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1:04John isn't setting out an ideal, but an axiomatic truth. It's plain. Plain language. Show you how this works. We've already reviewed this. John, remember gospel identity. Who am I? Well, according to the gospel, you remember, I showed you. This image, God comes into the world. There's God, darkened world. He sends his truth into the world, person, Jesus Christ. He sends his word into the world, spoken word, sends a personified word into the world, truth. And believing in that truth brings about life.

1:53And it was John the Apostle who realized, who believed in Christ, believed in his words, believed who he was, that he came to understand that he was a disciple whom Jesus loves. Came to understand who Jesus is and was, and that belief, what he came to do, who he was, what he came to do in his relationship, that breathed new life into John the Apostle. And that life brought him back from the dead. It gave him a peace within, peace with God. And it also gave him a love for his fellow man.

2:38And this enabled him to live for God's glory. No longer was life about John. No longer was he a son of thunder, but he was a disciple whom Jesus loved. And this changed John's perception of himself. Then... John writes a letter, 1 John, and answers the question: what am I supposed to do? We know who I am now, and the gospel informs me: I am a disciple whom Jesus loves. And if you are in Christ, that is who you are. You are a disciple whom Jesus loves. Now, what am I supposed to do? Well, the gospel has an answer to that. Overcome every challenge to live for his glory.

3:28That's what the gospel informs me. Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. Just like Christ, we're following in his footsteps, and he leads. He always leads to victory. He doesn't know anything else. And if you're following him, you too will overcome the challenges to live for his glory. And so, as you go through life, you're going to encounter things. We need some plans for life. You need to overcome every challenge to live for his glory, and you can do that because of who Christ is and who you are in Christ and what you've been freed to do. Now, who you are defines what you're going to do.

4:28And so, you need some plans. Number one. You need a repentance plan. Get ready. You're going to sin. Get good at repenting. Overcome the challenges. Overcome to poor repenting. Learn how to get good at repenting. Live for his glory. And you can do that now because you belong to him. You also need a forgiveness plan. Get ready. Someone's going to wrong you. Get good at repenting. Get good at forgiving. It's coming. It's here. It's there. This is a routine. It's going to hit you all the time, these things. How are we talking about a temptation plan? You need to recognize that temptation is going to hit you on all kinds of ways in life. It's going to tempt you not to repent. It's going to tempt you not to forgive. It's going to tempt you in a lot of other ways to not live for his glory. But whatever is born of God overcomes the world, and that's the trajectory that he places us on. And he is sufficient to lead us to overcome these challenges.

5:43Fourth plan I want to set before you, and this is what we're going to work on tonight, is a depression plan. How do I overcome depression? Because this is a reality. You're going to face some depressing times in life. It's going to be part of it. So, how do you? Respond is become it becomes the critical thing. Get ready, it's coming. So, how do you respond? Well, that's what I want to talk to you tonight about depression. And I recognize that there is a lot that is said about it. I don't know if you know what the DSM-5 is, many of you do. It's the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It's the fifth edition, this is the current edition. And this is a work by the American Psychiatric Association that is what, well, it really classifies just what it says: mental disorders. It studies and identifies and categorizes. And it's really that this is what is used for the baseline for billing and treatment classifications and recommendations. It isn't a book that really deals with the remedies so much as the diagnosis. But it changes. I want to tell you, it is a manual that they're not chartered to try to figure out what the Bible says. That's not what they're looking at things from a psychiatric, secular worldview. And it is a manual in flux, as you can imagine. There's some changes from the Version 4 to version 5, and I can go into, I won't go into a lot of them, but just to give you an idea, in the DSM 4, it was called Gender Identity Disorder. It was a disorder. It's been changed to gender dysphoria.

7:54And there are instead of certain things, well, I won't get into a lot of things, but just to illustrate that some disorders now are referred to as spectrums, as opposed to just a hard point. But it just shows you that it's a manual in flux. It's constantly changing. Another thing, it's a manual that has a lot of critics, even among the American psychiatric community. Some of the critics argue that it lacks empirical support. Some say that there are sections that are poorly written, confusing, and even contradictory information.

8:49Some critics say that the pharmaceutical industry may have unduly influenced much of the content in the book. Even the American Psychiatric Association itself has published that the inter-rater reliability, which means the ability to relate and to understand the control environment and the actual findings, is low. In other means, we're not really sure that we can rely upon what we're saying here. And especially in two places, that this reliability is low: in major depressive disorder and in the generalized anxiety disorder. So, it is a book in flux. It is a book with many critics. It's a book itself that has, especially around the area of depression and anxiety, it is a place that has many critics.

10:03Having said that, it is still what many consider the standard. Let me read to you what it says about a few depressive disorders. Well, let me the major depressive disorder. It says this: it involves a persistent depressed mood and the inability to anticipate happiness or pleasure. That's how it describes. Depression, an inability to anticipate happiness or pleasure. A major depressive episode can involve thoughts focused on ending one's own life because of feeling worthless, undeserving of life, or unable to cope with the pain of depression. So that's how they classify these depression disorders: an inability to anticipate happiness, pleasure. And pleasure doesn't have to be in a sinful way. I mean, certainly, if you read John or listen to John Piper, his messages are always about Christian hedonism, pleasure in knowing Christ.

11:16But the Bible does have a lot to say about happiness and giving us an ability to look forward and to anticipate good things. It gives us an answer to worthlessness and an undeserving feelings of being undeserving, or it gives us an ability and has lots to say about how to cope with very difficult situations. And so my intention tonight is really to set forward a biblical case. I believe the Bible can speak to this issue. And that's what I want to do. I want to hear from the Bible.

12:00How do we overcome depression? Because we are going to face it and deal with it. The Bible has much to say about depression, and it has a lot to say about how to come out of it. Because you see, the Bible comes from one who knows humanity inside and out. It comes from one who does not change. He understands humanity, he understands the issues of our heart, our makeup, and he does not change. And he has given us commandments, and he has given us prescriptions, and he has given us statutes for living. He's not just interested in diagnosis, but he's interested in remedy. And the Bible has much to say about that. So, where do I go? Where do I go to start getting my mind around and tackling the issue of depression?

12:58Let me read to you Psalm, chapter 119, verses 25 through 32. Here we meet the psalmist. Psalm 119, verse 25. My soul cleaves to the dust. Revive me according to your word. I have told of my ways, and you have answered me. Teach me your statutes. Make me understand the way of your precepts, so I will. Meditate on your wonders. My soul weeps because of grief. Strengthen me according to your word. Remove the false way from me and graciously grant me your law. I have chosen the faithful way. I have placed your ordinances before me. I cling to your testimonies. O Lord, do not put me to shame. I shall run the way of your commandments, for you will enlarge my heart.

14:08This stanza begins, verse 25, that's Doleth Stanza 119, begins with the very graphic picture of depression. Look at that verse 25, first part. My soul cleaves to the dust. My soul, my entire being, physical and spiritual, could involve both. Cleaves to the dust. Literally, my soul is in the dust. It's in the face. Literally, his face is on the dust of the ground. The dust. The dust can reflect, it's where we came from, the dust and where we shall return. It speaks of the grave, the dust. My soul is cleaving. It is one, it is one with, it is glued to. The dust of the earth. What is he saying? The psalmist is one with the dust. He is anguished to the point of death.

15:11He is spiraled down very, very low into a place of near absolute hopelessness. And he has two places to go from here. He can either despair and die, or he can look up. And that's what he does. Look what he does. Look what he says. Revive me according to your word. 25. He is desperate. He is in that deep, deep sorrow pit of life. And he looks up desperately and he cries for help. Revive me according to your word.

15:52Make me live. God, breathe life into me. Bring me back from the brink of death. That is where I am at. Infuse me with life. That's his prayer. Have you ever been there? He's saying, God, give me a reason to keep going. Revive me according to your word. And what he's saying there is probably not revive me at your word, but revive me by your word. According to the gracious things which you have stated and are right before me, revive me, infuse life into me according to the gracious things that you have said.

16:50What brought this psalmist to this place? Well, I'm not sure. It doesn't say. But as you read the whole psalm, you start realizing there's several things that could have brought this psalmist to this place. Personal sin. Boy, that'll get you down. Personal sin. That can get you depressed, especially if it's over and over and over and over. You keep. That's why you've got to learn a good repentance plan and a good temptation plan. But it may be personal sin that's brought him to this place. It may be failure in other areas.

17:32It may be overwhelming loss. It may be the daunting challenges he faces on a day-to-day basis or in a particular situation. It may be that there's intimidating people around him, people that are down, people that he just can't please, people that, for whatever reason, may intimidate him. Maybe it's humiliation from being identified with the Word of God or the extreme. Extreme humiliation that comes from being despised by, or not measuring up, or despised by those around.

18:10Maybe it's the crushing pain of loss. Maybe it's the debilitating sorrow that comes with deep, intense grief. Maybe it's some of these, maybe it's a combination of all of these, or whatever. The point is, the path into his depression is not the issue of the psalm. The point is that he is powerless, whatever it is, he is powerless to rise above his depression. He is one with the dust. He is at the point of dying. That's the picture that this stanza opens up with. It's a picture of depression.

19:01But then it ends with the picture of true revival. Look at verse 32. I shall run in the way of your commandments, for you will enlarge my heart. Something has changed. You notice where this began? He was laid low in the depths of despair, and now at the end, he's running. He's running in the way of. God's commandments. And I love how this picture, I shall run in Job 16, 14, it's the same expression of a warrior running in his strength swiftly and an unconquerable force running through the battle lines. That's the picture of this verb. I shall run from being laid low into the depths of despair to running as an unconquerable force. It's the same expression used in Hebrew chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

20:29Big difference between the beginning of this stanza and the end. What has changed? Something within him has changed. It makes it clear at the end of verse 32, for you will enlarge my heart. What does God do? God gives him a bigger heart than his circumstances. I know an enlarged heart. Clinically, if that's a physical thing, that could be a dangerous thing. Okay, get that image out of your mind. I'm just going with the text. Here. Enlarged heart. He's speaking of a heart that God has made larger than the circumstances.

21:11The revived heart is a heart that becomes greater than the depressing circumstances that he is facing. And then the question comes: okay, how? How does God take this one who is down in the dust to running like a warrior in the way of God's commandments? How does he do that? And what is our responsibility in the process? Obviously, the enlarged heart comes from God. But what is our responsibility in the process? Well, these are what I want to share with you tonight: three steps to overcoming spiritual depression.

21:58Three things that you need to do to overcome spiritual depression in your own life and to help others overcome their depressing moments as well. First of all, you need to think thoughts that revive. You need to think thoughts that revive. See, in order to overcome depression, we need to change our perspective on our situation. We need to start looking. Upward instead of downward. We need to see God's perspective and not fixate on our own. And the only way to do that is to begin thinking thoughts that begin in the mind of God. Otherwise, we're going to be condemned in our own thoughts that have limitations, that are not free from sin, not free from deceit, not free from a love for self, and not free of defilement. We need to see things from God's perspective. Look at what he says in verse 26: I have told of my ways, and you have answered me. In other words, I have told, I have confessed, I have laid bare my thoughts, my shortcomings, my sins, my needs, my wants, my dilemmas, and everything, as best as I can understand them. I have laid everything out before you. You see a soul honesty there. And then he says, and you have answered me. You have graciously responded to everything that I have laid out before you. And those answers are in his word. Look at what he says in verse 26. Teach me your statutes. Teach me. It's all there. Teach me your statute. You must teach me. Otherwise, I'm not going to know. Teach me your prescriptions for life. That's what statutes are about.

23:57Teach me your remedies for what. I am facing. But he doesn't stop there. Teach me. Look at verse 27. Make me understand the way of your precepts. Not only teach me, but make me understand. Kind of get it, don't you? Lord, you not only need to assume the posture of the teacher and you have to recognize, and I need to assume the posture of the student, but you also need to assume the posture of the illuminator and make me get it. You need to work on the outside by teaching me. You need to work on the inside and illuminating me so that I can get it.

24:40You ever felt thick-headed? Slow? I had a little dog that, for whatever reason, he just couldn't. I'd lay food before him, and he'd be so happy looking at me or looking at something else, he wouldn't get it. But as soon as I'd grab his head and turn it to the food, he'd be like, chomp. I feel like that's kind of the way it is with us, certainly with me, that, God, I need you. I'm thick, I'm slow. I need you to illumine me. Teach me. Teach me your precepts.

25:17Teach me the specifics. And this word precepts deals with the specifics. It's like a course syllabus. Teach me the minutiae detail, the particular instructions or particular orders. Orders or assignments that you have for me in the situation. You see, oftentimes what happens to us is we're far more interested in man's solution than God's. Far more interested and far more easily quick to try man's solutions rather than God's prescriptions or God's remedies. And notice the reasons for his prayers. Look at the end of 27. So I will meditate on your wonders. You teach me, you make me understand, so that I will get in my mind the wonders of who you are and what you have done. You see, as long as we have our eyes on our personal situation and on, it's going to get depressing and it's going to get more depressing. And what the psalmist is saying is, Lord, get my eyes off my personal situation and on the wondrous things that you have revealed in your word. There are a lot of hopeless situations in the Bible if you read them. You remember Egyptian bondage? You remember how that's a depressing situation? You remember the Israelites there and Pharaoh's army in pursuit? That looks like a pretty depressing situation, pretty hopeless. And yet, God delivers them. How about in the wilderness?

27:06God, are you going to provide? And then all of a sudden, manna, something that just looked absolutely hopeless, all of a sudden, manna shows up. God provided. And you read the law, and you're like, God, you clearly understand God demands perfect righteousness. And you wonder, where in the world is that going to come from? And then He sends His Son, who not only takes away our sin, but He infuses, He places in us righteousness that completely meets with the law. These are wondrous things that God has done. Now, if you will let your mind fixate on the things, the great things that God has done, now put your problem in comparison.

27:57Lord, I lost my job. And that doesn't minimize, that could be a very troubling thing, but look at God's law. He has provided in the past, He has delivered in the past. God, I didn't get a promotion. God, I wasn't as highly esteemed. Or maybe it's God, I've lost something very valuable. You see, what the psalmist understood and came to understand, it's not about our problems. Life is not about our shortcomings, but the God who is greater than all of these.

28:40And so, whether it's my sin, or whether it's my inability, or whether it's my overwhelming circumstances, or whatever it is, God is greater. And so, if we only meditate on the hopelessness of our situation, or the blackness of our times, or our utter failures, we will progressively grow more and more depressed. And by the way, it takes time to think thoughts that revive. It takes time. This is about a routine. This isn't just a one-off plan for one thing. This is about a lifestyle. Think thoughts that revive. Get in a good routine of filling your mind with God's Word. And I'm not going to go into the other elements of a good depression plan that you can add into healthy routine, healthy diet, healthy exercise, getting up, good routine, and giving the best of your time and mind to thinking upon thoughts that revive.

29:55But all of that, we need to begin. But even in the darkest. And deepest depression, there is a path to revival. Christ only leads in that direction and begins with thinking thoughts that revive. Second step to overcoming spiritual depression is to pray prayers that revive. Pray prayers that revive. Look at 28. You see another picture of grief and depression. 28, my soul weeps because of grief. It's the image of a soul like a leaky roof melting away because of the flow of tears. I remember years ago at Pioneers, a counselor was holding a nine-year-old pioneer kid who was weeping over the loss of his grandmother.

30:51And the counselor said, Who in your life loves you? And the little boy said, God, Jesus, and my grandmother, except now she's dead. He clung to her for 20 minutes, and she could feel his tears landing upon her hands and arms. That's the picture of a soul deeply grieving. But the good news is that God responds to such deep. Grief. Psalm 30, 19 says, He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry.

31:41When he hears it, he will answer you. Promise. So here's the psalmist. He is in the pits of deep depression. He feels that life itself is draining from him through grief. Have you ever been there? You know, it's easy at times like that to start praying prayers that lead to further estrangement from God instead of prayers that lead to revival. It's easy to start praying prayers that are misguided. But here's the psalmist. He shows us what praying looks like. Praying prayers that will revive. Look at the second part of 28. Strengthen me according to your word.

32:38I think the psalmist understood that grief and despair can be so severe that it zaps your energy to do anything, sometimes spiritually and physically. So he says, strengthen me, literally, raise me up. It's like, Lord, I'm in the dust. Raise me up. Revive me. He's not just talking about physical. Strength, but he's talking about a spiritual strength that comes from hope. God, strengthen me, raise me up according to your word, God, not according to my criteria, God.

33:18I mean, oftentimes, in situations like this, it's like, God, this is what I want you to do, and this is how I want you to do it, and I want you to do it now. Prayers like that just going to take you further down. Strengthen me according to your word. Not my criteria, your word. Look at what he says. He gives a second prayer in there in verse 29. Remove the false way from me. Remove the way of falsehood, the way of deception. Remove it.

33:56It's the idea of the psalmist is feeling the temptation of running down the wrong path. Same description. You remember when Ashael was pursuing Abner in 2 Samuel? Abner, verse 21, says to him, Turn to your right or to your left. Remove yourself from me, Ashael. Ashael, quit pursuing me. But Ashael was not. Willing to turn aside from following him. Abner repeated again to Ashael, turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? However, Ashael kept on. He refused to turn aside. Therefore, Abner struck him in the belly with the butt end of the spear. So the spear came out his back. So get this picture. Ashael is pursuing Abner, and Abner is saying, Stop pursuing me. I'm the wrong person. Don't pursue me. It's going to cost you your life. Ashael kept pursuing. And finally, Abner kills him.

35:08But it's like the psalmist is understanding. God, before me, in my depression, in this deep state that I am in right now, remove the false way from me because I am tempted to run down it. God, remove it. And I know if I run down it, I will perish. Remove the false way from me. See, in difficult times, we're tempted to set aside the truth, to think wrongly, and to pursue the false way. And we need that false way removed from us. We need the true way, which brings us to his third prayer. Look back at verse 29, second part. Graciously grant me your law.

36:00Remove the false way from me and graciously grant me your law, your instructions, your way. You see, sometimes the only way through difficult circumstances is through them, or the only way out of them is through them. Sometimes only the way out of deep depression or grief is to go through it, but to go through it God's way, according to His guidelines for life. Grant me your law. You see, sometimes we're tempted in such times to set aside God's law and choose our way. Lord, bless my way.

36:48But that's not going to be a prayer that leads to revival or life. So listen to those three prayers. Strengthen me according to your word, 28, second half. Remove the false way from me and graciously grant me your law. Third step to overcoming spiritual depression. Make resolutions that revive. Make resolutions that revive. Look at these resolutions. Verse 30. I have chosen the faithful way. See that resolve? I have chosen the way of faithful. Faithfulness to you. I don't care what else is going on. That is my choice. God, I want to be faithful to you, and that is the way I have chosen, and that is the way I am going to go.

37:44I have chosen to be faithful to you, regardless of the cost. Notice that's his preference. I have chosen the faithful way. Notice his conformance. The second part of verse 30: I have placed your ordinances before me. I have placed your ordinances. I have accepted your governing rules and will conform myself to them. Notice how he's conforming himself. He's got a preference of the faithful way and a resolution to conform to God's way. Look at verse 31. I cling to your testimonies. Speaks of adherence. I have glued myself to your testimonies. I'm not going to be glued to the dust anymore. I'm going to be glued to your testimonies. I'm not going to live like this anymore. I'm going to live listening to your sworn testimony. And that's how I'm going to live. I am married to your testimonies. I am married to the truth of the message. That your testimonies declare. That is truth. That is where my faith is.

39:09And you can see how this faith is going to overcome the world. Look at his fourth resolution, or it's really a prayer. Lord, do not put me to shame, verse 31. And this is dependence. Notice he prefers the faithful way. He is going to conform to God's ordinances. He is going to cling to God's testimonies, and then he is dependent upon God. Oh, Lord, do not put me to shame. Lord, I can fall flat on my face in this thing.

39:51Lord, don't let me bring disgrace. I am choosing the faithful way. I am placing your ordinances before me. I cling to your testimonies. Keep me from falling flat on my face. See, though he had resolved to do great things in response to God's gracious provisions, the psalmist still didn't trust himself. And neither should we. I am capable of failing. Please help me. But you get this. Image here. You start seeing with these resolutions that he makes, he thinks thoughts that revive. He prays prayers that revive. And then in these resolutions, you start seeing the psalmist rise up from the dust. I have chosen the faithful way. You see him kind of pushing up. I have placed your ordinances before me. You see the psalmist standing. I cling to your testimonies. You see him gripping. And I depend upon you for success. You see him praying.

41:14Ready. Set. Go. You've heard that expression. Runners, take your mark. Get set. What comes next? Go. You guys are a lot of trackstars here, so you got to get that one right. Maybe we can simplify this and kind of just think about this depression plan, overcoming depression plan, in these ways. Runners, take your mark. Think thoughts that revive. Take your mark. Think the thoughts that revive. Get set. Pray prayers that revive. Lord, get the false way out of me. That's not the way I want to go. I want to run in your way.

42:13Go. Make resolutions that revive. I have chosen. I have placed. I cling to your testimonies and I depend upon you success for success. And therefore, I shall run in the way of your commandments. Go. Run in the way of God's commandments. And run dependently upon the strength that He provides. You will enlarge my heart. I will set the faithful way before me. I have chosen the faithful way. I have set before me your ordinances. I have chosen the faithful way. I cling to your testimonies and I depend upon you success. And I will run in the way of your commandments. Enlarge my heart to do so.

43:13You see, this is a good way for us to think about. Here is a real case, a biblical example of somebody who was as low as you could see a person and running. Lifted, elevated, revived, infused with life to the point that he's running like a champion in the way of God's commandments. And you notice his circumstances didn't change. He changed. He was revived because God enlarges the heart. Let your feelings get caught up with you. You know, in this heart study, we've looked at several examples. You got the Ferrari illustration. You remember Larry, who got a new heart? He said he had an engine placed in him like a Ferrari, and his body has been having a hard time keeping up with it ever since. Keep praying for him in that.

44:27You also heard the analogy of my Corvette versus my Ford Pento. It had so much more under the hood. Well, that's what we need: an enlarged heart. And then we encounter these times of depression. We are to come before him, thinking thoughts that revive, praying prayers. That revive and making resolutions that revive. And friends, this isn't just a one-off thing. Okay, here's the next time you hit this, is to become a lifestyle. Because you know what? Depressing moments are going to hit you very regularly.

45:19And God wants us to deal with them. Get in a routine, just like you're becoming good at repenting and good at forgiving and good at avoiding and dealing with temptation. Get good at handling the large and small battles of depression. They're all around us. They hit you on all sides. It's going to be part of life. But think thoughts that revive. Pray prayers that revive. And make resolutions that revive. And run in the way of God's commandments. Choose the faithful way. Choose fidelity to Him. Run according to His directions. And run in the strength that He provides.

46:04And let your emotions and everything else get caught up with it. That's all I have. I know there's a lot more to be said on this topic. Certainly, you can integrate it, a healthy lifestyle routine, and all kinds of things. Our bodies are far more connected to our souls than we. Imagine and so a healthy routine, healthy body is important. Nothing that I said diminishes that. But anyway, thoughts, questions? Got a couple minutes. I want to make an observation or two.

46:57Okay, friends. Okay, we've got one. Okay, here comes it. What do you say about people that are taking antidepressant drugs? Well, I know that there are people who take antidepressant drugs. I would say this about that. If you're thinking your antidepressant drugs are going to heal a spiritual problem, you're wrong. Because the spiritual problems must be dealt with spiritual issues. And so, yeah, organically, I recognize there's organic issues. And I just have lived through my father-in-law and my father both leave. Losing their minds and watching that. I mean, cancer is a breakdown of the body.

48:08I recognize that there are things that break down in the mind as well. I understand that. But I would say that if you're thinking that a physical tinkering is going to correct a spiritual problem, it's not. And so that's what I would say. Questions? Yes, sir. How do we distinguish Matthew 5 blessed and brokenheartedness from the spiritual learner? Yeah, well, grieving, there's some things you should grieve over. There's some things that you should be depressed over, but not depressing to despair. I mean, we live in a sinful world, and the one who's blessed is the one who does mourn. And that's a different, that is one that, I mean, Jesus was acquainted with grief. So grief, if you're grieving over the right things, it's a virtue. But if you're self-fixating and grieving as one who has no hope, that's a whole different thing.

49:15Good question or thought, comment. Did I see another? Yes, sir. Is depression tied to fear? I we're going to have an anxiety plan. And so, I think, because anxieties are real. I mean, depression is real. I would put depression more in the category of loss, but I mean, certainly there's overlap, and I, you know, so, but I would put anxiety more in the category of fear. And, but it's a zone that they overlap, I'm sure. All right, well, that's time. I will be up here if anybody wants to talk. I know this doesn't do justice to the subject at all, but you don't want me to do justice tonight, or we won't ever leave here. But something to think about and to give you a direction. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you for your goodness and your grace. I thank you for truth, Father, that there's all kinds of things that come against us in this world.

50:29And so, Father, we help us to run, Father, in the way that you have before us and to run with delight and joy. And, Father, I know there are some incredibly difficult circumstances that people are facing, even in this room, some challenges, and Father, so it's humbling to even be able to speak on these things. But your word does speak to these things, and it doesn't change. So, Father, thank you for the insight. And thank you for the direction and help us to graciously walk in your ways. For it's in Christ's name. Amen.