“How to Come Out of the Funk of Depression”

In this world image is everything! Hollywood folks are not the only ones who create images out of their artists; we do it every day. These days I am becoming more and more concern about the internet and the influence is having on people in the creation of those false images. It seems like folks live for “likes” and followers in the diverse social media outlets. 

This word image was stuck in my head, so I felt the Holy Ghost taking me to two portions of Scripture, Genesis 1:27 and Revelation 13:15. In Genesis 1:27 the Bible tells us, 

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.^[1]

The word image here is the Hebrew word “ṣelem” meaning, “A likeness, a statue, a model, a drawing, a shadow.”^[2] We are in the likeness, statue and model of God. We are a drawing and a shadow of our Heavenly Father. Now, in Revelation 13:15 the Bible tells us concerning the beast or anti-Christ,

And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.^[3]

The word image here is the Greek word “eikḗ” meaning, “Without purpose, inconsiderately, groundlessly, without cause.”^[4] As we move away from our nature as the image of God into this earth, we embrace a counterfeit, a life without purpose. I believe that one of the tragedies of the Coronavirus’ impact in the world, is that it forced the world into spending more time in the false image of social media. The problem is that no matter how many likes you and I get and, how many followers, without God we have no purpose; without God we are empty. 

You see it every day, folks are more interested on looking at their phones than talking to family and friends. The world is becoming more and more anti-social and isolated giving room for depression and anxiety to dwell in people’s minds. In the absents of light there is darkness. There is an agenda against fellowship, specifically against the fellowship of the saints. There is a reason why, First John 1:5-7 tells us,

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.^[5]

The absence of fellowship with your brothers and sister in Christ means that you don’t really love the Lord and that you are in darkness. That darkness is designed to influence the way you think, to influence your decision-making and, to influence your emotions. You may say, “well, I go to church every Sunday.” Beloved, that is not fellowship. The word fellowship here is the Greek word, koinōnía; meaning “To share in. Fellowship with participation.”^[6]  koinōnía is more than just seating in a Sunday Service; the key words here are “Share”; this sharing takes places when we actually share our lives: conversations, activities, spiritual gifts, words from the Lord, fun, meals, etc. And the second word is “Participation”; the church was never designed to be a one-man show. Participation is conversation; is contributing together in what the Lord is doing and saying. I said this many times, if our relationship is confined to a building, we are not really a family; until you eat in my house, and I eat in yours, all we have is a “God bless you” relationship on Sundays.

As you enslave yourselves into following the wrong image and rejecting your nature as the image of God, Satan will take you to places you don’t want to be. Satan will use you, abuse you and spit you out. Beloved, the further you move away from God and his people and the more you embrace the social media lie, the deeper you will fall into isolation, the further you will find yourself away from your family and into the darkness of depression, hopelessness, and anxiety. You are allowing the devil to lead you into following a purposeless image designed to, eventually, kill you. In contrast, look what happens when you use your gifts and talents for the glory of God and the service of his people; look what Jesus tells those who do so, “…Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matthew 25:23) Want to come out of your funk, follow God’s way, activate your divine nature and reject the purposeless image of the progressive social media outlets.  

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ge 1:27.

^[2] Warren Baker and Eugene E. Carpenter, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament(Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2003), 952.

^[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Re 13:15–17.

^[4] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

^[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Jn 1:5–7.

^[6] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).