Practical Theology

I mentioned yesterday that I awoke early and passed the morning before I remembered to eat because I was feasting upon something much better. The idea for a series of devotions came to me the other day as I was pondering something that traps me from time to time. That sin is depression. It seems like such a dirty word. In fact it is, and it should be. Let's not sugarcoat it, okay? It is sin. I am not talking about the type of depression that has its root in chemical imbalance or other physical causes. I'm talking about the spiritual depression that comes from outside the realm of medicine.

I asked the Lord to help me to understand. Why am I vulnerable to it? What can I do to combat it? Mine is not something that strikes that often, but when it does it can be debilitating.

The Lord spoke to me as though He were sitting in the room with me, which He was, through His Word and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. What He told me is that this is not a unique thing and that it has many causes. I sat down and made a list of the "hot buttons" that are pushed to get me spiraling downward. And then I thought of others who suffer also. Their hot buttons are not necessarily the same as mine. The Lord told me that Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun. If that is so, then there must be incidents of depression-causing "hot buttons" in the Bible.

This, people, is where the rubber meets the road. It is okay to hold theological views, but if they don't help you face your day-to-day life then your views are not practical. They are worthless.

I got up yesterday morning with the anticipation of putting together a devotional study of depression. I made a list of over 20 "hot buttons" that I could document from scripture. Wow! I was so excited! I wrote my first devotion yesterday.

I'm not sure how to ultimately present these. I think I will post my first essay here and get your opinion on whether or not to display them for public consumption or whether to just keep my devotions between the Lord and me.

Please understand what I am asking:

1. I do not want my writing to be critiqued. The writing is not professional. It is personal.
2. I do not want to debate theology. You have yours and I have mine. I am trying to put mine to work in my life.
3. I am asking you whether this is something that you'd like me to post more of as I write them. That's it in a nutshell. If you find this example to be helpful I will include more as I get them written. If you are not interested in this type of writing from me, just say so. I won't be offended by the votes of "yea" or "nay." I just want to share if you find it helpful.

My first submission will be posted this evening. I thought I'd let you digest this announcement first.