OPINION:
Google “overcoming depression” and you’ll get a to-do list. Do take your Zoloft (there’s nothing unchristian about good medicine). Do attend therapy. Do set goals. Do exercise. Do eat right. Now, add all the spiritual steps Scripture urges us to take. Do attend church. Do pray. Don’t skip devotions. Don’t forget God’s promises.
That’s good advice. But do you know the problem? When we’re depressed, we don’t get much done.
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Mary Keith, a Christian writer who has battled depression, admits, “I didn’t usually trust God, make a gratitude list, or recite Scripture.” She knew what to do. It just didn’t get done.
That’s why I’m sharing God’s to-dos for the depressed, found in Psalms 42 and 43, two psalms written by what appears to be a depressed believer.
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’” – Psalm 42:1,3
These are the questions depression forces down our throats: “Where is God? Why doesn’t God fix this?” We thirst for God and His blessings.
What do you do when your faith is dying of thirst? The psalm writer knows: “These things I remember … how I used to go to the house of God … with shouts of joy and praise” (verse 4).
The author is counting his blessings. When you count your blessings — forcing your mind to see just how good God has been to you — depression doesn’t stand a chance. Right?
Not quite. Did you catch the past tense in verse 4? “I used to go to the house of God” [emphasis mine].
Maybe you are in a dark valley, looking back at the blessings you used to have. “I used to have a good life, be happy, love my work.” That “used to” presses down on your spirit.
In the psalm’s chorus, the author sings, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? … Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (verse 5).
He’s talking to his soul: “Why are you depressed? You know what you need to do. Put your hope in God!”
But then look at the very next lyric: “My soul is downcast within me” (verse 6). He’s still sad. Depression isn’t cured with a catchy chorus. In fact, the rest of these psalms make that point — because as Psalm 42 finishes and Psalm 43 continues, the author goes back and forth from faith to fear. I invite you to open your Bible and finish reading them.
These psalms almost seem like they were written by two people, one who trusts in God and another who doubts Him.
Depression isn’t simple. It’s a back-and-forth battle that rarely has a quick and simple solution. How likely are you to get the entire list done?
That’s why I want to tell you about something that actually works, offered in Psalms 42 and 43. It’s called a chiasm — a common technique in ancient songwriting that expresses the point of the poetry. Ancient poets put the point of their messages in the middle. A chiasm is like a song sandwich where all the lyrics are good, but the middle is best.
If you look at Psalms 42 and 43 and find the middle, you will discover an essential message: “By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me” (Psalm 42:8).
In the middle of the writer’s deep depression, what is the Lord doing? Directing His love.
The Hebrew word “direct” is the same as “command.” God is looking down on His depressed sons and daughters, and He is commanding His unfailing love.
God’s to-dos are not something you do. They are something God does for you.
You, in your weakness, might not get that list done, but God, in His strength, always will.
He directs His love through Scripture. God’s mercy is new every morning, no matter what your emotional state was this morning.
He directs His love through your loved ones. If you know someone who is depressed, your presence might be the best present.
God also directs His love through doctors. Taking medicine is not a sign of mediocre faith. You don’t have to choose between your church and your doctor. With a clear conscience, enjoy the blessings of both.
Finally, God directs His love through Jesus.
In Jesus’ first sermon, He unrolled the scroll of Isaiah and read: “The LORD … has sent [Jesus] to bind up the brokenhearted” (61:1). To bind up and bandage someone’s brokenness, you need to get close to them. That’s what Jesus did. He left heaven and came down to be with us when we needed Him most.
When we struggle with depression, what we need most is not a list of things to do. We need a reminder of what God has already done through His Son.
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Excerpt taken from Taboo: Topics Christians Should Be Talking About but Don’t by Mike Novotny (© 2024 Time of Grace Ministry).
Mike Novotny is an author, pastor, and speaker who holds a Master of Divinity from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Mike is the lead speaker for Time of Grace, a global media ministry that exists to point people to what matters most: Jesus. In his latest book, Taboo: Topics Christians Should Be Talking About but Don’t, he covers deeply personal, vulnerable, and emotional topics, handling them with grace and respect. Taboo is a must-read for Christians looking for a biblically based resource to modern questions.
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