Everyone feels depressed at some time and most find the solution fairly quickly. There are many degrees of depression. It can be debilitating or even lead to suicide. It can be an unexplained sadness that a person can’t get out of or do anything to cause it to cease. Counseling or deliverance from oppressive spirits may be is needed in some cases, and this short article is just meant to be an encouragement.
Jesus is the answer, even if you can’t feel His presence or understand His council. Maybe it will take time, but there is hope because the God who created you can and wants to help you.
There are many circumstances that cause depression. It helps to know the reason because it involves a false belief. Jesus said:
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
Jesus is the Truth:
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
Jesus is the Word:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made…
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-14
Because Jesus is the Word, the Bible is helpful in overcoming depression. God can even speak to a person with a passage that seems totally unrelated:
“The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.” Psalm 19:8
At times David was depressed. At one time he spent years running from an insanely jealous King Saul. He had the hope that God had anointed him king, but that must have seemed dim at the time of his continuous stress:
“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the LORD’s praise, for he has been good to me.” Psalm 13
Yet he knew what to do during these times to overcome his depression. He called out to God. He made wise decisions. These struggles brought him close to God. They prepared him for being king and for eternity.
God called David a man after His own heart:
“…God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’” Acts 13:22
We must make sure we have no other gods. David says:
“The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.” Psalm 16:4
The gods of this age are food (if the wrong kind or too much), sex (if outside of marriage), alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, music (godly music can be uplifting). TV (most programs), people (sometimes God directs you to go to the right person), etc. Examine yourself to see if there is anything you go to for comfort instead of Jesus.
One time the Lord spoke this passage to me:
“If my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways, how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes! Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever. But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” Psalm 81:13-16
If I listened to God, He would quickly defeat my enemies. How was I not obeying God? Who were my enemies? I didn’t feel I had any enemies. It was a miracle how my situation was made right when I did what I felt the Lord asked me to do (and it took searching). I realized these enemies/foes were evil forces.
As children of God, we have power over evil forces:
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:11-12
Our spiritual weapons are truth, obedience, love, wisdom, the Word of God and prayer.
If we are battling depression we can use the weapon of prayer and ask others to pray for us:
“Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisors.” Proverbs 24:6
What the Apostle Paul prayed for those he knew, was the best that could happen for them:
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:16-21
Jesus “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine”. That is what we can believe for no matter what our situation.
We can pray (it seems David had a special time of prayer in the morning) and “wait expectantly” because we can know God will answer:
“Listen to my words, LORD, consider my lament. Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” Psalm 5:1-3
Every morning God has something new for us. He loves us so much. Each day can contain a joyful surprize:
“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23
The Apostle James give us practical ways to avoid depression:
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27
He tells us to guard against the false pleasures of the world, and, also, to give to others.
Paul tells the Philippians (and us) to rejoice in the Lord and not be anxious about anything:
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:4-8
He tells us how to keep our minds from being polluted by the world.
Paul has learned the secret of contentment and implies that we can too:
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Philippians 4:11
It will take time, but that is God’s plan for each of us.
Job was depressed – with good reason. The Lord allowed Satan to take everything, including his health, from him. Job suffered so much he wished he had never been born (Job 3:3-26).
Job’s suffering caused him to search for God. His search caused him to know God:
“My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42-6
Job saw that he was unworthy of any blessing and repented of thinking his own works could justify him. When Job recalls his life, he will say it was worth it all just to know God.
Job never knew why he had suffered. God was proud of Job – He told Job’s friends they were wrong to accuse Job unfairly (Job 42:7), called Job His servant (Job 42:8) and gave Job twice as much as before (Job 42:10-17).
Life is getting better for the child of God, not only in eternity but for now. Circumstances may not be getting better, but we can know that we are gaining more wisdom, getting to know God better and are closer to our goal:
“The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” Proverbs 4:18
As children of God, we can rejoice in Him:
“But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” Psalm 5:11-12
We can purposely choose joy and praise to fight mourning and despair:
“…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61:3
Praise and worship is a major weapon against depression.
We can have “a continual feast”. Often it is just choosing to do so:
“All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.” Proverbs 15:15
The secret to having “perfect peace” is to steadfastly trust God:
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3
We can know that if we ask anything that is His will, we will receive it:
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” 1 John 5:14-15
Sometimes people distort this passage because they think that what is their will is God’s will. However we know that:
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights…” James 1:17
His gifts are perfect and His will is best.
Jesus came to give us a full, abundant life:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10
“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” John 17:13
Anyone who knows Jesus has the Spirit of the Lord within them, “and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom”:
“But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:16-18
Even if circumstances are not getting better we can have more joy because we “are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory”.
Paul had not become all he should be, but he purposely forgot the negatives in his past and strove to be what Jesus called him to be:
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
Paul knew that Jesus would cause the circumstances of his life to bring glory to God:
“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:20-21
It is God who changes us into mighty warriors, sometimes through suffering – just let him:
“It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You make your saving help my shield; your help has made me great. You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way.” 2 Samuel 22:33-37 Psalm 18:32-36
He even keeps us from what is too difficult for us.
We are to “encourage one another” that we will “meet the Lord in the air. And so be with the Lord forever”.
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
We are citizens of heaven:
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Philippians 3:20-21
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” Colossians 3:1-14
We shouldn’t expect everything to be perfect on earth. Life on earth is nothing in time compared to eternity – it is important because we choose where we will go for eternity.
Following are some specific circumstances that might depress us and people in the Bible who experienced them:
If you cannot have children:
“Let no foreigner who is bound to the LORD say, “The LORD will surely exclude me from his people.” And let no eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.” For this is what the LORD says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant—to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.” Isaiah 56:3-5
You will have an everlasting memorial and name.
The prophet Daniel was a eunuch. He was taken captive and entered into the king’s service. He had done nothing deserving this fate. Isaiah prophesied that because of Israel’s disobedience the nation would be taken captive, and specifically the king’s disobedience would result in some of his descendants being eunuchs:
“And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Isaiah 39:7
Yet the Bible records only good concerning Daniel and calls him “highly esteemed” Daniel 9:23 10:11, 19
If you think you are not attractive – neither was Jesus:
“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” Psalm 53:2
We all beautiful in God’s opinion:
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you.” Psalm 139:13-18
Someday we will be given new bodies:
“So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” 1 Corinthians 15:42-44
If there is a sin in your life that you can’t seem to conquer:
“Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” Romans 7:20
If you are God’s child, you do not want to sin, and that sin isn’t really you:
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering…” Romans 8:1-3
Because Jesus died for you, that sin is paid for and will someday be destroyed:
God knows each of us and will not allow any temptation that we cannot conquer:
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it,” 1 Corinthians 10:13
God understands and will provide a way out for you. Be patent. Keep praying and listening for His direction.
If your friends desert you, so did Paul’s:
“At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.” 1 Timothy 5:16-17
God is always with you. Sometimes you don’t realize how close He is until everyone else is gone.
If you are getting old – so was Paul:
“…Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus” Philemon 9
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21
Put everything in perspective.
If you are not satisfied with your living situation:
“The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice…” Philippians 1:17-18
Paul knew he was in prison for Christ’s sake. You are where God put you. You can ask and maybe God will change the situation, but even if He doesn’t, know that you can bring Him glory where you are.
If you are afraid of death:
‘For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. 1 Corinthians 15:53-54
“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Romans 6:4
If you are worried about the world situation:
“Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the LORD and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” Psalm 2:1-6
“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.” Psalm 37:7-9
The Lord has everything under control:
“There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.” Proverbs 21:30
There are many potentially distressing situations, but the Holy Spirit, usually through Bible, has the answer for everyone of them.
Jesus has to best solution to all depression:
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you an that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down hi8s life for his friends>’” John 15:7-13
Remain in Jesus by always listening and obeying Him, and love others more than you do yourself.
Paul says:
“Each of you should look not only after your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:4
James tells us we should “consider it pure joy” when we face trials. He also implies that no matter what our problems, God is able to solve them for our good and His glory. If we need wisdom we can be assured He will give us wisdom, no matter how we have sinned – no matter what we deserve or feel we deserve. But it is important that we do believe that He will answer and that His answer is good:
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” James 1:2-8
We can consider trials “pure joy” because God who loves us unconditionally and is able to bring good out of the greatest trouble is always with us waiting to hear our requests and praise.
The goal of our trials is to test our faith and make us “mature and complete, not lacking anything”. Can you think of a more valuable goal?
In summary, Paul gave one sentence of how to have “pure joy”:
“Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
We can be “joyful always” if we “pray continually” and “give thanks in all circumstances” and we know this is possible because it is God’s will for us.
Why not select and memorize several Bible verses that are meaningful for you?