What an odd question…, and yet it must be asked.

So let me ask you, “do you want to get well?”  If you’re in a deep state of despair or have been diaignosed with depression, your first reaction might be, “What, are you crazy, of course I want to get well.” or, “Yes, I’m tired of feeling this way and I want to feel better,” but do you really want to get well?

Jesus asked the question of a blind man and of an invalid in all four of the Gospels (Matthew 20:31-33, Mark 10:50-52, Luke 18:40-42, John 5:5-7), but for the sake of time I will only reprint the one excerpt from John 5 below.  Feel free to look the rest up at your convenience.

 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”  “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.   Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”  At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

You might think this an odd question coming from Jesus because he already most likely knew the answer.  Who wouldn’t want to get well?  So why did he ask the question and why is it relevant to us today?

Perhaps you may even be curious as to why am I, a complete stranger, now asking you this question?  So I will answer first by saying that I once occupied your shoes for far longer than I care to recall and I must admit occasionally find myself slipping them back on before remembering why I got rid of them in the first place.

While the causes of depression might be hotly debated and widely vary, I believe the path out of this mental maze of hopelessness, confusion and despair is much simpler than you might think, but it all depends upon your answer to the question, “do you want to get well?”

For both the blind man and the invalid, they were ready, and of course Jesus was right there in front of them asking the question, an obvious advantage these particular men had over us.  But was Jesus checking their faith, or was he checking to see if they truly wanted to get well?

And in thinking about this, I can’t help but wonder if the disability label back then was the same as it is for us now. It seems sometimes we get locked into labels and that’s who we become.  Now obviously if your blind, your blind, there is no amount of finagling that is going to make you see unless Jesus just happens to be walking by.

But what about depression and anxiety, are these really diseases, or are they something else?  My general understanding thus far about those who suffer these conditions is that they are, for the most part, very intelligent, caring, compassionate and thoughtful people.  The kind of people who perhaps think too much about things, but care deeply about others.

For what ultimately is depression, but a feeling of despair and a yearning for something more, a better life?  We think, “is this it, is this all there is?   Am I just going to feel this way the rest of my life?”  Our sensitive spirits are pricked and we see and feel all of the pain and suffering in the world and lose hope, perhaps in ourselves and perhaps in mankind more broadly.

Have you ever considered the possibility that depression and anxiety are not actually diseases, but warning mechanisms?  Perhaps indicator lights on our life’s dashboard telling us that something is not right, something is out of balance, or maybe something is missing?

God frequently tells us in the scriptures of the Bible that he is love and the author of joy and that until we recognize this, our lives are going to feel empty and our hearts and minds are going to feel a sense of emptiness.

John 15:9-11, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Now for those of you who have already dismissed this and are digging through your scientific studies and American Medical Journals, relax, I’m not suggesting you flush all of your prescriptions down the toilet and stop seeing your therapist, but what I am suggesting is that you consider all the options here.   Do you want to get well?  Are you willing to consider all options?

Is the lack of a spiritual connection to God, in Christ the emptiness you are feeling?

And for those of you who are already Christians and dismissing this because you still feel really bad…., are you drawing in closer to Christ day by day, or are you just a “go to church on Sunday,” weekend warrior ?  You desire all of the benefits of a close relationship with Christ, but are unwilling to put in the time and energy and obedience that this particular relationship requires.  Perhaps you’ve only adopted your parents faith and have never truly accepted the Lord as your personal savior. I’m not making any judgements here, I’m just asking questions.

Jesus said in John 8:12,  When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus also said in Matthew 4:16, “the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

Now really, the only options here are that Jesus is a either a liar with an over-inflated ego, crazy as a loon, or is telling the truth and we have just chosen to ignore him.

One of the funny little ironies in our culture today is the fact that we tell our school children that they are no better than the animals and the result of random chance, a billion years of meaningless evolution that happened only because of a chance chemical reaction ions ago, and then somehow expect them to find meaning and purpose in their lives.

The Old Testament book of Isaiah predicted Jesus coming, hundreds of years before his arrival on the scene.

Isaiah 61:1-3,  “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”

These verses from Isaiah were apparently so important, that Jesus himself read them again in Luke 4:18-21 when he was basically announcing why he was there.

Luke 4:18-21(NIV) “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Although there are some medical professionals who agree with me, the medical community more broadly is quick to dismiss this notion as science and medicine has become king and the cure all for everything, even though they themselves will admit when cornered that they do not have many answers when it comes to depression.

And as you ask yourself the question, “do I really want to get well, am I willing to consider all the options in that road to recover, or has my depression become a comfortable old blanket that I keep around just because it is familiar?

Like the woman in an abusive relationship that takes her occasional beating to avoid her greater fear of financial insecurity, loneliness and the unknown.  Although it’s a miserable situation, it becomes comfortable, so we endure it.

So if you really want to get well, please don’t lock yourself into the notion that depression is merely a mental illness that is cured by medicine alone.  Please consider that there is a God in the universe who cares about you and is closer than you think.

A God who desperately wants to see you get well and to step out of the darkness into His amazing light.