Dealing with Depression

This has not been a major subject of address or interest for me over the years. And scripture does not deal much with the problem. Still it does focus some on despair. And Christians are not exempt from the malady. Elijah was depressed. Charles Haddon Spurgeon was plagued so severely that he would sometimes not come out of his study to preach on a Sunday morning.

I don't suffer as much as Spurgeon, but all of us deal with depression at some level. And I have found several things that do help deal with bouts of melancholy.

Of course, physical exercise, rest, productive and exhausting labor does much to alleviate depression. Even a good meal can help. When Elijah was depressed under the Juniper tree the Lord gave him food and rest. Then he challenged him with a crucial mission. Of course he was to carry out the mission whether or not he was depressed, but that got him out of his doldrums, that and the stormbound divine communication he experienced.

I believe these all relate to even greater help available to a sufferer. I often find relief from depression in the word of God and prayer, although prayer can be so affected by my depression that I actually feel worse. The discipline of praise and thanksgiving can be a powerful heart-lifter. This works over a period of time which may actually be better for producing stability in the long run. Repentance is more powerful yet. There is much relief at the bottom of godly sorrow. The sweet aftertaste of joy can be found among those dregs.

Far and away the most powerful deliverance from depression comes from trembling in awe at the holiness and majesty of God. How do we come to stand in awe of God? Meditating on scriptures about the holiness or greatness of God is the best way I know to step into such terrible awe. Once a believer is used to trembling before God he will find trembling to be a natural response to being aware of the presence of God in one's life.

Unfortunately, all of this discussion is off the point of scripture and life. Our purpose is not to feel better but to do right. Our goal must be to obey God however we feel. Interestingly enough nothing gets our eyes off ourselves like striving to obey God in trials. Such obedience will prevent depression and relieve it as well.

In a letter from prison Dietrich Bonheoffer wrote his fiancée about her work with the Red Cross producing freedom. "Personally, I think what really matters is that the right kind of work renders one unselfish, and that a person whose heart is filled with personal interests and concerns develops a desire for such unselfishness in service of others."*

God uses many things to break the death grip of selfishness in our hearts. All of these free us from the bondage of depression. God replaces this painful and often sinful condition with His wondrous joy.

*from BONHEOFFER, Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas