Grace and Hope

Psalm 34:18 NKJV

18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as [a]have a contrite spirit.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, immediate, confidential, 24/7 help is available by calling or texting 988 in the U.S. and Canada. You can also chat online at 988lifeline.org. These services connect you with trained crisis counselors for mental health, suicide prevention, and emotional distress support.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hey everybody, thanks for tuning in to Unfiltered with Jesse B. Uh just a quick shout out to Alatha, Kansas, Monkville, North Carolina, and Florescent, Missouri. Oh, and San Jose, California. These are new listeners that have joined the Unfiltered Podcast listening family. And whether this is your first time listening or you have been with me for a while, I just want to let you know that I appreciate every single one of you. If you know of someone who might find some benefit to these podcasts, please share it. And if you aren't already subscribed, please do so on whichever platform you are utilizing, and that way you won't miss out on any future episodes. So, real quick, I want to also issue a trigger warning because the subject that I will be discussing is depression and suicide. So just letting you know that up front in case this is an episode you might not want to listen to or have to monitor what you're listening to just because of other people around you. I don't want to cause any problems, so just know that this is what we're going to be talking about tonight. Toward the end of last week, there was a tragedy in the community. A student at the local high school chose to end their life. And this situation has really shaken the community as well as the students there. Surprising, there have been a lot of rumors and speculations going around on the local social media outlets as what would cause this teen or any teen to make such a tragic decision. And there's also the statements of this person was so young, so much life ahead of them, and I really just don't understand what happened. Well, depression is really no respecter of persons, no respecter of age, gender, economic status, or circumstance. I think I have shared on a couple of previous episodes that I am prone to depression, and I've fought depression all my life, even from when I was a little kid and just too young to understand what the word depression even meant, but I sure knew what it felt like. And the best that I can describe it even still is a darkness that just hovers over you, and many times you can't even trace what the cause of it is. All you know is you're hurting mentally and emotionally. And sometimes that will transpire into physical pain. Of course, there are also the arguments of whether that person's soul is in heaven or hell, and they often cite Judas as the example. Now, I'm gonna tell you that I've always had a problem with this automatic first-class ticket to hell based on Judas logic. I often find that the ones who are so quick to make that kind of a snap judgment have obviously never dealt with depression, or at least not to the magnitude that many of us have. So let's go ahead and talk about Judas. If we're going to lump Judas in with people who are depressed and suicidal, let's think about Judas for a minute. Uh the Bible tells us that he was possessed by Satan. Right before the betrayal, he was possessed by Satan. He completely opened himself up to evil. Number two, this wasn't just any type of betrayal. This wasn't somebody stole my cattle type thing, or I thought you were my friend and now you're not, type of deal. This was a unique betrayal that was prophesied. And number three, Judas did not believe, nor did he seek forgiveness for his betrayal. And his actions were driven by extreme remorse and not a desire for peace. Scriptures also say that Judas attempted to return the money, which was indicative that he knew what he was doing was wrong, and he carried such guilt that some theologians argue that his suicide was not premeditated at all, but rather a last resort. So we also cannot forget the declaration that Jesus made at the Last Supper recorded in Matthew 26 24, where Jesus said that it would be better for that man if he had not been born. And he was talking about Judas and the eternal consequences that Judas was going to face as a result of his decisions. And I'm sure that Judas heard this. And to put it in that context, it's not surprising that Judas did take judgment into his own hands and maybe an attempt to escape the judgment that Jesus was talking about. And I'm just throwing that thought out there. We will never know what was going on in Judas's mind, but nevertheless, if you go back and research Judas, we can all agree that he was a very corrupted individual, even prior to the betrayal. So I'm just going to leave that there. You can research it on your own. My take on the subject of depression is that it is a legitimate mental illness. It is diagnosable. Just like breast cancer or diabetes is a diagnosable, legitimate physical illness. The point that I'm making with that is illness is illness. Simple as that. And it needs to be treated with the same compassion, whether it's mental or physical. In visiting with another church member who gave me some pretty good insight, she used the illustration that we all have a natural flight or fight response. I mean, if our life or safety is threatened, our natural instinct is to fight. And it's sort of like playing dodgeball in school. You know, your instinct is to naturally dodge the ball that's coming toward you and not just to stand there and take it. Same thing with somebody learning how to swim, and I learned how to swim with my grandfather doing the John Wayne thing of just picking you up and throwing you into the river and telling you to swim. So you're not going to just stand there or lay there, sit there, or whatever, and just sink. You're going to be fighting, fighting to keep your head above water. That's just a natural instinct that we all have. So what happens when that instinct for survival is gone? What then? Maybe the question we need to be asking is why did that instinct for survival disappear and what needs to happen to get it back? Unfortunately, depression is something that is not really talked about in the modern church, and it needs to be. Depression often makes people feel isolated, alone, hopeless, and they feel like they have no one to talk to, literally nobody to talk to. And if they're Christians, add shame to that. Christians often feel like they don't have a right to be depressed, or if they communicate that they are depressed, it's usually met with, well, I'll be praying for you and give me a call if you need anything. I know that it's still uncomfortable for me to admit and talk about my depression, but thankfully I do have godly friends, I do have godly family members, a pastor who loves and cares for his congregation, and a congregation who loves and cares for each other. The most important thing to remember when we're dealing with these subjects is to keep the lines of communication open and also seek godly counsel. You don't have to carry these burdens alone. So there will come a time in each of our lives where we will take our last breath on earth and our first breath into eternity. Whether it's by rapture or when God calls us home individually, the promises that we have through Jesus are out of this world. My favorite verse is Revelation 21:4, describing what we can expect in heaven. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. As I said before and last night, our hope can be found in Jesus, and it is found in Jesus. So I want to leave you guys with that positive note. I do realize that this was a rather heavy topic, but one that I think that we need to address and we can all benefit from. So I love you guys and look forward to talking to you tomorrow. Good night. Through the body of Christ. So I appreciate you guys for listening. I realize that this was kind of a heavy subject, but I did feel that it was one that needs to be addressed. So I will leave you with that and love you guys, and good night.