I am not just saying this in light of recent events so believe me when I say this: With all my heart I am a fan of Robin Williams. His stand-up can be a little too raunchy for me...OK very raunchy for me. But there is no denying this man had a gift for comedy and performance art. A truly God-Given talent. But just like Pagliacci the Clown and many other comedic entertainers, Robin Williams suffered from addiction, depression and was ultimately reported to have committed suicide. Whenever a tragedy such as this occurs, we as Christians ought to be in deep prayer for both the deceased and their family and we should be discussing this from a Biblical perspective. Robin Williams may not have been everybody's cup o' tee but there was one thing he was even in the midst of the silly faces and perfect comedic timing...Robin Williams was a human being. When we say things like "I cannot imagine why someone would do that..." then we are neglecting the naked truth that Scripture revealed to us about our human condition. The fact is we are broken. Jeremiah the Prophet was broken as he laments... I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long. He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones. He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead. He has walled me in so I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains. Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer. -Lamentations 3:1-9 It is important to note that the 'He' Jeremiah is referring to is the LORD God Himself. Do you feel like this? Have you been so deep in the darkness of depression that you lament your condition and groan over what God has been doing? I Have. And if we can stop playing the Happy-Go-Lucky Christian maybe we can find some healing. You know what I am saying...There is a subtle myth in Christendom that depression doesn't effect the hardcore Christian. That Jesus magically takes away the struggles of this life so we can be happy non-stop. We put on a smile and tell the Pastor our week has been 'great' and 'blessed' when we want to scream that we are 'miserable' and 'hopeless'. So many Christians skip Lamentations 3:1-9 but want to jump right to verses 25 and 26... The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. That is a passage full of hope and joy yet we forget that there is 24 verses before it of pain and suffering that forces Jeremiah to remember God in the midst of and despite his depression. The Prophet Isaiah predicted that Jesus would be a Man of Sorrows and Accounted with grief. He knows and understands our afflictions. And instead of hiding from them, we need to be honest, repentant and always seeking the Lord. We mourn Robin Williams and I wish I would have had just one chance to tell him there is a God who not only is willing to forgive his sins but who is more than willing to stand with him in the midst of the deep darkness of depression and love him through it all. To the Williams' Family and Friends: Our Prayers are with you. May you seek the God of Grace and Mercy through His Blessed son Jesus Christ and find your hope in Him. To those who are Depressed and Struggle with thoughts of Suicide: You are Not Alone. Your life is a precious thing. The God who created you also died so you would not have to suffer the Wrath which comes with punishment for sin. He is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18) Lets start being honest about depression within our Churches and Christian circles so we can look to the one who give us hope and see that He is walking this road down the darkness with us...And when it seems like there is no light to be seen we look and realize that He is Our Light. I will be discussing this topic and more on the Radio Show soon... Written by Brandon Warr, facebook.com/xBrandonWilsonx |
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