Dealing with Depression?

Something I wrote for my hermeneutics class and thought I'd pass along...

Psalm 42
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon – from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is within me – a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Theme: A thirst for God, a longing after Him in the midst of melancholy and depression
Author: Most likely David
Background: David had been driven from the sanctuary of the Lord and prevented from waiting upon Him in public religious services, possibly because of Saul’s persecution or Absalom’s rebellion.

To Think About:
• Is it okay for me to be honest with God about the way I feel? David pours out his feelings in this psalm of great anguish. He is open and broken before the Lord, confessing his melancholy and depression. He even questions why the Lord has forgotten Him! How often are you tempted to do this in the midst of your depression? It is not wrong to question God’s purposes, if the response that follows is one of faith and trust that He remains sovereign.
• Does my depression mean that I lack faith, or that I don’t love the Lord enough? It is easy to travel down this road of doubt, particularly in the midst of emotional struggles. Many times, well-meaning Christians tell depressed believers that they would not be depressed if they had enough faith in God. However, be comforted by the knowledge that if God has wrought in you a sincere and earnest desire toward him, then longing after Him in dark times is as sure a sign that you love Him as is your delight during joyful times. If your soul is panting for Him and wishing to be in His presence again, be assured that your faith is intact. Throughout the psalms we watch the psalmist experience a wide variety of feelings and struggles, and we can follow his example of trusting God in the midst of suffering.
• Where is my God? The psalmist is tormented by the words of other men, who view his distress as evidence that God has forsaken him. Yet the psalmist goes on to place his hope in the Lord and praise him in the midst of suffering. Your God is with you, even when it does not “feel” true. Turn to other Scriptures that provide assurance of God’s promises, such as Psalm 18, Psalm 40, Romans 8:28. God is with you, and has already rescued you from death!
• How can I get out from under these feelings of depression? When we are depressed, we often find negative thoughts washing over us, one after another, like the waves and breakers mentioned by the psalmist. How does he counteract this? By repeating a refrain of faith: “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” The psalmist knows that if he rehearses the promises of God and repeats words of faith, eventually they will stick and take root, and turn the tide of his depression. The light of morning always follows the darkness of night!

To Remember:
Observe and follow the psalmist’s example as you struggle with emotional pain. He lays himself bare before the Lord, pouring out his anguish and even his questions regarding the Lord’s purposes. Yet he reminds himself to put his trust in the Lord, and recalls that God is his Rock and Savior. We know from the tone of the psalm that he is in the midst of great melancholy, yet he intentionally puts into words the truths of God. Even when you do not feel like being joyful or praising God, even when His presence seems a distant memory, repeat to yourself statements of trust and remind yourself of His promises. Battle your negative thoughts by turning to positive declarations of truth. You might not feel that they are true at first, but praise God that our faith is one based on fact rather than on feelings! The facts of Christ’s salvation and of God’s promises remain true regardless of where our emotions run. Cling to what is true and your heart will eventually follow. You might not be able to calm this storm, but you know the One who can.