But made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant,
and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He
humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of
the cross. Phl 2:7-8 NKJV
I was watching a program the other night about depression
and they were saying that depression is a major sickness among the nations
today. I was contemplating this as I
know many, including myself once, who suffered depression and seemingly lost
some sense of hope to varying degrees. The main reason they gave for this is the fact that society
today is so focused on self and I had to agree.
Jesus made us to be outward centred and not inwardly
focused. He himself lay down His life
for others and gave up His rights and this I believe is the key to relieving
depressive states in us. Just think
about it!
“And now, O Father, glorify Me together
with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world
was. Jn 17:5 NKJV
Jesus had glory with
the Father and in fact the Word teaches us that He is the master creator of the
universe.
All things were made
through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. Jn 1:3 NKJV
Angels worshipped Him, yet Jesus left His state of Glory to
step into our time to heal, deliver and ultimately save us through His death on
the cross. He showed us another way of
living and thinking, with a focus on relationship with the Father and
relationship with each other. And the
Word tells us to have this same mind – be like minded with Christ.
When I look back on my past, before I met Jesus Christ, I
was constantly thinking about myself and how life had thrown me the raw
deal. Being married and having children
relieved this to a small point as it forced me to think about someone else, but
even in that, I constantly came back to myself.
“I need my rest so you children better be quiet, I’m doing this for you, none of you appreciate the things I have to
sacrifice for you. I’m the one who has
to pick up after everyone. No I don’t
have the time for you right now, I’m busy….” I, I, I! No wonder I was in a state of depression. I have learnt since receiving Jesus Christ
into my heart that the world doesn’t revolve around me but in fact the world is
centred around Jesus Christ and others.
Even today I can fall into this “I” trap. A good example of this being
the other day when folding up countless handkerchiefs (okay maybe a little exaggeration here) and beginning to feel very annoyed. Again, where was my focus – certainly not on
being a blessing, or even doing my work as unto the Lord. Even at work, when I went to make a cup of
tea and others had left the sink area in a state of chaos and not washed up
their plates, cups etc and I began to grumble (being focused on me again and
getting very annoyed), the Holy Spirit had me catch myself and I began to thank
Him that I could be a blessing to others and clean up all the stuff left. I actually felt better rather then staying annoyed.
Is this difficult to do!
YES, but it is worth it and it is this kind of action that God can bless
because, like Jesus, we are putting others ahead of our own interests. Not only that but my blood pressure did not
rise and the steam did not come out of my ears.
I felt more at peace. I think
that this is definitely something I could practise.
Let nothing be done
through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem
others better than himself. Let each of
you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of
others. Phl 2:3-4
My husband Sam definitely has shown me more and more over
the years about this way of sacrificial living as he has a servant’s heart and
is always willing to go beyond himself and walk the extra mile. I have a long way to catch up but focusing on
Jesus example certainly helps. I think
that maybe this is love – putting God and others first. It is what we teach at Sunday schools all
around the nations – J O Y = Jesus, others and THEN you.
