The insights presented within
this book, sharpened by decades of depression, desperation and doubt, penetrate
far deeper into the essence of faith, growth, and therapy than other similar
works while retaining a thoroughly Biblical orientation. Daniel demonstrates how
depression became a portal through which to perceive how faith and
understanding impact joy, assurance, self-acceptance and intimacy with God.
God
is the healer, and faith in His Son is the key! The way we think impacts who we
are and how we experience life. This
truth is particularly transformational because how we think about God will also
determine how we feel about God and our sense of assurance and intimacy with
Him. The question of depression, despair
and anxiety rests squarely upon this faith issue.
Daniel Mann writes:
Depression
had been nipping at my heals as far back as I could remember. I didn’t have a
clue about countering it. The various therapies, religions, and lifestyles I
resorted to proved little better than quicksand. The more I struggled, the
deeper I sank.
I
tried to outrun it. In 1970, I left the
In
1976, I came to a final way-station that promised ultimate relief, the Messiah.
I had an initial “honeymoon” period. I saw and experienced things I couldn’t
deny. Nevertheless, depression again blindsided me with another unwelcome
visitor--panic attacks. The faith that I thought would weather the storm ran
away terrified. The God that I had thought I had come to know, if He indeed
existed, didn’t respond to my flimsy and desperate cries for help. Perhaps He
did exist, but He just didn’t like me enough. In any event, I found myself
devastated for the next several years.
I
continued to pray and to seek God for answers, not because I believed that He
would eventually answer me, but because I had no other place to turn. I had
tried everything else! I didn’t really trust God anymore, but I trusted Him
more than anything else.
I
was convinced that if Christianity was the truth and Christ died for my sins, I
shouldn’t be feeling the way I was. If He loved me, He would answer my prayers.
There was no reason why I should be more dysfunctional and suicidal than those
who didn’t even have a faith in Christ. Surely, my experience had to disqualify
Christianity, but Christ remained my only hope.
I
now look back over my years of depression in a way I never thought I’d be able.
I never thought I’d be able to honestly thank God for the pain. However, it’s
been through the pain and utter despair that He’s taught me so much. I’m
reminded of Paul’s cry of anguish: “Indeed,
we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust
in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead” (2 Cor. 1:9). Through the ordeal, my Savior has indeed become dear to me
in a way that couldn’t have been otherwise. It’s through the ordeal that I’ve
come to love Him as He is and to even accept myself despite my many
imperfections. My weaknesses serve as a token of His undying love. They remind
me of the extent of His love and tender care of this life.
This
book started as a course at the
The book is divided into two major sections. The first
deals with the content of the Seminar, along with additional autobiographical
material which illuminates my many embarrassing missteps. The final several
chapters critique secular counseling. An addendum provides additional
autobiographical material for those so interested.
Email: daniel@knowingscripture.com