Some imagine a person who is clinically depressed (now called a Major Depressive Disorder) to certainly be out of God’s will.
Acceptable Christian emotions include joy, peace, hope, faith, and victory. Depression is simply not acceptable; not for a Sunday school teacher, a choir director, a pastor, or an elder. Reality is quite different. Depression is real. Elders, deacons, pastors, music directors, saints – young and old – battle depression.
Light in a Dark Place becomes a guide to a difficult place I’d rather have never visited. Light in a Dark Place attempts to do five things:
1) Validate depression. Depression is as tangible as diabetes.
2) Explain what it is like to be depressed.
3) To elevate the awareness of depression and challenge the over-spiritualizing of the condition.
4) Offer practical solutions that may help in the battle with depression.
5) Encourage the depressed.
My message: you won’t win every battle; I haven’t. But you must decide to fight. If you don’t fight – depression wins. Depression will permanently define your life.
