The more I write about my struggle with depression, the more the emails come to me from others who fight this battle. It’s as if we stay in the shadows and suffer silently – not wanting others to see the pain. They might think that we are weak and not strong enough in the Lord.
The words written to me from others bring me to tears. I can empathize and hurt right along with them. I try to be careful in my responses to these emails. Sometimes just saying “I love you and Jesus loves you more” is enough.
Chappy
The Lord has blessed many of us with a precious saint whom we call “Chappy” – short for Chaplain Bill Herrmann. He has the gift of showing mercy like no one I have ever met. He hurts with those who are hurting. He prays with those who are in need of prayer. This man is truly salt and light as Jesus called us to be.
Chappy hurts so much with us, that it usually brings him to tears. He is never judgmental, but always uplifting. He is a gift from Jesus to hurting hearts. I don’t know if he understands just how much he means to so many of us. His heart is so tender – he is probably in tears as he reads this.
Why do Christians hurt their own?
This is a topic that most just sweep under the carpet – too hard to talk about, I guess. But brethren – we do need to talk about it. This behavior leaves deep wounds and scars.
Why do you think that our Lord Jesus spoke so much of love and caring?
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another”(John 13:35).
Sounds like it is extremely important to the Lord that we have love for one another; and here He is speaking of love between the brethren. It is so important to Him, that he makes the point that the world will know that we belong to Him by how we treat one another.
The love of many shall wax cold
“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:9-14).
These are hard words to read, brethren. But they are the Words of our Lord Jesus. This passage of Scripture is a warning to us of things that will come to pass in the end times. I believe we are there. We must be on our guard to keep our hearts soft and pliable; forgiving and merciful.
We don’t know what a brother or sister in Christ is enduring
Even when we are treated harshly by another Christian, I believe that it is so important to immediately forgive. Forgiveness for the Christian should come as naturally as breathing. But we are still battling this sinful flesh, so sometimes it takes a bit longer when a wound is very deep. I know that our Lord is so pleased with us when we make the decision to forgive. We must remember that the person who offends us is most likely battling their own scars and wounds. Thinking about that will help us to forgive.
We are not Jesus, so “forgetting” an offense is sometimes impossible. Because of this, it is important to pray for the person whenever you think of the hurt. It may be that you need to pray for this person every day. It is very hard to remain upset with someone for whom you are praying.
We all bring baggage into the Kingdom of God
I remember the night I was saved. In the days that followed I thought to myself that there would never be problems with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Those were the thoughts of a baby Christian. As we mature in the Lord, we see that all of us have brought our painful experiences into the Kingdom with us. A lot of the brethren are broken from past hurts. We are far from perfect, but we love and serve a Perfect God! Hopefully, we mature in Him and become more and more like Jesus.
This song has always been precious to me:
We’re almost there, brethren! We must finish the race set before us. God, please help us to endure to the end!
MARANATHA
Love you Geri! Your words always inspire and uplift my soul. What a glorious day it will be when we meet in heaven! 🙂
Hello Geri,
I too have depression. Even King David whom Jesus said “was a man after God’s own heart” had depression. Sometimes I am very thankful for it, other times it is a struggle. I do have a question because you’ve referred to Chaplain Hermann before and I looked on his fb page and liked what I read and he definitely fits your description. It doesn’t allow me to “like” his page and I sent a message that I would like to be on his list some time ago with no response. Do you know how I can follow his page? Thank you
Chaplain Bill has a group called Berean Bible Chapel. I would suggest that you find that group and ask to join. I don’t know your name, so I can’t ask Chappy personally to accept your FB friendship request.
Thank you Geri. I did ask Berean Bible Chapel on fb (as there were several Berean pages and would like to make sure it’s his as I trust your discernment) if it was Chaplain Bill’s page five days ago and have not heard anything. Not sure what’s happening in either place why I haven’t heard. My name is Cheryl Wilson if you’re able to connect and pass that on. Thanks again Geri for all you do.
I told Chaplain Bill that many who wanted to be his friend could not, because they need to be a “friend of a friend” of his. So he changed that to “everyone” so you should be able to find Chaplain Bill Herrmann now 🙂
I love you too, sweet sister 🙂
hi sis its good to look at the highs and lows in king davids life. its really uplifting. 10 years ago i suffered enormously. many times i thought i would die and nearly did several times. but the Almighty saw me through. i will try my best to endure to the end. remember in this race sometimes we trip on hurdles , sometimes reduced to a walk but Jesus won this race for us so every thing is ok. i try to focus on visions of the millennial kingdom. i`ll put my cat out to graze on the lawn. our many poisonous aussie snakes will be harmlessly slithering through the grass. every day will reflect the glory of the LORD. you will see a stranger far off along the road and you will know he will be a friend. you wont need locks on your doors. we will learn to worship our LORD in spirit and truth properly. think about the kingdom come and make that your happy place xxx phil
What wonderful thoughts of the future when Jesus reigns and we are with Him!! God bless you brother 🙂
Totally Outstanding Article Geri—and I am Blown Away At The Mention…..God Lead me onto Facebook…( Isn’t That an Astonishing Assertion? ) Yet I Know This Is True Because I Have Found So Great a Need For Hurting Believers… Holy Spirit led me to establish BEREAN BIBLE CHAPEL ONLINE FELLOWSHIP…and Today 5 Years Later –500 plus have Joined….and We Have a Blog Talk Radio Preaching Ministry every Sunday from 5:00PM—7:00PM EST….and are Planning YOU TUBE Services….for 2017… God Bless Those Hurting and Wounded….I Am Here For Anyone Who Needs Someone To Pray….Shoot Me a Private Message or Send Me a Facebook Friend Request—-You Are Not Alone In Your Heartbreak….
You are everything I said about you in the article – and more! I believe that nothing happens to the children of God by accident. It was His plan to have you on Facebook for so many of us!
. . . . . . . .thank you Geri . . . .