Dealing with Depression

Hello everyone!
Recently I was watching one of our (Indiana) governor’s press briefings on the coronavirus. And it was shared that one of the big struggles people are having right now is with depression. It was stated that numerous emergency and suicide hotlines have been overwhelmed with literally thousands of calls a day. The isolation and fear mix together and give little hope to many – particularly those who struggle with depression already. 

So today I want to say a few things about depression in light of Christianity. I want to begin by saying that depression doesn’t automatically mean you lack faith. Now, if you are putting all your hope in circumstances or health or wealth or whatever than your depression could be a result of you not looking to Jesus. But, for many people, depression is something that is simply more complicated than that. Like someone with chronic migraines or cancer it is a deep problem that they would gladly rid themselves of if they could.

We see people dealing with depression throughout scripture. The Psalmist, David obviously dealt with depression throughout the Psalms. In Psalms 42:3 David writes, “My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, ‘Where is your God?’”
In Numbers 11:13 Moses is overwhelmed with the burden of leading the Israelites and cries out, “ If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness!” Job wishes he had never been born in Job 3 and the great prophet Elijah cries out in 1 Kings 19:4, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” And, of course we cannot forget our Lord Jesus Christ saying at Gethsemane, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.” I have dealt with depression in my life and several of my closest mentors in the faith have even taken medication for it at times in their lives. The point is this, God’s greatest servants in scripture were depressed and God was with them in that and brought them through it.

A few things I would like to say here:

1.     Pray honestly. You can see from the scriptures above that God’s servants had no problem telling God exactly how they were feeling. We will discuss this more on Sunday. Be real with God – tell Him exactly how you feel and what you are longing for. 
2.     Seek help. No matter your level of depression it is essential that you be talking to someone about it. If your depression is manageable then talk to a friend, a mentor. If it is serious, if you are thinking of harming yourself, then seek professional help immediately. There are a lot of good places you can reach out to. One that we recommend is Southside Christian Counseling. Their phone number is 3178810409 and their website is https://indypastoralcounseling.com. 
3.     Preach the Gospel to yourself every day. Listen, you must remember and choose to believe the truth of the Gospel every day! Jesus Christ took you into Himself and put your sin to death and when He was raised to a new life so were you! Your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Victory is your future! Hope is your present! 


Jesus knows what it is like to feel alone, abandoned (even by God), and looking to a bleak future. He is with you, He loves you, He will never leave you nor forsake you and this too shall pass.

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