DEPRESSION AND SIN
PSALM 119:25-32
INTRODUCTION
A. Theology’s contribution to depression: The health-and-wealth theology that many television evangelists hawk can be a great producer of depression. The pitch goes like this: God has promised his children everything their hearts can imagine. If you want a Mercedes, pray for it. And don’t just ask for any Mercedes. Tell God what options you like, what color you want, and when you want it in your driveway; the great genie in the sky will deliver it.
B. Health, wealth, and freedom from the problems of everyday life prove that one is a child of God and that one’s faith is fully operational. Failure to receive any desire is positive proof that one is a child of the devil or one’s faith is faltering, and one needs to believe a little harder.
C. This theology is wonderful for those who are healthy, wealthy, and without the challenges of life that most of us face. It’s wonderful, that is, until one’s health and wealth fail, when a daughter gets pregnant out of wedlock, a son becomes addicted to drugs, or a mate is killed in an untimely accident. Then the walls come tumbling down.
D. When the walls come tumbling down, guilt points its bony finger at us and demands that we try harder. We would not be in such straits if we had faith as a grain of mustard seed. “Attend more services, give more money, pray more often,” legalism tells us. “These things will make you right with God.” None of these is bad. All may be encouraged. But we don’t earn God’s favor. And if secret sin were the cause of our dilemma, everyone on the face of the earth would be in the kettle with us.
E. David had his share of depression, and much of it was rooted in guilt. If anyone wishes to explore David’s depression, he lays his guilt and depression bare in the thirty-second and fifty-first palms. We will focus on the Daleth strophe.
I. DAVID POURS OUT HIS HEART
A. David could relate to Job, who had sewn sackcloth upon his skin and whose strength lay in the dust (Job 16:15; Psa 119:25).
B. David’s soul melted away from sorrow (v.28).
1. The “heat” may have been from his sins or the sins of others.
2. In Psalm 32, David prays a confessional prayer.
a. First, he acknowledges the blessing of forgiveness.
b. Second, he acknowledges his sin, about which he had been silent.
c. Third, he recognized the disciplinary hand of God in his pain.
d. Fourth, he confessed his sin and was forgiven.
3. A New Testament believer can’t read these words without being reminded of those of John (1 John 1:7-10).
C. David gives us four verbs we can use in our battles against guilt and depression:
1. Confess (v.26). David did not need to inform God of his sins but confess what God already knew.
a. Acknowledging that we are sinners or admitting sin, which we cannot deny, is not confessing.
b. Paul Tourmier (1889-1986) wrote in “Guilt and Grace” that confession takes place when there is an intense shudder of shame and humiliation.”
c. Judas confessed his sin, but to the wrong people (Matt 24:7).
2. Petition (v.27).
a. David petitioned God for three things: understanding (v.27), strength (v.28), and correction (v.29).
b. If there is sin-related depression in our lives, these three are essentials for victory over both the sin and the depression. David closes the thirty-second Psalm: “Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” vv.10-11).
c. If we discover no unconfessed sin after petitioning God for understanding, then we should stop accusing ourselves, lest we call God a liar.
3. Choose (v.30)
a. We do not drift into faithfulness any more than we can drift upstream.
b. Each day, we must challenge ourselves as Joshua challenged the Israelites (Joshua 24:15).
c. Failing to choose is choosing to fail.
4. Cling (v.30).
a. Jesus told Mary not to cling to him because he had not yet ascended (John 20:17).
b. He has now ascended, and we must cling to him in faith: “Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked” (1 Tim 1:19, NLT).
5. Run (v.32).
a. Discipleship is not a stroll, but a race (Heb 12:1-2).
b. The path we run was blazed by Christ Himself.
II. DEALING WITH DEPRESSION
A. Depression is not a sin. Depression may lead to sin, and sin may lead to depression. Depression may be a symptom or side effect of something else, such as a reaction to a life event. It may also be a disease rooted in genetic factors or problems in a person’s endocrine system. Our focus will not be on the causes of depression. We will explore some suggestions for how to deal with depression in others, whatever the reason.
B. Job was lower than a snake’s belly, and his “friends” felt free to point an accusing finger at him, bludgeoning him with “proverbs of ashes” (Job 4:1-7).
C. Job’s friends had sat in silence with him for seven days, and he was comforted. Sometimes, we say it best when we say nothing at all. When we feel compelled to speak, our words should be measured and designed to lift, not accuse. If any accusation is needed, let their conscience do the accusing.
D. Our job is to advocate for and comfort those suffering from depression, whether because of sin or caused by sin (2 Cor 1:3-4).
E. I often tell parents that if they treat all children the same, they are mistreating one or more of them. The same is true in the church (Jude vv. 20-23).
CONCLUSION
A. David lay bare his soul in Psalm 69:20-21:
“Disgrace has broken my heart, and I am so sick.
And I waited for sympathy, but there was none;
And for comforters, but I found none.
They also gave me a bitter herb in my food,
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”
B. May it never be said that when others cried out for comfort, we gave them vinegar.
