Depression

Depression. All of us go through it at some point in our lives. Some go deeper into it than others.

The writer of Psalms 42 and 43 was no exception, and he writes about it in utterly striking pictures.

He starts by saying,

As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God. (Psalm 42:1–2)

I saw an interesting note in a commentary by Adam Clarke.

He said that when a deer is being hunted and is utterly exhausted and parched with thirst, it will go to a river or brook as its final place of refuge and will actually plunge into it and keep only its nose above water.

Sometimes we feel the same way. We feel attacked on all sides and we are utterly exhausted. And in our exhaustion and fear, we pant for God and desire to plunge ourselves into his arms.

And yet, sometimes, we feel that no matter how hard we look, he is nowhere to be found. Like the psalmist, we cry out,

When can I go and meet with God? (Psalm 42:2)

In our depression, our food becomes stale in our mouths, and tears become our only food.

We then remember the good times. Those times we went to church and rejoiced with our Christian friends. Those times in prayer alone where God seemed so tangible, we felt we could touch him.

But now, we feel like we’re drowning in the midst of a storm, with wave after wave crashing down on us until we feel there is no hope.

Sometimes we try to pick ourselves up, and like the psalmist say,

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God. (Psalm 42:5–6)

But then we plunge immediately back into depression saying to God,

Why have you forgotten me? (42:9)

What can we take from all of this?

I think the first thing to remember is that you’re normal. You’re not the only person to go through these kinds of feelings and struggles.

One of Satan’s biggest lies is, “You’re alone. You’re the only person that ever goes through these feelings.”

And because we feel alone, we feel ashamed. That no one could identify with us.

But this psalmist surely could, and I think that’s one reason why God had this psalm put in the Bible. To remind us that we are not alone. That others have felt as we do.

So what do we do?

One thing is to continue choosing to believe in God’s goodness. Three times in these two Psalms, the psalmist tells himself,

“Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.”

Remember that he is your God, your Savior who loved you so much that he sent his Son to save you.

Remember also his goodness to you in the past. How he has delivered you from problems before. And remind yourself,

By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me (42:8).

In other words, in the light of the good times, and the darkness of the bad, God never abandons us. He is with us whether we feel him or not.

So pray as the psalmist did,

Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. (43:3)

Put another way, “Lord, I can’t see you or where you’re leading. Please shine your light on me. Show me where to go. Keep me from believing the lies that would make me think you’ve abandoned me. And lead me to where you are.”

One last thing. When you’re depressed, be sure to share with your Christian friends your feelings.

Remember that as the body of Christ, they are the hands, feet, ears, and mouth of God in this world, imperfect vessels though they may be.

And as you do, you’ll find that you’re not as alone as you thought.