Articles
Coping with Life 16 – Depression
Coping with Life 16 – Depression
By Mike Willis
Have you experienced these emotions over a long period of time?
“Be gracious to me, O LORD, FOR I AM IN DISTRESS; MY EYE IS WASTED FROM GRIEF; MY SOUL AND MY BODY ALSO. FOR MY LIFE IS SPENT WITH SORROW, AND MY YEARS WITH SIGHING; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away” (Psa. 31:9-10).
“For when I kept silent, MY BONES WASTED AWAY THROUGH MY GROANING ALL DAY LONG. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; MY STRENGTH WAS DRIED UP as by the heat of summer. Selah” (Psa. 32:3-4).
“ANXIETY IN A MAN’S HEART WEIGHS HIM DOWN, but a good word makes him glad” (Prov. 12:25).
“A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but BY SORROW OF HEART THE SPIRIT IS CRUSHED” (Prov. 15:13).
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but A CRUSHED SPIRIT DRIES UP THE BONES” (Prov. 17:22).
Israel’s prophet Elijah, who is remembered for his great victory over the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, learned that Queen Jezebel was determined to kill him. He went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree and asked the Lord that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers” (1 Kings 19:4).
Don’t think that you are the first or the only person to have such emotions. Sometimes medical help is needed to control chemical imbalances over which the suffering patient has no more control than does a diabetes patient in need of insulin. Sometimes one has been so scarred by the events of his life that he needs professional help to recover (PTSD). One should know, first of all, that God loves all of His creation and, therefore, loves you, regardless of how broken you are.
Sometimes depression of spirit comes because one has not correctly handled or faced his problems with sin and its temporal and eternal consequences. That is what King David was facing in Psalms 31, 32, and 51 (you might read them to see if they address your needs). The local church provides a loving, nurturing community in which those who are hurting can heal.
Thomas O. Chisholm wrote a hymn that gives direction to those hurting. It is entitled “Bring Christ Your Broken Life.” It has encouraged many.
Bring Christ your broken life, So marred by sin,
He will create anew, Make whole again;
Your empty, wasted years He will restore,
And your iniquities Remember no more.
Bring Him your ev’ry care if great or small—
Whatever troubles you—O bring it all!
Bring Him the haunting fears, The nameless dread,
Thy heart He will relieve, And lift up thy head.
Bring Him your weariness, Receive His rest;
Weep out your blinding tears Upon His breast;
His love is wonderful, His pow’r is great,
“And none that trust in Him Shall be desolate.”
Blest Savior of us all! Almighty Friend!
His presence shall be ours Unto the end;
Without Him life would be How dark, how drear!
But with Him morning breaks, And heaven is near!
