Welcome to
Marriage in God's Hands.
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I am Alanzo Smith.
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And I'm June Smith.
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And we have been
married for 31 years.
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Today, we are
going to talk with you
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on the topic, Too
blessed to be stressed.
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Won't you bow your heads with
us as we pray before we do so.
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Father, we thank You for
Your mercies and for Your grace.
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We thank You for Your love.
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We thank You for being
the great problem solver.
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And for the assurance
that whatever our cares are,
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You will take it away.
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We now place them in Your hands.
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In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.
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I'm going to
share with you a story.
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It's a well known story.
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It's about King Ahab and Elijah.
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Ahab was king of Israel.
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And the record says that
he did more harm and more evil
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than all of his predecessors.
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But there was a
consequence for that.
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As a result, there was neither
rain nor dew for 31/2 years.
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Well, one day he
saw the prophet Elijah.
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And Ahab said to Elijah, "Art
thou he that troubleth Israel?"
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And I like Elijah's response.
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I'm going to put it up
for you to read with me
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Elijah's
response in 1 Kings 18:18.
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Out of that episode,
Elijah asked a simple request.
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Let's prove who's
god is the true God.
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Let's have a meeting
on top of Mount Carmel.
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Ahab agreed and
they had the meeting.
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And the alters were built.
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And they were to pray now to see
whose god would bring fire down.
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Well, you know what happened?
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Ahab prayed to Baal, no fire.
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But when Elijah prayed
to his God, fire came down.
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Elijah started out
with a power prayer.
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He said, "Lord, God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
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Let it be known this day
that Thou art a God in Israel. "
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Friends, there
is a God in Israel.
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No matter what's happening to
you, there is a God in Israel.
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You're listening to
this program right now
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and you might be
frustrated or discouraged;
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There is a God in Israel.
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Elijah said, "Let
it be known this day
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that there is a God in Israel. "
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Well...
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Ahab saw all that transpired.
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Fire came down and
consumed Elijah's alter.
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That must have
been quite a miracle.
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Ahab went home and he
shared this with his wife.
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Now you may have read the story.
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His wife, Jezebel, was
not a very good character.
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But when she
heard what had happened,
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she decided that she was
going to kill the prophet.
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So she threatened his life.
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And the news of that
threat reached Elijah.
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And what did Elijah do?
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1 Kings 19:1-6,
gives us an insight
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into the behavior
and the action of Elijah.
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We're talking about,
Too blessed to be stressed.
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Here was a prophet
that was so blessed by God.
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Here was a prophet that just saw
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the awesome power
of God on Mount Carmel.
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And the mere threat of Jezebel
now throws him into depression.
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We're going to
read the first 6 verses,
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or we're going to take out
sections of the first 6 verses
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and show you
Elijah's depressive behavior
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as a result of that threat.
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In verse 3 of the passage,
it says, after the threat
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he ran for his life.
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That is so consistent
with people who get depressed.
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When a challenge or a
problem confronts them,
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they are usually running away.
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The idea is, "If I can get away,
then the problem will go away
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or the depression will leave. "
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But that doesn't usually happen.
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But it is what usually happens
when people get depressed.
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In verses 3 and 4 it says,
he left his servant at Beersheba
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and went into
the wilderness alone.
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Again, when an
individual gets depressed,
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they tend to
want to go it alone.
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It's not unusual for
them to cut off their family.
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Or to cut off their friends,
and to isolate themselves.
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The last part of verse 4 says,
he requested that he might die.
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And he even prayed,
"Oh Lord, take away my life
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for I am no better
than my forefathers. "
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It seems Elijah was irrational.
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And that is sometimes what
happens when we get overwhelmed.
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And we get
stressed or depressed.
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And what we are saying
is that people sometimes
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who get stressed and depressed
have suicidal ideations.
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They sometimes
think for a moment,
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"If I could just escape,
maybe I wouldn't have to face
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the consequences of this
crisis or of this state. "
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And they wish to die.
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And irrational ideas too.
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Here was Elijah saying, "Well,
I am no better than my father. "
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How can someone who is
alive say to themselves,
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"I am no better
than a dead person. "
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And sometimes we behave, we
call it "the Elijah syndrome. "
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Sometimes you behave like that.
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You are met with a crisis,
you're met with a challenge.
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You're faced with some difficult
situation and you're saying,
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"I wish to God I were dead. "
Or, "It would have been better
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if I were dead. "
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You can never be better
off dead when you have life
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and you have a Savior.
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You can never be better off
dead when you have Jesus Christ
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who has already gone to Calvary
and He died there for your sins.
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So we're saying, you must
remember you're too blessed
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to be so stressed out,
to stress your life out
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that you now have irrational
ideas, "I would prefer to die. "
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Not at all, Jesus
Christ is there to help you.
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Well, let's look in verse 5.
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It says "as he lay and slept. "
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Again, that seems to
be what frequently happens
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when an
individual gets depressed.
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They want to sleep.
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They would just lay
in bed for long hours
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and pull the comforter over.
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And again isolate themselves
from everything and everyone.
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Why do you thing that
people resort to sleeping?
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Is it an effort to
escape from their reality?
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Is it that the
pain is too severe?
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Why do we resort
to sleep sometimes?
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I think it's a
state of helplessness.
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And for all those
things that you listed.
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When you are overwhelmed
emotionally, you get lethargic.
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And you just don't have
the energy to get up and
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do the things that are demanding
on your cognitive process
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and on your emotional
system. And so your escape is
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"Let me just sleep it out
and hope that when I wake up
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it won't be there. "
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The reality is when you get
up, the problem will be there.
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So what we do need to do is
face our issues and get help
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to solve them if
we get overwhelmed.
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But not deny the
opportunity to solve them.
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So we are saying, depressed
people like to sleep a lot.
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The last part of verse 5
says, "An angel said unto him,
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'Arise and eat. '"
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It's evident that Elijah had not
been eating and this happens.
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Now it happens in
both ways, though.
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People who get depressed
sometimes starve themselves.
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They lose their appetite and
food has absolutely no appeal.
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But for some people when they
get depressed, they overeat.
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They eat everything in sight.
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So that happens frequently.
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And in this case, the angel
was saying, "Come on, get up.
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You need to get
some strength here. "
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But look what he did in verse 6.
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In verse 6, he
did eat and drink.
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But then he went back and
he lay himself down again.
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So here he was,
making an effort.
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But then he regressed
to the original state.
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And that tends to
happen with depressed people.
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They try to lift themselves
up. They try to problem solve.
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And then they resort to
the state that they were in.
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So it's a very chronic behavior.
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And what we are
saying is when we consider us
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children of God, that we
have the entire angelic hosts
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to assist us
with the Holy Spirit.
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And Jesus Himself to assist
us in solving our problems.
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We have no need to be stressed.
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Don't allow situations to
get us bogged down so badly.
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The Bible tells us that
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the angel came back
and woke him up again.
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And this time the angel
gave him the message, he said
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"Go to the mount of
Horeb. Go to the mount of God.
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And stay there, get
out, get from where you are.
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Go to Horeb, the mount of God. "
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And the record
tells us that Elijah
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went and lodged in a cave.
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Verse 9 says,
"And he came thither
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and lodged himself in a cave.
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What was Elijah doing in a cave
when God specifically told him
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that he should go on the
mountain, on Mount Horeb.
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What was he doing in a cave?
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How is it that a
prophet so blessed
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could become so stressed?
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The champion of the morning
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became the
coward of the evening.
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It is not unusual that
people get irrational and do
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silly things when
they get depressed.
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Ellen White says:
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What a powerful revelation.
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Dear friends, no matter
what you're going through,
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no matter what the challenge is,
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remember that you're
too blessed to be stressed.
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That's what we
are talking about.
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Life will hit you
with some hard blows.
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But you have a Savior.
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Life will come at you
and they'll be challenges.
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Look at Elijah.
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Elijah knew God for himself.
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Elijah saw God's power.
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Look at what
happened on Mount Carmel.
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Think of the fear that
went through the heart of Ahab
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when he saw all of that
manifestation of God's power.
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And yet, Elijah having been
threatened, forgot all of that.
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And that's the
tendency among us.
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To forget God's
goodness, to forget God's grace,
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when we are hit
with trials and problems.
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And so it is with Elijah.
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Well, there's a lot
of stuff to talk about.
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But we have to take a break.
00:13:29.19\00:13:30.71
So listen, you stay right there.
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Hold your seat,
because when we come back,
00:13:32.68\00:13:35.69
we're going to
continue this discussion.
00:13:35.72\00:13:37.82
There are many "How
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Call or write for your copy:
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Welcome back to
Marriage in God's Hands.
00:14:23.96\00:14:27.60
We have been
talking on the topic,
00:14:27.63\00:14:30.09
Too blessed to be stressed.
00:14:30.12\00:14:32.66
And we have used the
Elijah story to demonstrate
00:14:32.69\00:14:36.93
how sometimes Christians
can be blessed by God,
00:14:36.96\00:14:41.32
yet in the mist of
tragedy or difficult experiences
00:14:41.35\00:14:46.00
they somehow
forget God's blessing.
00:14:46.03\00:14:49.25
We talked about how
Elijah, having witnessed God's
00:14:49.28\00:14:52.78
awesome power on Mt.
Carmel, the very moment Jezebel
00:14:52.81\00:14:58.94
threatened his life,
he ran into depression.
00:14:58.97\00:15:02.46
And so, here we are now.
00:15:02.49\00:15:04.72
We need to talk
about, how can someone know
00:15:04.75\00:15:08.99
how can you know, if you
are suffering from depression?
00:15:09.02\00:15:13.80
One thing that is helpful,
is to explore or to examine
00:15:14.66\00:15:18.94
your circumstance
and your situation.
00:15:18.97\00:15:21.76
So you might ask
yourself some questions.
00:15:21.79\00:15:23.82
For example, do you
think usually pessimistic?
00:15:23.85\00:15:28.37
Are you seeing the glass half
empty, rather than half full?
00:15:28.40\00:15:34.29
Are you discouraged, or do
you feel discouraged regularly?
00:15:36.44\00:15:39.96
And are you a
pessimistic person?
00:15:39.99\00:15:42.19
If I get discouraged easily and
if I'm always seeing the glass
00:15:42.22\00:15:46.87
half empty, then it
could be signs of depression.
00:15:46.90\00:15:51.89
Frequently, people who
get overwhelmed and who get
00:15:52.55\00:15:56.39
depressed, tend to
have problems sleeping
00:15:56.42\00:15:59.90
or even waking up.
00:15:59.93\00:16:01.56
Now, many people
have problems sleeping,
00:16:01.59\00:16:03.70
especially as they get older.
00:16:03.73\00:16:05.26
It doesn't mean
that they're depressed.
00:16:05.29\00:16:06.72
But depressed people frequently
have problems falling asleep
00:16:06.75\00:16:10.59
or getting out of bed.
00:16:10.62\00:16:12.21
So if that's happening
to you and you know you're
00:16:12.24\00:16:14.50
overwhelmed with a particular
concern, then you might be
00:16:14.53\00:16:18.38
heading for depression.
00:16:18.41\00:16:19.58
Are you over
eating or under eating?
00:16:20.39\00:16:24.74
You know, you're eating
habit, you're eating pattern.
00:16:24.77\00:16:27.81
Do you find yourself all
of a sudden not eating at all,
00:16:27.84\00:16:31.38
not wanting to eat,
losing your appetite?
00:16:31.41\00:16:34.58
Or are you eating too much?
00:16:34.61\00:16:36.44
This is not how you use to eat,
but you just started eating.
00:16:36.47\00:16:39.97
Maybe feeding on junk food,
maybe drinking a lot of soda.
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Or whatever it is.
00:16:44.50\00:16:45.64
It could be that you're trying
to make up for something else.
00:16:45.67\00:16:49.58
We're not saying
you're depressed, but we're
00:16:49.61\00:16:51.39
saying it could be
signs leading to depression.
00:16:51.42\00:16:54.32
The question we're
trying to answer for you is;
00:16:54.35\00:16:57.06
How can you know if you
are suffering from depression?
00:16:57.09\00:17:01.05
And sometimes individuals
use the food as a medication
00:17:01.82\00:17:04.55
for the hope that the problem
or the feeling will go away.
00:17:04.58\00:17:08.10
Another indicator is, do you
feel troubled in your spirit?
00:17:08.13\00:17:13.98
You have almost lost
pleasure and you are not sure
00:17:14.01\00:17:19.16
what is going on.
00:17:19.19\00:17:20.53
You just don't have the
interest in the things that
00:17:20.56\00:17:24.67
were of interest before.
00:17:24.70\00:17:26.06
And you're just overwhelmed
with a feeling of sadness.
00:17:26.09\00:17:31.30
Or maybe you're just nervous
for no apparent reason at all.
00:17:32.46\00:17:38.19
You're just not
restful as you should be.
00:17:38.22\00:17:43.80
You get quite
anxious and agitated and the
00:17:43.83\00:17:48.10
least little thing sets you off.
00:17:48.13\00:17:50.84
Are you finding yourself very
nervous for no apparent reason?
00:17:50.87\00:17:56.23
Some people who are depressed
feel like they're a failure.
00:17:57.51\00:18:00.39
They attempt certain
tasks and for some reason
00:18:00.42\00:18:07.04
if they didn't achieve it,
00:18:07.07\00:18:09.09
the average
person would keep trying.
00:18:09.12\00:18:11.03
But when a person
gets depressed, they get
00:18:11.06\00:18:13.45
overwhelmed
that they have failed
00:18:13.48\00:18:15.57
at whatever it is
that they attempt.
00:18:15.60\00:18:17.21
And that sometimes
pushes them further
00:18:17.24\00:18:19.72
into a state of depression.
00:18:19.75\00:18:21.80
Are you easily
annoyed or irritated?
00:18:22.58\00:18:26.39
Sometimes people get
annoyed over any little thing
00:18:26.42\00:18:31.03
and every little thing.
00:18:31.06\00:18:32.73
And before, you
weren't like that.
00:18:32.76\00:18:34.20
It's like one would describe
you as being an edgy person.
00:18:34.23\00:18:37.69
Irritability is a sign
that you're now demonstrating
00:18:37.72\00:18:44.08
that you never use
to demonstrate before.
00:18:44.11\00:18:46.32
Take a conscious look at
yourself, you know who you are.
00:18:46.35\00:18:51.20
A child of the universe, no less
than the trees and the stars.
00:18:51.23\00:18:54.39
You're created
in the image of God.
00:18:54.42\00:18:56.35
And if you find yourself
responding in these ways,
00:18:56.38\00:19:00.84
then you need to say to
yourself, "What's wrong?"
00:19:00.87\00:19:03.61
And ask yourself those
questions as you self examine.
00:19:03.64\00:19:06.69
Another sign is that depressed
people blame themselves.
00:19:07.50\00:19:10.05
And they're
critical of themselves.
00:19:10.08\00:19:12.49
And sometimes they attempt
self-destructive behavior.
00:19:12.52\00:19:16.04
So if that is
happening, again you want to
00:19:16.07\00:19:18.36
pay attention and get help.
00:19:18.39\00:19:20.38
I think a critical sign, though,
is when then begin to withdraw
00:19:20.41\00:19:24.87
from a spiritual experience.
00:19:24.90\00:19:26.65
They refuse to go to church.
00:19:26.68\00:19:28.81
Or to reach out to
their spiritual network,
00:19:28.84\00:19:32.43
Their friends and
family who could pray with them
00:19:32.46\00:19:35.79
and assist them
in working through.
00:19:35.82\00:19:37.76
So, when you find these
things happening, or a series of
00:19:37.79\00:19:40.80
these things happening, and
you know that there's a concern
00:19:40.83\00:19:44.15
that overwhelms you, you
could be heading for depression.
00:19:44.18\00:19:47.69
Depression is not
something to take lightly.
00:19:49.22\00:19:53.66
It generally starts out
with a mild form of depression.
00:19:53.69\00:19:59.31
And often times
individuals go into denial.
00:19:59.34\00:20:02.39
"Well, it's nothing.
I'm just a little tired
00:20:02.42\00:20:07.24
or sleepy. " Or
"I'm, just restless. "
00:20:07.27\00:20:10.72
Sometime is happening
but you're not facing it.
00:20:10.75\00:20:14.17
You're trying to deny it.
00:20:14.20\00:20:15.75
And so, whatever the issue
is, if you don't confront it
00:20:15.78\00:20:19.44
and try to work
through it or get help,
00:20:19.47\00:20:21.64
then what might happen is that
it escalates and it moves from
00:20:21.67\00:20:27.40
mild depression to
moderate depression.
00:20:27.43\00:20:30.19
And again, it can move
from moderate depression
00:20:30.22\00:20:33.47
to now a more
serious form of depression.
00:20:33.50\00:20:36.24
So what we're saying is,
depression is not something
00:20:36.27\00:20:38.72
to take lightly.
00:20:38.75\00:20:39.77
And certainly, if there's
anyone there feeling depressed,
00:20:39.80\00:20:42.49
we're not trying to
trivialize your experience,
00:20:42.52\00:20:45.02
we're not trying
to lessen the affect
00:20:45.05\00:20:48.58
of what you're going through.
00:20:48.61\00:20:50.23
We know that depression is
serious and we know it is real.
00:20:50.37\00:20:53.31
And all we're trying
to do here now is to see
00:20:53.34\00:20:55.50
how might you get help.
00:20:55.53\00:20:57.62
Because, in truth and in
fact, people who are depressed
00:20:57.65\00:21:00.69
can do different
things and strange things and
00:21:00.72\00:21:04.55
things that
they're not suppose to do.
00:21:04.58\00:21:06.78
We want to make a
distinction between feeling sad
00:21:07.38\00:21:10.66
and feeling depressed.
00:21:10.69\00:21:12.37
Sadness is an occurrence,
or phenomena that occurs,
00:21:12.40\00:21:15.90
when you have sad experiences,
when difficult encounters
00:21:15.93\00:21:20.94
happen, when you
fail at something you try.
00:21:20.97\00:21:24.12
Or you hear some news
that is not so pleasant.
00:21:24.15\00:21:26.79
You experience sad emotions.
00:21:26.82\00:21:29.16
But that's a normal
response to news that is adverse
00:21:29.19\00:21:33.35
or that is problematic.
00:21:33.38\00:21:34.45
But when you stay
in that sad state,
00:21:34.48\00:21:38.58
and all of the things
that we've talked about;
00:21:38.61\00:21:41.38
you don't want to
eat, you are lethargic.
00:21:41.41\00:21:43.59
You are not functioning
at the levels at which you're
00:21:43.62\00:21:46.21
capable of and need to function.
00:21:46.24\00:21:48.23
So, if you're a student
and you have stopped doing your
00:21:48.26\00:21:50.68
assignments,
you're cutting classes,
00:21:50.71\00:21:52.41
and you're not going to school.
00:21:52.44\00:21:53.46
If you are an adult who
should be working and employed,
00:21:53.49\00:21:56.63
and you just don't
want to go to work.
00:21:56.66\00:21:58.44
Then that is moving from sadness
into a dysfunctional state
00:21:58.47\00:22:03.29
which is heading for
some level of depression.
00:22:03.32\00:22:06.56
So, an individual who is getting
depressed can tell themselves,
00:22:06.59\00:22:11.51
"This is a point at
which this is getting serious.
00:22:11.54\00:22:14.15
and I need to go get help. "
00:22:14.18\00:22:16.62
Are you listening?
00:22:18.17\00:22:19.14
It's important
for you to take note,
00:22:19.55\00:22:21.47
because we want you to get well.
00:22:21.50\00:22:23.47
If you're
suffering from depression,
00:22:23.50\00:22:24.96
we want you to get help.
00:22:24.99\00:22:26.70
And of course,
there are steps to take.
00:22:26.73\00:22:29.37
You know what I have noticed?
00:22:29.40\00:22:31.63
Just about everything
that we talk to you about,
00:22:31.66\00:22:36.81
is that, as we talk
about steps to take for help,
00:22:36.84\00:22:41.25
the first thing we mention,
or if it's not the first,
00:22:41.28\00:22:45.04
we are going to mention
it or we have mentioned it,
00:22:45.07\00:22:47.46
is that, no denial.
00:22:47.49\00:22:50.38
Because, as long as
you're still in your denial,
00:22:50.41\00:22:54.52
you're not going to
be able to get help.
00:22:54.55\00:22:56.89
And it's the same
thing with depression.
00:22:56.92\00:22:59.26
Agree that the
depression exists.
00:22:59.29\00:23:01.65
That's the first step of
working your way out of it.
00:23:01.68\00:23:05.59
So what we are saying is
you must own the problem.
00:23:06.52\00:23:09.40
before you can
fix the problem. Yes.
00:23:09.43\00:23:12.34
Another thing you can do to
get out of depression is that
00:23:13.41\00:23:16.48
you can set
small achievable goals.
00:23:16.51\00:23:20.51
And when I say small
achievable, the reason is
00:23:20.54\00:23:23.20
if you set yourself large goals,
the chances are you might not
00:23:23.23\00:23:26.73
accomplish those goals, and
then it might plunge you into
00:23:26.76\00:23:29.61
a deeper depression.
00:23:29.64\00:23:31.21
For example, if your
house is a mess and you have not
00:23:31.24\00:23:34.57
cleaned it for a while
because of how you're feeling,
00:23:34.60\00:23:37.98
Don't get up one morning and
say, "Ok, I need to work myself
00:23:38.01\00:23:40.88
out of this
depression, so I'm going to
00:23:40.91\00:23:42.28
clean the entire house. "
00:23:42.31\00:23:43.73
The chances are, by
the time you get to midday,
00:23:43.76\00:23:46.20
you're going to be
so tired and lethargic
00:23:46.23\00:23:49.35
that you will go back to bed.
00:23:49.38\00:23:52.98
And then you feel bad that
you didn't accomplish your goal.
00:23:53.01\00:23:57.32
And it drives you
into deeper depression.
00:23:57.35\00:23:59.68
Set small goals so
you can accomplish it.
00:23:59.71\00:24:01.81
Just start with one
room, clean the room up.
00:24:01.84\00:24:04.23
When you get that done, you
feel so good that the next day
00:24:04.26\00:24:06.96
you want to
attempt something else.
00:24:06.99\00:24:08.52
Now you also want to
think optimistically.
00:24:09.50\00:24:12.19
You want to
believe that there is hope
00:24:12.22\00:24:14.72
regardless of what has happened
and how chronic is appears.
00:24:14.75\00:24:18.94
That there is help at
the end of the tunnel,
00:24:18.97\00:24:21.78
or the light at
the end of the tunnel.
00:24:21.81\00:24:23.57
And hopefully it's
not a train coming.
00:24:23.60\00:24:25.83
So that you want to think,
there has to be some solution.
00:24:25.86\00:24:29.23
And by God's grace,
you are going to seek help
00:24:29.26\00:24:32.22
and work towards a resolution.
00:24:32.25\00:24:34.69
So depressed people, in order
to get help, must first think
00:24:34.72\00:24:38.71
it is possible to
overcome this tragedy,
00:24:38.74\00:24:41.56
or this crisis, or this problem.
00:24:41.59\00:24:44.47
Any kind of exercise.
00:24:44.97\00:24:46.42
Exercise makes
people feel better.
00:24:46.45\00:24:50.47
And any form of
exercise you do will help you
00:24:50.50\00:24:53.20
in trying to get out
of your lethargic state.
00:24:53.23\00:24:57.60
When you exercise
your limbs and your body,
00:24:57.63\00:24:59.73
you feel stronger and it
starts acting on your mind.
00:24:59.76\00:25:02.94
You start feeling better. So
exercise, exercise, exercise.
00:25:02.97\00:25:07.41
Now one good thing is to
talk to somebody that you trust.
00:25:08.17\00:25:10.84
Find a confident
friend or family member
00:25:10.87\00:25:13.75
or whoever is in your network
that you think will be somebody
00:25:13.78\00:25:16.99
who will listen to you
and give you objective advice.
00:25:17.02\00:25:19.98
Because sometimes when
you're sad and depressed
00:25:20.01\00:25:22.06
you sometimes, in
sharing that with somebody
00:25:22.09\00:25:25.19
they themselves could get sad
and depressed and even worse.
00:25:25.22\00:25:27.99
So you want to find
somebody who is able and capable
00:25:28.02\00:25:30.51
to receive your problems.
00:25:30.54\00:25:32.65
However, never resist going
to a professional counselor
00:25:32.68\00:25:36.69
or somebody who is trained
to assist you in working through
00:25:36.72\00:25:40.51
the problem and looking
at what your options are,
00:25:40.54\00:25:42.79
and helping you
decide on what best to do.
00:25:42.82\00:25:47.74
We want to offer a
word of caution, however.
00:25:48.24\00:25:50.17
There are counselors
and there are counselors.
00:25:50.20\00:25:52.82
There are some who
embrace humanistic theories
00:25:52.85\00:25:56.08
that are not in
line with spirituality.
00:25:56.11\00:26:01.09
And you need to
avoid those counselors.
00:26:01.12\00:26:02.94
It is your responsibility
to check out your counselor
00:26:02.97\00:26:05.49
and to see where
they are coming from.
00:26:05.52\00:26:06.80
But professional
counseling is ok.
00:26:06.83\00:26:09.68
But you want to have
a spiritual counselor
00:26:09.71\00:26:12.45
who can integrate
spirituality into counseling.
00:26:12.48\00:26:17.71
That's important.
00:26:17.74\00:26:18.88
and not just
spirituality but Christian.
00:26:19.35\00:26:21.46
And for those of you who
are Seventh Day Adventist,
00:26:21.52\00:26:23.74
clearly, values that you share.
00:26:23.77\00:26:27.45
Most of all, we want you
to go back to the word of God.
00:26:28.56\00:26:33.67
No matter how you're feeling,
00:26:33.70\00:26:35.85
No matter what
you're going through,
00:26:35.88\00:26:37.75
go back to the word of God.
00:26:37.78\00:26:41.86
This book is power.
00:26:41.89\00:26:43.67
This book has strength in it
to help you and to guide you.
00:26:43.70\00:26:48.51
We're going to look
at a few text to give you
00:26:48.54\00:26:51.23
the strength and the power.
00:26:51.26\00:26:52.76
For example, Psalm 46:1 says,
God is your refuge and strength.
00:26:52.79\00:27:00.18
No matter what, God is
your refuge and strength.
00:27:00.21\00:27:02.99
I like Isaiah 43:2.
00:27:03.70\00:27:06.65
"When thou passeth through the
waters, I will be with thee. "
00:27:06.68\00:27:12.35
I like the one in Hebrews 13:5.
00:27:13.21\00:27:14.93
He says, "I will never
leave thee nor forsake thee. "
00:27:14.96\00:27:19.46
You know something?
00:27:19.56\00:27:20.53
When Elijah came
out of the cave and
00:27:21.03\00:27:23.35
went on the
mountain following God,
00:27:23.39\00:27:25.38
he stood on the
mountain and there was a wind.
00:27:25.46\00:27:27.40
But God was not in the wind.
00:27:27.43\00:27:28.87
There was an earthquake, but
God was not in the earthquake.
00:27:28.90\00:27:31.37
And a fire. Then
a still small voice.
00:27:31.40\00:27:34.01
It was after he heard
that still small voice,
00:27:34.04\00:27:36.66
he came out of the depression.
00:27:36.69\00:27:38.39
That still small
voice is yours saying,
00:27:38.42\00:27:40.64
"Be still and
know that I am God. "
00:27:40.67\00:27:43.74
Be faithful.
00:27:43.77\00:27:45.74