THE CHRISTIAN’S WAR AGAINST DEPRESSION

By Paul Earnhart

Depression is an emotional experience which can grip the heart with a sense of hopelessness.  It lays a dead hand on all effort. The struggle against problems is seen by the depressed as futile, and this perception leads to even deeper depression.

Matters are made even worse by the commonly held view that truly godly people never experience depression.  The biblical evidence is to the contrary. How else can we explain the utter misery of Job whose calamities nearly overwhelmed him (Job 3)?  And there is the godly Elijah whose glorious victory on Mt. Carmel was so seemingly nullified by Jezebel that he despaired of any purpose for his life (1 Kings 19:1-14).  There is not a more righteous and noble figure in the Old Testament than Jeremiah, and yet the hatred which his message of doom stirred up against him, even within his own family and friends, brought him, at times, to the very edge of despair (Jeremiah 20:7-18).

But all these, it may be objected, lived before the revelation of the gospel with all its hope and assurance.  True, but it is not difficult to extend our examples to the New Testament. Paul the apostle of joy himself, was no stranger to moments of depression.  Of the exceedingly burden-filled years spent at Ephesus he wrote: “For we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning our affliction which befell us in Asia, that we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power, insomuch that we despaired even of life” (2 Cor. 1:8).

Are we then saying by all this that depression is a settled part of the Christian’s life and ought to be accepted gracefully?  The answer is a most emphatic “NO”! Our point is that you are not a spiritual reject because you experience depression. The question is: what are you going to do about it?  We are all too often guilty of accepting depression helplessly, and even feeding it until it becomes despondence and despair. We have said that godly people suffer depression.  Now let me add that godly people don’t yield to it. The onset of a severe case of “the blues” is not a time for acquiescence but for war! Paul assures us that the weapons for the battle are mighty enough to breach every stronghold of the mind which resists the influence of Christ (2 Cor. 10:4-5).  Depression cannot subdue us unless a weakening faith causes us to lose our grip on God’s promises.  Paul never denied his own moments of discouragement, but he did fight them. “We are afflicted in every way”, he wrote, “but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing.” (2 Cor. 4:8).

Paul’s years of imprisonment were not easy to bear.  The feet that had so long restlessly strode the world in pursuit of lost men were now fixed in place.  He had always dreamed of coming to Rome, but never like this. Still, out of the most unlikely circumstances, Paul wrote to the Philippians the most triumphantly joyful of all his epistles.  We can learn some important lessons from him on how to deal with disappointment. What were the weapons of his war against despair?

Among other things, Paul made effective use of God’s word and prayer.  In the midst of his troubles, he was wholly set on knowing Christ more fully (Philippians 3:8-12).  He urges the Philippians to “abound” in knowledge and discernment (1:9) and to meditate upon high and holy things (4:8-9).  His letter is filled with a prayerful spirit and he calls upon his readers to battle anxiety “by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving” (4:6).  But he warned.  Depression will disincline you to both the reading of the Bible and prayer.  God will seem far way and all effort hopeless. You will not “feel like” doing it, but you must persevere with an unshakable resolve.  In due season, your faith in God’s promises and love will revive you and your prayers will be transformed from mere words to earnest petitions.  The depression will dissipate.

Another weapon against depression which Paul used was the comfort of faithful friends whose fidelity to God and love for him through the years now served to buoy his spirits.  “I thank God,” he said, “upon all my remembrance of you” (1:3).  Depression tends to cause you to withdraw from the company of others.  This only makes conditions worse. Fight this inclination and seek the strength which being with fellow Christians who love you can bring.  We are one body in Christ (1 Cor. 12:25-27).

The third weapon against depression which Paul used was activity.  Despair with its hopelessness causes its victims to simply quit trying.  Paul could have done that. He was the victim of numerous circumstances beyond his control.  Things had not gone at all as he had hoped. Most people would not have blamed him if he had just turned his head to the wall in utter despondence.  But he resolved not to do that. Not able to go to the men to preach, he preached to those who came to him, and consequently, to every praetorian guard whose duty forced him to stay and listen.  Wonderful, unbelievable things happened! The elite troops of the emperor, virtually inaccessible by any other means, were influenced by the gospel, and the brethren in Rome were so stirred by Paul’s example that they preached Christ as never before (Philippians 1:12-14).

I learned some time ago that I might indeed get depressed, but by the grace of God I did not have to stay that way.  The choice was mine. Of course, it has taken me some time to learn this lesson, and I am still learning it. But even the apostle said, “I have learned” (Philippians 4:11).