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Depression is a thief! It will steal your health, your money, and your energy. Depression is a destroyer! It will destroy your relationships, your ability to work, your enjoyment of hobbies, and your future. Depression is a killer! It will kill your hopes, your dreams, and even you. What is Depression? Simply put: It is a profound sense of personal loss. It is a profound sense of sadness. You can be sad and not depressed. Sadness has a gloominess about it, but even when a person is sad, he knows there is light at the end of the tunnel. The depressed person does not even believe there is a tunnel. It is a profound sense of hopelessness. It is a profound sense of uselessness and purposelessness. The attitude of "What's the use? Why even try?" becomes the depressed person's mantra. What causes depression? Depression can have a chemical origin. Certain prescription medicines can induce a depressive state. Depression can also come about as a result of sudden hormonal changes due to childbirth, aging and some physical illnesses. Most often, though, depression has a spiritual, or emotional, origin. From a Biblical perspective, there are three basic causes of non-chemically induced depression. · One is depression that is a result of unconfessed sin and the guilt that ensues. It was that kind of depression David experienced and that we will address next week. · Another cause is demonic attack. However, demonic attack is not restricted to depression, but can come in the form of any of the obstacles I listed above. That being the case, we will discuss demonic attack as a separate issue. · The third cause of spiritual, or emotional depression, is when we have distorted expectations. That was type of depression that Elijah experienced and which we will address today. When we fail to submit our plans, our efforts, and our dreams to the will of the Lord, we create a set of distorted expectations, and when they fail to come to pass, we can end up with severe disappointment that places us at the brink of depression.
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