SPIRITUAL BROMIDE OR FUEL FOR THE SOUL?
What is the role of God's Word in the fight against depression? I first wrote this post (Fall 2017) for Bryan Lowe’s website, “Broken Believers.” But its message is so central to the purpose of my blog, I want to put it on my site. Due to a link I sent to Twitter...
ANSWERING QUESTIONS ABOUT DEPRESSION
An Interview with Dr. Stephen Farra I interviewed a colleague who helped develop the Psychology Program at Columbia International University, Steve Farra. Steve has extensive practical experience in counseling and psychotherapy, as well as top-notch academic...
One Weapon To Wield When Combating Depression
The Life-Changing Effects of Gratitude A good book informs you. A great book forms you. Why do I consider Nancy Demoss Wolgemuth’s Choosing Gratitude a great book? Because its content is wedging its way into my daily consciousness and is in the fetal stages of...
AN ESSENTIAL TRAIT FOR DEALING WITH DEPRESSION
Pride keeps a person from exhibiting this trait. We don’t want others to think we are weak and needy, or to see that we don’t have it all together. We erroneously equate expressions of this trait with spiritual immaturity and self-centeredness, because...
How Can A Spouse Help with Depression?
What a husband or wife does or says in relation to a depressed spouse can either exacerbate the symptoms or help relieve them. Dolly, my bride of over 46 years, doesn't understand depression experientially. She's optimistic, outgoing. Her emotions stay on an even...
A DOGGONE GOOD IDEA FOR DEPRESSION-PRONE PEOPLE
The Value of a Dog in Coping with Depression The lot on which my house sits is relatively level, but some days, as I walk from the driveway to the entrance, it feels like I’m trudging uphill with a weight on my shoulders. The figurative weight of a depressed spirt...
WRITING IN THE DARK
WRITING IN THE DARK Poetic Descriptions of Depression The purpose of my blogs on depression and faith is to beam rays of light to guide your walk in the dark. That purpose presupposes that faith in Christ engenders hope, and God’s Word offers truths to...
YOU CAN’T GO “SOLO” IN BATTLING DEPRESSION
God Still Incarnates His Love One essential and Biblical strategy for battling depression is the love and support of friends in the body of Christ. Years ago, during a particularly rough week plagued by despondency, my wife thought I might be suicidal. She called...
WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT
Handling Depression When We’re Supposed to be “Merry” Can you identify with one or both of these journal entries? It just doesn’t feel like Christmas this year. The joyful anticipation I once had prior to December 25 has evaporated as I get older. Maybe it’s...
NO MATTER WHAT
When Being Thankful Is Hard When we are needy, lacking some type of provision, worried about the future, is it still reasonable and possible to praise God? Habakkuk 3:17-19 shouts “Yes!” These verses have always resonated with me, urging me to give thanks to the...
How Can Weakness Be A Strength?
The Outrageously Fruitful Ministry of a Depression-Prone Man For almost 40 years, James “Buck” Hatch served on the faculty of Columbia Bible College in South Carolina, teaching courses in Bible, hermeneutics, psychology, and family life. Hundreds, perhaps...
A Surrendered Spirit
A response to depression far more difficult to experience than it is to write about About 15 years ago, over a period of months, I begged the Lord to heal me of chronic depression. The initial benefit of anti-depressants had waned. Counseling hadn't...
