Out of the Cave: How We End Up In the Cave | Pastor Chris Hodges
Out of the Cave
How we end up in the cave…
Depression is not a malfunction of the mind. It’s a signal.
My illness is not my identity.
What does the Bible say?
- Galatians 5:1 (NIV) It is for freedom that Christ has set us free…
- Lamentations 3:17-20 (NIV) I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. So, I say, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the LORD.” I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
- 2 Corinthians 1:8 (NIV) We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself.
- 1 Kings 19:1-4 (NIV) Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So, Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
How We End Up in the Cave…
1. Life imbalances.
“We were never designed for the sedentary, indoor, socially isolated, fast-food laden, sleep-deprived, frenzied pace of modern life.” ~Stephen Ilardi
Ecclesiastes 4:6 (NIV) Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.
2. Comparing ourselves with others.
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” ~Theodore Roosevelt
Galatians 6:4-5 (NIV) Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.
3. Ruminating and self-talk.
“95% of your emotions are determined by the way you talk to yourself.” ~Brian Tracy
Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV) Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things… and the God of peace will be with you.
4. Inability to process pain in a healthy way.
2 Corinthians 1:4-6 (NIV) God… comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation…
There is purpose in my pain.
5. Isolation and loneliness.
The first problem in the Bible wasn’t sin. It was solitude.
Genesis 2:18 (NIV) The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”
Romans 12:5 (NLT) “…Since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.”
6. Spiritual warfare.
1 Peter 5:8-9 (NIV) Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…
Ephesians 6:11 (NIV) Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Soul Tattoo: God has given us authority, but we have to use it.