Key Life Network

Guest (Male): There are two kinds of people in the world, and I'll tell you about them on Key Life. It's for freedom that Christ set us free, and Key Life is here to bring you biblical teaching that encourages you to never give into slavery again. Our teacher on Key Life is Steve Brown. He's an author, broadcaster, seminary professor who's sick of phony religion.

Steve Brown: Thank you, Matthew. There really are. And if you've been listening to what we've been talking about, and we're talking about Christians being human, there are two kinds of people in the world. They're people who are sinners, who fail, who are weak, and don't know it.

And there are other people, the second kind, who do fail, who have sinned, who really have done things that are contrary to the word of God, and they know it. And that's a Christian. A Christian knows it and knows about God's grace and his forgiveness and his mercy.

Okay, we've talked about Christians being human physically. And then we talked about when Christians sin, they're human. But they're also, or I should say, we're also human spiritually. Listen again to the Apostle Paul.

And this is Second Corinthians 1:8 through 9. And don't miss what the Apostle Paul is saying. He says this, "For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. Why, we felt we had received the sentence of death, but that was to make us to rely not on ourselves, but on God, who raises the dead."

Did you hear? That's Paul. That's the apostle. That's the writer of much of the New Testament saying he lived in despair and depression and he almost was ready to die. You say that doesn't sound like the victorious Christian life. It's not the victorious Christian life.

The victorious Christian life is having your nose barely above the water and not sinking all the way. Christians are human. And the scripture, and the scripture teaches it clearly. You say, "Steve, since I became a Christian, I've never lost the sense of God's presence."

Really? The person who says that is crazy. Why? Because as the Bible says, we are earthen vessels. Because we are earthen vessels, we sometimes live on the spiritual mountain top, and sometimes we must go through the valley of despair and darkness. So, I suppose we can appreciate the mountain top.

You're probably saying right now, "All right, I understand that my spiritual depression is normal. But that doesn't help me much when I'm going through it. What I want to know is what can I do about it? When I feel that God has gone away on vacation somewhere, to Bermuda or something, and no longer has anything to, how can I get over that?"

I'll tell you, listen very carefully. Do what you're supposed to do and praise God anyway. Continue with your prayer life anyway. Read the scripture anyway. Serve and witness anyway, and don't whine about how you've lost everything, because you're going through a period of spiritual depression. You haven't, you're just human.

I mentioned when I was talking about famous Christians who were human, and about those that God talks about in the Bible who were just human. I mentioned that Charles Spurgeon was probably manic depressive. I one time said that in a seminary class and got attacked for it. And I told them to do the research and they came back and said, "You know, you're right."

Did you know that Spurgeon, literally my favorite preacher of all time, one of the wonderful, incredible men of God went through such depression at times that he went for months and couldn't even preach in that church in London.

Listen, the normal Christian life is a life sometimes when God seems to have gone away. Sometimes when doubt start haunting and coming in the middle of the night. Sometimes when we wonder if we've been fools and have gone down a road we should have never gone. Sometimes we wonder if this could possibly be a lie that we've given ourselves to.

What do you do? Praise God anyway. Remain in church anyway. Pray anyway. Witness anyway, and watch what God does. Paul said, and I referred to it, this is Second Corinthians 4:7 and 8, "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but we're not crushed. Perplexed but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For while we live, we're always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh."

I am, as you may have gathered, pretty pessimistic about human nature. And just so you know, I'm more pessimistic about me than anybody else. I call it realism. Some would say it's cynicism, but I'll tell you something. Whereas I may be pessimistic about man, I'm extremely optimistic about God and what he can do through weak and sinful men and women who are willing to run to him when it hurts.

That's the only kind of people God has to work with. He knew that before he created us and called us unto himself. He requires only that we abide, that we follow him. I mentioned Spurgeon. His books are still best sellers after all these years. He was used in so many lives that it would just blow you away to listen to the testimonies. He was a man of God who was known all over the world for his teaching.

He had seminary students that he taught who became men and women of God, and he wrote a book called "Letters to My Students" that is still studied by seminary students. Do you know why that is true? Because, not despite, but because of the depression that he went through.

So, it's not only okay to be human, it's the way things are. It's what is. It's what it means to live in a fallen world. It means if you're a Christian, sometimes you'll do it right, and sometimes you'll do it wrong. It means if you're a Christian that sometimes God will seem as close to you as the air that you breathe, and at other times he seems to have turned his back on you. It means that sometimes you'll be healthy and well, and sometimes you will be sick and demoralized.

It means that sometimes your witness will be so clear and so pure that thousands will be saved, and hundreds will be healed. And sometimes nobody will listen. It's what it means to be human, and it's the place where the God of the universe works with his people. Going back to the key verse for this series, "My grace is sufficient for you," God said, "For my power is made perfect in weakness." You think about that. Amen.

Guest (Male): Thanks, Steve, that wraps up this week in our Welcome to the Family series. Tomorrow, do join us for Friday Q&A when Steve and Pete will answer this question: "Will I get what I deserve?" And just a teaser for next week, we are kicking off a special series we'll do throughout 2026 about the Covenants. And Steve will be joined by one of our voices of Key Life for that. Which one? I don't know, tune in and find out.

Hey, do you ever wrestle with big questions? Questions like, "Does God exist? Am I really forgiven and free? If all of this is true, why don't I feel different?" Well, Steve wrote about these things in a special mini-book called "Faith and Doubt when Belief is Hard." In it, he explores the reasons behind our doubts and explains how we can rest in faith. May we send you this mini-book for free? If so, then call us right now at 1-800 Key Life. That's 1-800-539-5433. You can also email Steve at keylife.org to ask for that mini-book. Or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the US and Canada. Again, just ask for the free mini-book called "Faith and Doubt when Belief is Hard."

One last thing, would you partner in the work of Key Life by giving? It's pretty easy, just charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or just pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950. That's Key Life, one word or two, it doesn't matter. Just text that to 28950, then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and Force C in Canada. And as always, Key Life is a listener-supported production of Key Life Network.