Earlier in the gospel written by John, he records that Jesus told all who would listen to Him, Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me (John 14:1). As goofy and as simple as it seems, if we believe in Jesus we should not allow anything to rob us of the joy that His love brings into our lives. I know from my own experiences that it is hard to find something positive to look towards when everything you see is tainted by depression, but to know that the Lord wants what is best for me, even when I cannot see it, actually provides some relief. Jesus also said, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27) – another reassurance that He wants us to be at peace that only God can offer us. When we allow depression to go unchecked in our life we are actually allowing the world to take center stage in our lives. We are taking our eyes and faith off the Lord and become dominated by the circumstances around us.
When I think of what I see the students I teach at the campus turn to as a way to fight the depression and emptiness it brings, I understand what Jesus means in John 4:27 by telling us He doesn’t want us to have the peace the world offers. The peace offered by the world is always flesh-driven and at best, only provides temporary relief. They all bring about consequences of their own, which in time, will only add to the feelings of despair that those who suffer from depression already face. Drugs, alcohol, sex, excessive spending and shopping, binge eating, and other things people do to escape the pains of depression work for a while, then the emptiness and despair return. The Lord wants better for us and has actually provided some guidance on how we can handle depression.
Biblical advice from our Heavenly Father
The apostle Paul offers this advice: Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7). It takes effort to follow the advice when we are fighting depression, but from what I have experienced, it actually does help. It takes faith to simply trust Jesus at His word, to humble myself at His feet, and tell Him how I am feeling and what is in my heart. But when I do, there is a peace that comes into my heart that reassures me that I’m not facing depression alone. About three weeks ago, I began to understand that no matter what the cause of my depression, I had to make a tough decision: No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13). Just like every other aspect of our lives, we must decide to either completely give it to the Lord or to completely give in to the theories of the world. I had to make a decision to allow God to have complete ownership and control of my depression. For years, I dealt with it in my own way, now it was time to fully trust in the Lord.
Again, I’m sharing what has worked for me; does God use psychiatrists and psychologists to treat depression? Absolutely. Can God use talk therapy to help overcome the sting of depression? Sure, but unless we give Him everything and are willing to faithfully follow God’s advice, nothing we will ever try will prosper. I’ve become convinced that to allow depression to go unchecked demonstrates my lack of faith in the Lord. The apostle Paul wrote, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6). There are other scriptures where God has promised deliverance if, through faith, we will put our complete trust in Him. David wrote, The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all (Psalms 34:16-18); anyone who suffers from depression realizes that what is being described here, the broken heart and contrite spirit, is depression and God has promised to deliver us out of this mental bondage.
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