As I enter the fourth week of recovery from a significant operation I find myself becoming depressed by my inactivity. Yet I have also experienced the joy that one gets from using the gifts and skills that God bestows upon us through His Spirit.
This morning after another restless night I sat down to prepare for tonights service not believing I could emerge from the safety of my self-built emotional and physical cocoon. Frankly, I was feeling depressed. Yet once I had immersed myself in scripture and spent time with God the depression lifted and I began to get excited about the prospect of serving Him at tonights service. Don't get me wrong I know that depression is a physical illness as physical and as debilitating as a broken leg, requiring proper and prolonged treatment. But in some instances it can be lifted, permanently or temporarily, by being in the presence of our Creator, in the same way that pain can be relieved and a broken leg mended by prayer. This reminds me that prayer should be the first action for the afflicted and not the last act of desperation when all else fails.
