here’s Abdul: he sometimes looses his temper because he struggles to believe that God is in control. Here’s Georgina: she sometimes has bouts of depression because she struggles to believe God’s grace. When they come together they accept one another and celebrate God’s grace towards each other. They rejoice that they are all children of God through the work of Christ. And they remind one another of the truths each of them needs to keep going and to change. It’s a community of grace, a community of hope, a community of change. ‘Blessed are the broken people for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 5:3).

These are paragraphs taken from Tim Chester’s article. To read the full article, click here.