If you search your Bible, you won’t find the word “depressed” or “depression” used, but the concept is there. While it can be found in many of the stories in the Bible as people faced daunting situations, it best captured in Isaiah chapter 61 when Isaiah prophesied of the coming Messiah and what He would do for His people:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to]heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
in Luke chapter 4, Jesus quoted the first portion of this passage when He announced Himself to the people in the synagogue. He was announcing that the answer to their problems had come, and it was Him – anointed by the Spirit of God to heal the broken hearted and open the prison to those who are bound. Do you need your heart mended and to be free? Jesus came to make that possible for you.
He came to take your situation that appears to have only ashes remaining and restore beauty to it.
He came to be with you in your time of mourning and soothe your wounds, bringing joy to what before had been a time of sorrow.
He came to find you draped with heaviness (depression), weighed down by worry and anxiety, and to replace that depression with a praise that covers you and your situation.
All of this to that you may be called a tree of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. A tree He has personally nurtured and planted. This tree is not a small plant that will wither away in the heat or be trampled over by the trials of life. It is strong and stands tall, deeply rooted in Him.
David understood depression. He was pursued throughout the countryside by King Saul who was intent on killing him. When he was to become king, he had to fight his own people to take the throne of Israel – the throne that God had appointed him to. Years later His own son rebelled against him and attempted to take his throne. During these dark times in his life, David felt that heaviness, the weight of things looking bleak and the barrage of thoughts that came with them. It is in him that we find a practical example of how to face the heaviness and fight it off.
In Psalm 61 we find a David facing a difficult time in his life. He admits that he has been facing times when his heart has been overwhelmed, and he has learned that when those times come his answer was found when he cried out to God.
Psalm 61
Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. David frequently referred to God as his “rock” (Psalm 18, Psalm 27, Psalm 28, Psalm 31, Psalm 40, Psalm 42). He understood that there was a rock, a firm foundation, that was higher than himself. It was there that his hope could be found. His plea was that God would lead him to that place of hope in Him. When you are faced with thoughts or a situation that seems overwhelming, remember that there is a higher place that you can place your hope in. It might even seem difficult to picture yourself being able to reach that place of hope – but that is not the end.
Even David had times when he needed God’s help to lead him to that place. You can do the same by looking to God and asking Him to lead you, one step at a time, to the place of hope in Him. Walking in faith, by definition, requires steps to be taken. That’s how you walk – one step at a time. The Holy Spirit will lead you into a place of trust in God if you allow Him to, but He will not take the steps for you. You have a part to play in your journey.
Part of David’s steps (and yours) were to remind himself of who God had been to him in the past, and why he could place his trust in God in his current situation:
3 For You have been a shelter for me,
A strong tower from the enemy.
4 I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;
I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah
David reminds himself – You have been a shelter to me. You have been a strong tower, a place of refuge for me. I will abide in Your tabernacle, the place that You dwell, forever. His thoughts and circumstances are now brought into comparison with who God has been to him and David makes the decision “I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.” He decided that God’s faithfulness to him was much greater to him than the circumstances he was facing. This encouraged him so much that he started to talk about who he was to God, and what his future looked like.
5 For You, O God, have heard my vows;
You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
6 You will prolong the king’s life,
His years as many generations.
7 He shall abide before God forever.
Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!
8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may daily perform my vows.
He believed that God heard him. He believed that he would be delivered and that his life would be prolonged. He trusted God that this was not the end. He saw the light at the end of his tunnel. And so can you.
