admin
Psalm 42 vs 5, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.”
1 Peter 5 vs 7,“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” As David wrote the forty second Psalm, he probably felt like he was in the throes of despair. As if His world was falling apart around him.
Reading his entire Psalm, you can see how he poured out his heart to God because he was in anguish of soul. On one hand David cried out, “God, you are my rock” (verse 9), but then on the other hand, he continues the Psalm to God lamenting his own feelings of depression and hopelessness.
Depression is a very real problem even in our day. The cause of much of the unhappiness experienced by people in the world today can be traced to depression. It costs families their happiness and is a major cause of suicide. Even Christians can fall into depression.
As Christians, we must know how to deal with depression and how to overcome it in our own lives.
What Depression Does
It causes a person to make irrational decisions. For example, depression can cause a person to suddenly sell his home or change jobs or do any number of irrational things without praying or seeking God for direction.
Because a person who is depressed is downcast and feels there is no hope for him, he will desperately try to take some action to change his circumstances in life in hopes of escaping the bondage of depression.
But you cannot deliver yourself from depression. In order to overcome depression, you must first turn your heart to Jesus. He is the delivery!
The Bible says in 1 Peter 5 vs 7… “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
Cast all your care upon the Lord and allow Him to take care of the circumstances that are facing you in life. You can walk free because you know He cares about you.
Causes of Depression
Many times people become depressed when they are tired or overworked.
Continuous pressure even in service for God — can bring a person to a point where he just doesn’t feel like going on any further in the Lord. In other words, overwork can lead to discouragement. A person cannot stay “on the go” or under pressure all the time without eventually having problems in every area of his life. Have you ever noticed that at times Jesus told His disciples to pull away from the crowds to rest for a while?
After Jesus had been with the multitudes teaching them day after day, He would find time to just pull away and rest and commune with His Heavenly Father. So depression can occur because of overwork.
Depression can also be an attack of the enemy, Satan.
We know that Satan is called the accuser of the brethren. Revelation 12 vs 10,“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” He is also the destroyer.
Unfortunately many Christians have taken this role and most of them to their own destruction. Satan seeks to destroy our lives. John 10 vs 10 says, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy . . .” I (Jesus) am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. The Bible also says in 1 Peter 5 vs 8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour…”
Satan tries to attack us in the mind with thoughts of depression and despair. He will try to condemn you, perhaps with past failures and sins, perhaps with how brother or sister so and so looks at you. If you entertain those thoughts and meditate upon them, you will immediately begin to spiral your way downward into depression.
Negative psychological thought patterns
Many times in this case, depression is used as a self-protecting device.
For example, you may have been deeply hurt because of the words or actions of someone you love.
Or maybe you had plans that didn’t succeed, they fell through just when you thought they were on the brink of fulfillment.
Or maybe you failed in your own eyes. For example, maybe you failed to meet your expectations and now feel overwhelmed and discouraged by your failures.
Feelings of hurt — and going through trials and hardships. James 1 vs 1-3, Vs 1, “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.” Vs 2, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers. Temptations …” vs 3, “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”
Nursing hurts, a cause of depression.
One best way to deal with depression is to face the situation head-on and deal with it honestly. If you have been hurt, you have got to realistically face it. That’s the reason why most people become depressed, they don’t want to face reality, so they simply withdraw from everyday life. They will usually pull away from God and from people who could help them the most. Experiencing hurt many times saps us of our strength and energy. We obtain strength to deal with tests and trails of life by coming closer to God. But when you have been hurt, and depression and despair begin to move in, the first thing the devil does is to try to isolate you from other Christian believers by getting you out of church.
Conclusion
Even men and women of God in the bible became depressed and found themselves trapped in the pit of despair at times. For example, when the prophet Isaiah had his vision of the lord (Isaiah 6), he was in the temple praying because he was mourning the death of his friend King Uzziah. But even though men and women of God in the Bible were not exempt from experiencing feelings of depression, they knew their help came from God. The Psalmist David said, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help..” (Psalm 121 vs 1).
If you look at David’s life, you will find that David was always honest with God. I mean, when he was hurt or over wrought with cares, he simply poured out his heart before God and trusted God for victory and deliverance. He didn’t try to put up a front and act as though nothing was wrong. Listen to what God says of him. Acts 13 vs 22 (b), “. . . have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will.” That should tell us that God is not interested in a pseudo type of Christianity or mere religion apart from a relationship.
Are you depressed? Please pick up the phone and talk to someone that can help you. Contact numbers are 00 263 9 881131 -3
For response and comments please sms 0772 268830
derick.khumalo