The Christian and Depression

Elias asked for death when he fled from humanity and just wanted to sleep and forget about reality. Paulo spent a week without appetite or spirit after being confronted with the very hard truth that the purpose of his life until that moment had been in vain. Peter wept bitterly and in heart-rending depression after locking eyes with Jesus after the rooster crowed. Joseph of Egypt certainly wasn't releasing fireworks in slavery or prison. Ana was so sad and depressed that she was crying uncontrollably, to the point that Eli mistook her for a drunk. Mary and Martha were so depressed over their brother's death and the Lord's absence that their emotional state moved Jesus and brought him to tears of compassion. Needless to say, the soul of the upright, God-fearing, evil-shunning man Job was brought down to the brink. David, then, goes without saying, just read Psalm 51 to see how the man after God's heart entered a spiral of depression after the crisis of his sin and the death of his son - in fact, the psalms contain dozens of songs written in depressive agony. In summary, the Bible shows us many men and women of sincere devotion to God who lived through periods of crushing depression without this disqualifying them in the eyes of the Lord or making them “defeated” or failures”.

So have great men of God throughout Church history. Charles Spurgeon lived for decades in a deep depression due to his and his wife's health. Augustine speaks clearly about his depressions and existential crises in “Confessions”. João da Cruz even writes about the terrible state of mind he called “the dark night of the soul”. David Brainerd's story of a very painful life is an inspiration to all of us even today. What then of John Bunyan in his prison years? Martin Luther in his voluntary exile to flee the papist fury produced magnificent writings, including the translation of the Bible into the vernacular. William Cowper, the depressed suffering Christian poet, what an example! All giants of faith, who lived through huge waves of depression. And… “simply depression cannot exist in a heart filled with the Holy Spirit”? Sorry, but this is simply not true.

Biblically, depression is a school of God. No, my brother, my sister, you are not a loser without faith because the circumstances of life have brought you to this point. Never let them deceive you with this thought coming from Prosperity Theology and Positive Confession. Good men and women of God get depressed, and in the midst of that process, God works deep within their souls and emotions. Being depressed is no reason to consider yourself less spiritual, as if the Christian had to live happily ever after, smiling all the time. This is an unbiblical concept born of an apocryphal theology. Depressing yourself simply shows that you are human and dependent on God's grace. If you are depressed and without strength, know that it is not because “depression cannot exist in a heart full of the Holy Spirit”, but because you are in the school of God and in the depths of your depression the Lord is teaching you very important lessons. All clay to be remodeled needs to be kneaded by the potter.

- Constantine 🔥🚨🚒🚑