Depression and fear

I've been thinking a lot about depression and fear this week. Where do they come from? Why do they affect so many people?

In my daily Bible reading, I came across 1 Samuel 16:14:

"Now the Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and the LORD sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear." (NLT)

The Spirit of the LORD left Saul because of his disobedience. In 1 Samuel 15:3, the prophet Samuel told Saul that God wanted him to go and completely destroy the Amalekite nation. We know from the following verses how Saul disobeyed God. Saul did slaughter most of the Amalekites...just not all of them. And he kept some of the best sheep, goats and cattle...to sacrifice to God. In verse 10, the LORD tells the prophet that He is sorry he made Saul king, "for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command." God didn't ask Saul for a sacrifice, He asked him for obedience. Whether or not it made sense to Saul.

How often have I done most of what God wants me to do, but not all? And then, when God does not abide with me or bless me because of my sin, I get upset. I don't deny that we are all disobedient at one point or another, but what sets us apart is how we respond when we are confronted with our disobedience. In verse 20, when Samuel confronts Saul, he insists that he did obey God! Oh that we would examine our hearts before the LORD and see if we have disobeyed Him in any way.

I'll end with something I heard a long time ago. "Depression and anger postpone change." The change that needs to happen is first of all, repentance and then, a sorrow for sin. After that, we turn away from our sin and do what we know was right all along. We have David and Jonah as examples of that.