one thing i don't understand bout god/christianity

[Aractus]

i have mental illness and suffer from sever depression and im 24 and became christian at 16 and always was told god helps, heals, etc....

but over the years things have just gotten worse and worse, and i'm at the point where i feel like, even if "god is with me, loves me and is watching over me" ....does he actually do anything to help?

i see so many verses and "motivational pictures" thrown at me talking bout how he feels my suffering, sees my tears etc...but how does any of this affect me and my problems?

i talked to a pastor and he said that "god doesnt directly intervene in our lives because we have free will....but he loves us more than we can ever imagine and only wants the best for us"......wtf?

Hi mate, your resident Anglican here.

I have a good friend, who's family were members of our parish for many years. After they left the parish (for their own reasons), they were without a church for a number of years - I'd say about 8 or so, until I invited my friend to come with me to a different parish, and they then became members there.

A bit about my friend - I've spoken about him here before, he suffers clinical depression, and his family (parents etc) does have other problems too. I can attest to the fact that while he was a member of our church, although many many years ago now (15 years plus), he and the other members of his family were very well supported and cared for by the parish. Speaking personally, there's one person who was a member of our parish (now she lives in a different city) who was especially caring and supportive of them. And in fact she still is to this day, even though she lives about 9 hours away she still supports them whenever she can.

When they joined the other parish I was really happy, because they had a great deal of support there, and I could tell how much they were loved and cared for there, and when they moved out of Canberra, I saw at their "farewell party" at the church how much the parish loved them, and how much it had meant to them to have supportive and loving people around them.

Any good Christian would realize it's their responsibility to care for others in need.

Now with that said, my friend could be a huge downer. I could have a great week, see him, and then feel completely in the pits. So much so that there are a whole string of people I could name who turned their backs on him (none of them are members of my parish though).

For instance, he was a member of a group called "Grow" which is based on the AA 12 steps. Because he refused to make any changes that the group demanded, he was excluded - kicked out. I can assure you that he would never be excluded or kicked out of church!

I don't know your situation, and I'm sorry to hear that you've left Christianity.