Depression

AUG. 8, 1981, 5:38 AM
FARM, STUDY

Hear, o son, as I speak to you about some of the important aspects of economic depression. It probably will be your lot to experience this during this lifetime, and if this is to be then you should be prepared to gain from it spiritually. You know, by now, that every experience has the potential for enhancing spiritual growth, but you… and most other people… even most other Christians… do not really anticipate such or appreciate the opportunities available. You are attuned as you do this writing, and you can feel the truths I give you genuinely in your soul, but the carry-over to life beyond this meditation is yet rather spotty and incomplete.

The depression that lies ahead will be a serious event because many, many people are genuinely unprepared for the experience. Expectations about the needs of life are exaggerated. The physical, mental, and social dimensions of life are too dominant. There is too much sense of “I must have this… this… this… in order to have a good life.” A depression shall be a true test of the spiritual truth in Job’s affirmation, “Naked did I come from the womb and naked shall I return.”

Think of your reaction to the potential burning down of your house this morning. If your home would have burned would you be writing My Words this morning? Probably not, but it would have been well if this were your inclination. There would be other expectations for your behavior and use of time, but you know there would be no better activity than hearing My analysis and receiving My direction.

So should it be for any loss – job, Farm, family, possessions. Depression begets depression. Many will respond to the crash of financial institutions with a depression of the mind and emotions, which usually indicates a shallowness of spirit. Economic collapse can hurt you only if you are unwilling to see it as a challenge given by Me. You hitchhike now and, as you say, it is a humbling experience. But it also is an enlivening experience, a sharing experience, an ever-new experience. You are reaching a point where you can function rather well without a car. That is the adaptability that shall be necessary… but go beyond mere adapting and see it as a spiritual opportunity.