Lutheran pastor here.
I know well (and believe) the love of our heavenly Father and the redemptive work of Christ. I preach it all the time.

However, I also know depression well through personal experience and I have had suicidal thoughts.
Joy in Jesus doesn't eradicate depression any more than it removes cancer.
Depression is evident in Job in the Old Testament as well as in many of the Psalms.

As other guys have mentioned, mental health is a serious concern and help should be sought from competent professionals. You can "tough it out" through ear infections, heart conditions, etc., but the results won't always be positive, just as trying to tough it out through depression.

For me personally, one very helpful thing that my doctor recommended was a GeneSight test, about 2 years ago. I think it was just a cheek swab at the lab. The results showed how my body breaks down different medication. It grouped all antidepressants (as well as other medications) into three categories: red, yellow and green. The medicine that I was on at the time was in the red column and not working at all. Without finding the sheet, I *think* that I have a gene that causes my liver to produce an extra enzyme that breaks down that medication too fast to have any beneficial effect.

That's a very helpful medical advancement that makes finding an effective medication less random.
Brian

I just wish God would take us when we are used up.
I do not want/ desire to live if I can not hunt/ fish/ trap/ work/ cut firewood ect...
I WILL NOT go into a nursing home!!

Little by little the devil gets in the person mind and that's all they hear you are worthless you can't do anything right end it just shoot yourself and be done with it. The afterlife is not going to be a picnic for that person and they will have all of eternity to think what he did in torment.

I had a rough time coming up as a kid. I have had some dark moments. One time the thought of "why is it even worth it to go on like this?" popped into my head. It startled the crap out of me, and at 12 years old, I made a pact with myself to never let those thoughts ever come back up!
I realized that I had survived so far in spite of what I had been through, I can survive whatever comes my way in the future.
Pretty heavy thoughts for a twelve year old. And yes, I did beat the brakes off of anyone who bullied me at anyone else around me whether I knew them or not. Other than that, all I had to do was survive my horrific home life for 6 more years when I could move out, go to college, meet the woman of my dreams, land the best job in the world, and watch my two boys grow up to be productive and gentle men.
All because I made that pact with myself.

some peoples brain doesnt work right. they dont choose it. its called mental illness.

The best post on this thread. Thank you.

now if they would only make a test to help people figure out their gender!!!

Way off topic for this thread But how do you feel about the Lutherans marring same sex couples? My great aunt and Incle would be rolling in their Graves to know their church if flying a pride flag.

Sharon What you say is so very true and yet we often overlook the sacrifices many veterans have made And in more recent times they have been the target of hate and been made to be the scapegoat

They do, it's called birth!

To answer your question:
Those are different Lutherans; the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America)
The ELCA is the largest Lutheran denomination in the States. It's also the most liberal Lutheran denomination.
They're ok with abortion, homosexuality, transgender, female pastors, evolution, critical view of the Bible...

I'm in the LCMS (Lutheran Church Missouri Synod). We're much more conservative. We're not ok with any of those things but we're the 2nd largest Lutheran denomination in the States. Being larger and in line with the current social agenda, the ELCA gets more press. We find it an embarrassment that gay pride gets associated with the name Lutheran.

To the topic of the thread: I'm very glad you've had such a variety of helpful replies. It's a difficult topic.

I bet you're growing a lot with many splitting off. Presbyterian and Methodists also have different groups and having a lot of splitting. My cousins church voted to split and everyone brought extra money several months to buy the church and property so they could break away.

I sure would not want to be one of the preachers perverting the word of God on judgment day and be known as leasing people astray.

I don't know all the doctrine between different denomination let alone between them. Sounds like yours is similar to Southern Baptist at least on what you listed.

Not on my watch, they don't hate on vets...I'll drill a new hole up their nose.

All the brave , truly masculine MEN in my life, beginning with my father, are all cherished and valued. No one tells me to abandon my vets , or any vet .

Too many are incapable of having the discernment to separate the men in service, and any war they served in.

Many vets see clearly the separation of the two. While hating the political maneuvering that causes wars, they love their brothers that served with them, who had each other's 6. My father loved the planes he flew and as a gunner in WW2, but openly hated the war he served in.

Generally, it is those who never have tested their testosterone in service, who look down their nose at men whom they don't even have a clue of what they endured. They are not fit to be in the same room with those vets.

It is not the "politics", but the brave men who cared and did what they could at the time.

Those who disrespected Vietnam vets were not allowed in my father's home. Even relatives .

Vets pay the rest of their lives, even after active service. They deserve all we have to help when they have their dark times to cope in civilian life.

As Judge Jeanine says, " and that's all I have to say about THAT. ..."

Thank you ma’am.

One word.The devil.

that's two words!

I noticed that too, but figured the devil made him do it.

I lost my nephew this past Sunday,, was a flight cheif for flying the ospreys in camp lejune…
I guess sometimes the demons are screaming so loud in your ear,, that you can’t hear anything else.