Depression Series

Let’s Talk About

Depression

Watch: https://youtu.be/AIH7M1drwq0

As we enter into this Christmas season, I’d like to talk with you about one of the leading maladies affecting just about every one of us, and that is, depression.

I am not a medical doctor, nor am I a clinical physiatrist, but what I’d like to talk about is what the Bible says about depression, and God’s prescription.

Now, while modern medicine has come a long way in healing, it is limited in its ability.

What I have come to understand and know is that God is our ultimate healer. He is the Great Physician and has given us what we need, writing it down in His word.

And so, the Bible is God’s prescription pad for our health.

What is Depression?

Depression if left untreated causes people to give up, or worse, enter into some really dark places.

Now some have referenced depression as the common cold of emotions. But, this is far from accurate. Depression more like an emotional cancer than it is a cold.

Depression has become a plague of epidemic proportions, especially in this current pandemic. It ranges from mild to severe.

Depression is also a disease of the soul and often flows from a lack of faith in God.

St. John of the Cross may have had this depressive mood in mind, or as it was more commonly referred in his day as “melancholy,” when he wrote about a soul’s journey to God in his treatise, “Dark Night,” or as it was later called, “The Dark Night of the Soul.”

Depression literally is a spiritual darkness that blackens and blots out God’s love from a person’s heart and from their view. It gets us to the point where we feel like life itself has no meaning or purpose.

Signs and Symptoms

Depression causes symptoms that affect how we feel, think, and handle daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working.

The signs and symptoms of depression include persistent sadness and anxiety. There are also feelings of emptiness, hopelessness, helplessness, worthlessness, and guilt. Those who are depressed also lose interest in everyday activities due to a decrease in energy or an increase in fatigue. Thoughts of death or suicide are often signs of depression.

Those who are depressed often display conflicting behavior, such as moving and talking slowly, yet at the same time feel restless and have trouble staying in one place. Their appetite and weight often change, along with difficulty sleeping, where they either sleep too little or too much.

Physical symptoms also manifest themselves in angry outbursts, irritability, along with aches and pains, headaches, cramps, and digestive problems.

Depression Found in the Bible

One of the biggest misnomers and one of the most damaging is the belief that once someone becomes a Christian they should never be depressed. But believers can be just as depressed if not more so than the general population because we’ve got an enemy, Satan, who is really good at putting circumstances in our path to discourage and depress.

We see many stories within the Bible of some of the strongest men of faith going through bouts of depression.

Take for instance Job. He faced a crisis of great magnitude caused by Satan where in one fell swoop he lost his children, possessions, and health. He became depressed and couldn’t endure any more of the suffering.

And so he cried out, “Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant me the thing that I long for! That it would please God to crush me, that He would loose His hand and cut me off!” (Job 6:8-9)

And then there was Elijah, who after one of the greatest victories over the forces of evil, he had a severe bout of depression when Queen Jezebel threaten his life. And so he ran off to a deserted place wishing for nothing more than to die.

The Bible says, “But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree, and he prayed that he might die, and said, ‘It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.’” (1 Kings 19:4)

And then there was King David. He continually spoke of his depression, but also about his trust in the Lord to see him through.

Like in Psalm 42 where he said, “My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, ‘Where is your God?’" (Psalm 42:3)

David ended this Psalm, however, by saying that His hope was that the Lord would help him through it all. And we see this same thing in other Psalms he wrote.

And so, what are some of the reasons for depression?

Fatigue

Fatigue is a big factor. It’s when we’re tired and worn out and under a lot of stress, that’s when everything looks and feels impossible. It is when we are physically and emotionally exhausted that we become the most vulnerable and susceptible.