A Dispirited Region

Not at all wishing to be offensive, I believe that our area, this general region, is dispirited or depressed. I make this assessment after almost a year and a half of living here. This doesn’t mean that I think this applies to everyone, but in general. I come to this position from experience and a lot of interaction with people. If it is true, which I believe it is, then what is the problem? What causes this kind of disposition for an entire area? Overall, it is a spiritual problem.

The only way out is a spiritual solution that comes through the Lord Jesus Christ. Without true conversion, a person lacks in true joy, that deep-seated satisfaction or fulfillment that strengthens and hedges against hard or bad times. People need the gospel and genuine salvation that will bring them out of these general doldrums.

Some might think the area needs more entertainment, fun, and recreation opportunities, because people are bored. Websites that rate various parts of the country will say that about Indiana as a whole. From my vantage point, I don’t see this as true. not true. These bells and whistles serve as more of a distraction, that keeps kicking the real problem down the road.

God didn’t create a world for true peace without Him. This is what Solomon calls vanity and vexation of spirit in the book of Ecclesiastes. God made all of us with a God-shaped place in our soul and spirit that only He can fill. Fulness comes from Him. I see people looking for satisfaction and fulfillment in the wrong places. They still lack the internal fortitude needed to thrive and flourish in this world.