S7 EP5 | 3 Steps to Move Out of a Depression
Carla is familiar with the pit of depression. It can feel overwhelming, hopeless and never ending.
Today Carla shares that there IS hope - and the 3 things you can do to move through the depression and cling to that hope.
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Step 1: Lament
Lamenting is not complaining; it's a godly gift for moving through hard feelings and depression.
Reflect on the book of Lamentations and psalms that express deep emotions.
Pour out your heart to God, ask boldly for change, and choose to trust Him in the process.
Step 2: Thank and Praise
Cultivate a heart fixed on gratitude and worship.
Recognize God's fingerprints in your life even in challenging times.
Renew your faith and hope through intentional praise and thanksgiving.
Step 3: Take Action
Act as if your prayer is already answered.
Partner with God's movement by taking care of yourself physically, emotionally, and socially.
Boldly take steps to break the power of depression and live out the answered prayer.
Implement these steps in your life, and remember, God is with you in your journey towards healing.
Affirming Truth - I trust God to rescue me from this pit.
Key Scripture:
Lamentations 3:55-58
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TRANSCRIPT
[00:00:00] Carla: Hey friends, welcome to Affirming Truths. I'm your friend and host, Carla Arges. This show is a safe place to share our struggles, grow in faith, and root our identity in Christ. My hope is that you will leave each episode feeling encouraged in your journey. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode and it would mean the world to me if you would leave a review.
[00:00:30] Carla: I am so glad you're here. Let's get started. Hi friends, it is Carla, your host of Affirming Truth. I'm so glad you're here. You know, I don't know about you, but where I live, the days are getting shorter. Nighttime is happening quicker, the air is getting cooler. And this is the start of a time of the year where I am prone to seasonal depression.[00:01:00]
[00:01:00] Carla: And maybe you are too. Maybe this is a season where you tend to get depressed. Or maybe you're going through something right now and you're feeling depressed. And you feel like you're in a pit and you just can't get out of it. Well, I'm going to talk to you today about three, three ways to move out of depression God's way.
[00:01:23] Carla: And again, this is meant more for a situational occasional depression. If you have major depression, if you have actual mental illness with depression, I want you to know that there's no, uh, shame or sin in seeking treatment with a therapist and using medication. There is nothing. I'm Christian about that.
[00:01:49] Carla: Sometimes we're in a spot with mental illness where we need that help. But for other of us, other of us, we just have mental health that waxes and wanes. And [00:02:00] sometimes it leads us to temporary depression. And that's really the depression that I'm talking about today. Um, and before we dive in, just a reminder, I work with women one-on-one all the time to help them rewire their minds, to reestablish core beliefs, to help them thrive in the face of mental health challenges or with their mental illness.
[00:02:28] Carla: I've worked with a lot of bipolar women, a lot of women with B p D, um, two illnesses. I have myself work with women with anxiety and trauma, and if that's you, if you need support, if you need a coach too. guide you and cheer you on and hold you accountable. I want you to know that I have a couple of spaces opening up really soon.
[00:02:49] Carla: So jump on a discovery call with me. Let's talk about where you're struggling and if that's an area where I can help and what that help would look like. Um, [00:03:00] the link to book a discovery cowl is in the show notes in the show description. So Go ahead with that. All right, three ways to move out of depression.
[00:03:10] Carla: God's way, because we know God's way is the best way, right? I'm going to give you three things. The first is lament, lament. I think we often overlook The lament phase of moving through depression, we see lamenting as the same as complaining, and we don't want to complain to God, or we feel like our big feelings are too much for God and we're embarrassed or we're shy or we feel shame about them, listen, lament.
[00:03:44] Carla: is something that God has given us as a gift to move through hard feelings, deep grief, depression. There is a whole book in the Bible called Lamentations, which is lament. There are psalms that are psalms of [00:04:00]lament. There is lament throughout the Bible. And it is not sinful to lament to God. It is a godly gift to help us.
[00:04:11] Carla: Godly lament produces fruits of hope in a future you can't yet see. That is the gift of lament. It keeps you turning back to the Lord. Tell him your thoughts and feelings. Tell him the outpouring of your heart. Take the hard questions to him. He can handle it. Lament. Ask boldly for change to happen, ask boldly for God to rescue you and choose to trust him.
[00:04:44] Carla: That is the process of lament, pouring out your heart, asking boldly and choosing to trust and keeping turning to the Lord who is faithful to his lament.[00:05:00]
[00:05:00] Carla: Next, you're going to thank and praise a heart fixed on gratitude. A heart fixed on worship is a heart that rejoices in hope, is a heart that rejoices in hope. And when you are depressed, you can feel hopeless and helpless gratitude. Looking intentionally for God's fingerprints in your life, reminding yourself through praise of God's promises and his faithfulness, renews our faith, renews our
[00:05:38] Carla: hope. It gives us life. Third, you're going to take care of yourself. That means. You're going to act. God partners with us when he moves. You're going to lament, you're going to say thanks and [00:06:00] praise, and then you're going to act as if. You're going to act as if your prayer is answered by getting up and taking that shower.
[00:06:08] Carla: You're going to act as if your prayer is answered by putting on your running shoes and going for that walk. You're going to act as if that prayer is answered by reaching out to your support community and going to get a tea. You're going to act as if that prayer is answered by doing something nice for someone else.
[00:06:30] Carla: By blessing someone else, you're going to act as if it is because with Christ, it is when Jesus said it is finished on the cross. He was breaking the power of sin and evil and darkness in our lives. It is complete. So I want you to do those three things. Lament. Pour your heart [00:07:00] out to God. Ask him why this is happening if you need to.
[00:07:05] Carla: Tell him you're disappointed. Tell him you're discouraged. Tell him that you don't understand. Let him know you think it's unfair. That's okay. Pour it out to him. Unburden yourself with all of it and lay it down at his feet. Thank and praise God for every good gift He's given you, even in the midst, even in the midst of your current depression, even in the midst of your current despair, look for God's fingerprints, praise Him for the promises.
[00:07:41] Carla: You have a promise to be reunited with Jesus in heaven. Nothing that happens on this earth can take away that promise. You are living for eternity. Remind yourself of that. Praise [00:08:00] the Lord for that. That you don't have to live a separated life from Him, but you can live in communion with Him. Thank you for the presence of His Holy Spirit in your life that gives you peace, that gives you rest, that gives you words of utterance to pray when you can't pray.
[00:08:17] Carla: When you're so overwhelmed and so depressed, the Holy Spirit will give you utterance. He would intercede on your behalf. Praise Him for that. And then act as if, with boldness, brush your teeth, make yourself a good meal, drop off a coffee for a friend. Act as if. Your affirming truth today is I trust God to rescue me from this pit, and we're going to go to lamentations for our anchoring verse 355 to 58 from the bottom of the pit.
[00:08:59] Carla: Oh, [00:09:00] Lord. I cried out to you. And when I begged you to listen to my cry, you heard you answered me. and told me not to be afraid. You came to my rescue, Lord, and saved my life. God hears you when you lament. God will rescue you. He will give you cause and occasion to thank and praise. And he will equip you to go act as if, in Jesus name, I'll talk to you guys soon.
[00:09:40] Carla: Thanks for joining me today. I hope we're already friends on social media, but if we're not, come find me on Instagram at Carla Arges or at Affirming Truth. Can't wait to see you back here next week. Bye friends.[00:10:00]