Who wants to listen to what God’s Word has to say on depression? David is in a state of deep depression. We all get disappointments but that is not depression. Depression is much worse.

1 – The serious problem of depression (vs. 1-4)

It is a serious medical problem in the workplace. Depression is a continual feeling of sadness. It is an attitude when nothing feels good or that anything good is going to happen. If you are depressed you will suffer most of the following:-

• Crying spells.
• Difficult to sleep.
• Hard to get up in the morning.
• Thinking about your own death or suicide.
• Find it hard to make decisions.
• Irritable and cross with people without good reason.

Many of God’s best saints were depressed – such as Moses, Elijah, Jonah, John the Baptist and Paul. This passage is written by David. He suffered depression by the rebellion of Absalom, his own son. He had a daughter who was raped, and another son who died. David has reasons to be feeling depressed.

David had a spiritual dryness. (vs. 1-2). With depression you feel that God has forgotten you. (vs. 9). God had not forgotten him. He is continually crying. (vs. 3). He is soaking his pillow at night-time with his tears. He breaks down during the day. His enemies are taunting him about his God. Where is his victory now? He feels that he is disgracing God. He is looking back to better times (vs. 4). His haunting memory only makes him worse. His depression makes him think things will never get better. The circumstances overwhelm him (vs. 6). Depression is a serious problem.

2 – The spiritual provision for depression (vs. 5-10)

There are three things you need to do to defeat depression:-

• You need to look inward and analyse your heart – David is talking to himself. Sometimes we talk to ourselves and talk back to ourselves. There is a part of you that wants you to feel sorry for yourself. We need to take ourselves and wonder why we are cast down. We are to bring it to God. It should not be big enough to destroy our lives. We need to learn from our mistakes and move on with our lives.
• You need to look upward and recognise our hope – (vs. 8). God is not going to forsake you. God understands your problem. See Psalm 147:3-4. How big is your God? It is likely He is bigger than you can think or imagine. God cares. You don’t have to understand the reason for everything. God will usually not answer the why. We are to look upward.
• You need to look onward and realise your hope (vs. 11) – It is not God’s final plan for you to be depressed. God will send you through your hard times. There will be a rainbow at the end. God knows how to make a way for you.

3 – The sure promise in depression (vs. 11)

If you have fallen, you can get up. You need Jesus when you go through dark valleys. Those who don’t have Jesus indeed have no hope. If you don’t know Jesus, now is the time. He has overcome death and wants to save you. He can heal your wounds and make you whole. There is a place in heaven for all those who believe in Him.

Categories: Psalms