Spiritual depression - Lloyd-Jones - XIV - Chapter 14

Required reading

Spiritual Depression by D. M. Lloyd-Jones (available from Amazon) - Read Chapter 14, 'Weary in well doing'.

My summary
Today Lloyd-Jones looks at how there often comes a plateau in the spiritual life where the Christian becomes weary of doing well. 

To get through this form of spiritual depression, firstly you:
(i) do NOT consider the suggestion that comes to you from all directions to give up;
(ii) do NOT resign yourself to the temptation to weariness;
(iii) do NOT use artificial stimulants (e.g. alcohol, drugs and even spiritual programs).

The second thing is to do is examine yourself:
(i) for the cause of the weariness;
(ii) for the motive of your service;
(iii) for whether something wrongly kept you going before now.

Then to cure the condition:
(i) recognise that there are phases in the Christian life;
(ii) remember what you are doing is 'well-doing' - to call it dreary is insulting to God;
(iii) remember that this life is a preparatory one;
(iv) consider the Master for whom you work.

What grabbed me
The section on not using shiny new programs as stimulants to solve spiritual depression was very good: 'I have seen people in the church dealing with this general spiritual weariness in that very way.  They work up some kind of excitement or they adopt new methods.  They say that they must rouse themselves out of this, so they put on some new programme.  Have you not seen it sometimes in the advertisements outside church buildings?  Can you not think of certain churches that are always putting out some fresh announcements or finding some new attraction?  Such churches are obviously living on artificial stimulants and it is all being done with this idea in mind.  The pastor or some other responsible person has said: "We are just in a rut, we are becoming rather dead.  What can we do about it?  Well, let's do this, or that.  It will provide work and activity, it will be a new interest".  Now that sort of thinking in the spiritual life and in the life of the Church is comparable to one thing only on the natural level, and that is to the man who takes to drink or drugs in order to give himself some excitement or to work himself up.'  Christians may not drink alcohol or do drugs, but how many are pumping themselves with programs trying to stimulate themselves out of depression?

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.