Still in Lamentations
Chapter 1 verses 2 and 3
Exposes

Pastoral Depression

Let’s read it:

She weeps bitterly in the night, Her tears are on her cheeks; Among all her lovers She has none to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies. Judah has gone into captivity, Under affliction and hard servitude; She dwells among the nations, She finds no rest; All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits. – Lamentations 1:2-3

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lamentations1:2-3&version=NKJV

This is not something that is talked about.

Pastors are quiet to some extent about their brokenness.

Their mates might hear some grumbling but they don’t really know how deep the well goes.

Do not be shocked by the following. Each one is a different person. Each one was missed.

She weeps bitterly in the night, (Lamentations 1:2)

The “bitter weeping” is depression. “In the night” means that it is hidden.

They feel as if they are unseen. Yet, they forget that nothing is hidden from our creator. He made the eyes and He can cause the blind eye to see.

If this is you, you are not hidden. You are seen, and today we are going to discuss this from the perspective of Lamentations 1:2-3 after I share this from Ezekiel chapter 8

She weeps bitterly in the night, (Lamentations 1:2)

Even Elijah the prophet dealt with depression.

And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” – 1 Kings 19:9-10,13-18

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1Kings19:9-10,13-18&version=NKJV

Elijah thought that it was only him that was left serving the Lord. It wasn’t.

Many times those going through think it’s only them. It’s not. You are not alone. God sees you. God knows.

The drained feeling that you have is because you need to spend time in the presence of the Lord not preparing for a service but allowing God to replenish you and heal you of your wounds. You need to be refreshed yourself.

You cannot pour from an empty cup.

Every morning Jesus, when He was on earth, would get up while everyone else was sleep, and he would get in the presence of His Heavenly Father to be refilled and refreshed for the day by HIM. (See Mark 1:35;

Her tears are on her cheeks; (Lamentations 1:2)

Many times the pastoral put on a face, their face of flint, to deal with the people of God.

They can be going thru something huge but you won’t know it. They definitely don’t look like what they’ve been thru or are going through

So they can be breaking on the inside but you will see a smile.

People claim to love their pastors. But when the pastors and their families are going thru, who see 👁️👁️ them frfr.

Who sees the strain on the pastor’s family because the pastor is so busy pastoring that they, the wife and children, are being neglected.

Members try to do little things for their pastors like holding appreciation celebrations. They bring guest speakers in to speak and give a card with a few dollars and maybe a meal. But is that really appreciating the pastor and his family?

Do one really think that one day and a couple of hours of somebody else speaking and a card and a couple of store bought gifts really says thank you for your service.

Frfr

They miss their pastors just like they miss the Lord. How so?

I can say it

It is because they give what they want to give instead of what is needed or really wanted.

FATHER said it best when HE said that the people offer up many sacrifices of praise, the fruit of their lips, yet their hearts are far removed from Him. (see Isaiah 29:13; Ezekiel 33:31; Matthew 15:7–9)

Verse 2 of Lamentations chapter 1 says, “Her tears are on her cheeks…” How many times the pastor and his wife and children are missed. You go up to them and greet them and they smile at you.

Among all her lovers She has none to comfort her. (Lamentations 1:2)

Too often, you look at them, but you don’t see them. You have eyes but you can’t see. You don’t see the stain of the dried tears on the cheeks. You don’t see the emotions behind the pasted on smile.

Not for real.

All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; (Lamentations 1:2)

If you really saw your pastors that you claim to love so much, you’d let them rest by delivering their dinner to them so they wouldn’t have to cook.

If you saw your beloved pastors you would make arrangements to get their children and take them out to places that have been pre- approved by their pastoral parents so the parents can have a rest day frfr with each other.

If you saw your beloved pastors you would go by their home and cut their grass for them or wash their cars or drop off a bag of groceries with choice items.

If you saw your beloved pastors you would call and check up on them not because you needed anything but to pour into them encouragement with faith strengthening tokens of appreciation on a day that is not marked as a day of appreciation.

It would come from the heart and not be showy

God’s word is true which says at Lamentations 1:2 “ All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies”

How about this one, if you saw your beloved pastors, you would correct them in a spirit of love when you see them going down a path that would be detrimental to their livelihood and good standing not just amongst men, but even more so with King Jesus. If you see and don’t warn, that is treachery.

¹⁶ Now it came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁷ “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: ¹⁸ When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. ¹⁹ Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.

²⁰ “Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. ²¹ Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.” Ezekiel 3:16-21 NKJV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%203&version=NKJV

Some are all about the titles they bear. They are great at representing the title of the ministry. They look and dress the part. More masks. More pedestals. But what about integrity. When they see their pastor slipping do they warn them? Are they ready to snatch them as if out of the fire when you see them heading down a wrong path?

I must admit it takes skill to be able to talk to those in positions of leadership. Pastors and ministers can be like doctors.

It is said about doctors that they make the worst patients. Well, in the same manner, it can be a challenge to talk to one in a position of leadership especially a pastor because they are so full of the word that they cannot be told anything.

But it can be done.

This is where you can look to the prophet Nathan as an example.

He had the responsibility to speak to King David about God’s judgment.

If he would have approached King David wrong, it could have cost him his life considering David already had Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, put to death

So when Nathan approached David, as shown in 2 Samuel 12, he presented to David a situation that when David judged on it Nathan was able to tell David he was the person and how.

The result was that David repented to the Lord because he realized his sin was against the Lord. He was moved to repentance and that should be our reason for offering a pull up if it is necessary.

Judah has gone into captivity, (Lamentation 1:3)

Captivity is defined by Google Search as the condition of being imprisoned or confined. It is one who is captive, one who is a prisoner. There are many different types of captivities and we have spent a lot of time just now discussing one type, “Mental Captivity”.

• What is mental captivity?

When the mind is flooded with negative thoughts about the self, others, or external events, it can feel practically impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It might even feel like your mind is holding you prisoner by placing you in a foggy maze of ambiguous choices and messages.

Let’s now take a moment to discuss another type of captivity.

When God noticed the people’s rebellious way of life, God disliked the way the people were acting. Therefore, God brought exile upon the people. When the people realized why they were exiled and started to repent, God forgave them. Yes this is a captivity that God brought upon the people to correct their behaviors.

²³ And the nations will know [without any doubt] that the house of Israel went into exile for their great sin, because they acted treacherously against Me; and I hid My face (favor, blessing) from them. So I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell [into captivity or were killed] by [the power of] the sword. Ezekiel 39:23 AMP

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel+39%3A23&version=AMP

We must remember that God is a loving FATHER who will discipline His children just like any parent would who love their children. So even when HE tells us that disobedience and rebelliousness will position us to become captives. He also speaks to us of restoration.

The Blessing of Returning to God

30 “Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, ² and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, ³ that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. Deuteronomy 30:1-3 NKJV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+30%3A1-3&version=NKJV

Why did these pastors who committed suicide not know this. Why did they not understand before they took their own lives that “if we return to the Lord with all our heart that HE would return to us”? (Joel 2:12)

These pastors who committed suicide should have known this. (Unless otherwise mentioned , these are all from the United States of America.)

Pastors who committed suicide

• 2011 Nicholas William Minerva
• 2011 Robert Carlson
• 2012 Robert McGuire
• 2013 Teddy Parker
• 2015 John Gibson Jr.
• 2016 Tony Rose
• 2016 Lawrence Delong
• 2016 Pastor Letsego (South Africa)
• 2017 Matthew Warren (son of Rick Warren)
• 2018 Andrew Stoecklein
• 2018 John Derry (Ghana)
• 2019 Jim Howard
• 2019 Jarrid Wilson
• 2020 Jayson Rowe
• 2020 Bradley Bolejack
• 2020 Darren Patrick
• 2021 David Rowan
• 2022 Christopher Daron Smith
• 2022 Adam Bondaruk
• 2023 Joseph Chung (Korea)
• 2023 Elizabeth Wanjiru (Nairobe Africa)
• 2023 female pastor unnamed (Brazil)

All of these were pastors. All of these who were charged with teaching the Word of God should have known that God disciplines in love with the desire to correct and restore.

Those who were dealing with a mental captivity would have been blinded to this. But the majority were dealing with a captivity brought upon them by the Lord. I didn’t even list those whose death was from drug addictions and overdoses.

I am reminded of what God’s Word says

Romans 2:21-22
New King James Version

²¹ You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? ²² You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+2%3A21-22&version=NKJV

This is sad, and yes I mentioned the names of those who took their own lives. Why? Because they need to not be forgotten. They need to be remembered just like we remember what King David did and just like we remember others in the Old Testament and their experiences. Just like we remember the shortcomings of the Apostle Peter, the Apostle Paul and Judas. We need to remember these ones and learn from what happened.

Judah has gone into captivity,
Under affliction and hard servitude; (Lamentations 1:2-3)

Many see the pastors on platforms speaking and teaching charismatically and for some reason they think that job is easy and glamourous. IT IS NOT.

We all know that Moses led an entire nation of Israel out of Egypt and did many amazing miracles under the anointing of God, and talked directly to God. But what is forgotten is that it was because of a mistake he made when the Israelites struck his last nerve that he lost the opportunity to go into the Promised Land.

He wanted badly to go in but God told him NO because of what he did when he lost his temper with the people after having to deal with their constant complaining.

The people need to hear this and I am going to say it

“Part of the reason why some of the pastors are struggling and suffering with depression is because of the difficult stiff-necked hardheaded people of God.” (I called you what God called you in Ezekiel chapters 2 and 3.)

I have seen first hand several pastors burnout after serving at one particular church full of mean and surly members (the majority) and I am being nice and not calling the church out by name nor stating the state that I lived in when I witnessed this. I will say this though. In 2014 when the Presiding Elder asked me about what I saw before asking me to consider joining this church, I told him that the ground was hardened. It was not good ground. There was no love, no joy in this church. I told him I would pray about it and it did and I called him back to tell him that I would not be joining the church and why.

It is a shame that the people are killing their pastors and they don’t know it and no one is speaking the truth and telling them this.

In 2016, I walking in on a church member telling a Bishop that people should be kissing his ring after he did so. Seriously?????!!!!!

Why was this allowed?!

Did the Bishop not remember what the angel said to the Apostle John who bowed down to him

⁸ Now I, John, ^[c]saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.

⁹ Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. ^[d]For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” Revelation 22:8-9 NKJV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2022&version=NKJV

I am going to have to end this writing because I am getting in my feelings. This is annoying me, especially when I think about the condition of this man when I last saw him in a vegetative like state.

This is frustrating for me. I want to scream. I hear both Jeremiah and Jesus weeping over the conditions we the people of God are in.

(exhaling)

This is what God tells us to do

¹⁷ Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. Hebrews 13:17 NKJV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews+13%3A17&version=NKJV

The people need to hear this correction. The people need to know that they are wearing their pastors down. The pastors are human. Take them off of the pedestals. Stop choking them and their families. Let them breathe. Encourage them. Pour into them. Stop sucking them dry.

And as for you pastors:

Get back into the Word of God. frfr

You read the word of God to prepare your sermons. But you need to read the Word of God just because. You need to read it for yourself and not for a sermon. Let God refill you for the work that you are called to do. You cannot do this work in your own strength. You were never supposed to.

God’s Word says that one plants, one waters, but God gives the increase.

You plant when you preach the word. The person waters when they go home and meditate on what you taught them, and read more for themselves. But the increase and growth comes from God. You are just a glove to God’s hand. He works through you. Its not about you.

I don’t mean to be harsh but too many of you are giving up and giving out. Too many of you are burning out. Why? Because you are operating on empty. You fill up your cars with gas when the gas hand drops to E but you don’t fill up yourselves.

She dwells among the nations,
She finds no rest;
All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits.

Do I need to explain this? Do I really need to talk about the press from every angle that is felt especially by the pastors who also have homes and families and jobs. When do they rest?

In the midst of trying to take care of their families, and work 8hour jobs, and pay bills and be their for their mate and children, and try to put together a sermon for the next service, and make sure that the church building is taken care of and the needs of that building its met, and be their for the members who want to call them and complain and divorce and marry and need hospital visits and jail visits

When do they get to rest???

Lord God Almighty, In the name of Jesus Christ , my Lord and Savior, I lift up to you your many servants who are extending themselves in the ministry of shepherding your people. For those who are tiring our, I pray that they are strengthened. For those who have forgotten that nothing is hidden from you, they are in your hands FATHER. Your will be done. You are Sovereign. You are Just. You are Merciful. You are Righteous. You said you will forgive us our wickedness and remember our sins no more. King Jesus shed blood ratified that new will for us all. Thank you Father for allowing that.

DADDY, I struggled writing this. But I will keep going. Your will be done. I just ask one thing. The pastors who are struggling with depression, I lift them up to you. I stand in the gap for them. I ask that someone see them and help them to lay in your presence so that they can be refilled. They need to be dressed in the Armor that you have given us. DADDY, I did the website that teaches it. But I don’t know how to get people to take advantage of it. You said one plants, one waters, but you give the growth. Its planted DADDY.

Also, Dad, I want to pay attention also to what I wrote. I need to stay in your presence myself. I desire to cling to you even more. Help me too to stay in your presence, and to present myself daily for refilling and refreshment in you, and to stay dressed for Battle myself.

We all need you DADDY, myself included.

I bow before you King Jesus. Take the wheel. Take my will and order my steps.

King Jesus, Its in your name I make my request as well as lift up those who are in positions in of leadership.