DEPRESSION. Make it stop!

I had a request to pray for someone who has a friend that is terribly depressed. She asked if I would please petition God to lift the gloom that has been torturing her friend for years. As I thought about her request for prayer, it dawned on me that over time I have received many queries to pray about depression. Depression is a horrible shackle. When you are sunk into the depths of depression, you feel constantly brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. I experienced deep depression as a young adult years ago so I can easily relate to the hold it has on people. Few things zap your strength like depression or feeling anxious. Everything seems overwhelming and impossible. Even the most mundane acts require a massive amount of effort. Are there Bible verses for depression? It depends on what you mean. The Bible is primarily the story of God's plan to redeem a people for Himself. However, the Word does speak directly to those engulfed in darkness and depression. There are verses which shine light into dark places, give hope to the hopeless, and allow the depressed person to have God's perspective rather than their own dismal view. I am honest when I say some people have a weird idea that the moment you read verses pertaining to depression, its gloom will suddenly and immediately lift. This couldn't be further from the truth, especially when it comes to mental illness. I've listed 12 Biblical verses below. Those who are depressed probably won't immediately FEEL any different after reading them. But here's the good news: all these promises are TRUE! They don't depend on you or your feelings. They are all about God and His mighty works on your behalf. As you read them, thank God that they are true REGARDLESS of what you feel. It took quite some time to list them all, so please, repeat these promises every day until your depression begins to lift, being replaced by hope and assurance.

1. Deuteronomy 31:8. Know that God will never leave you! "It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." Just as he swore to never desert the people of Israel, he will NEVER leave you or forsake you because you are in Christ. You are his child, and like a dad clearing a path through the woods for his small child, so God is going ahead of you, clearing the way.

2. Isaiah 41:10. God will strengthen and uphold you. "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." In your depression, you feel like you can’t hang on to God. Like your weak and helpless, unable to do anything. Sometimes you can’t even get out of bed. The last thing you feel is "spiritual." Good news! You don’t have to hold on to God because he is holding to you. When you fall, he will uphold you with his righteous right hand. When you are weak, he will strengthen you. Even if you don’t have an assurance of your salvation, you can be assured that God has a firm hold on you. The reality is, you ARE weak, you’re just feeling it more acutely now. Take heart, because God loves to sustain the weak. God’s grace is sufficient for you, even in these deep, dark times. The reality is, you ARE weak, you’re just feeling it more acutely now. Take heart, because God loves to sustain the weak. God’s grace is sufficient for you, even in these deep, dark times.

3. Psalm 40: 1-3. God hears your cry. "He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God." God hears your cries and sees your tears! He is not ignoring you and his heart breaks over your suffering. He takes no delight in the suffering of his people. You can be sure that God will respond to your pleas for mercy. Maybe not when you want or in the way you want, but he is your loving, merciful Father, and He can’t ignore the cries of his children. He will put a new song in your mouth and set your feet upon the rock.

4. Psalm 3:3. The Lord is your shield. "But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head."
God is your shield when you are weak, helpless, and hopeless. He is standing over you, guarding you, protecting you, keeping watch over you. Even though you are broken by depression, the almighty God is your shield. He will lift your head out of the dirt and set you on your feet again. He will move you to sweet places and green pastures. You can trust HIS sustaining, protecting power even though you have no strength in yourself.

5. Psalm 34:18-19. God is near to the brokenhearted. " The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." God has a special place in His heart for the brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. When you find yourself under a crushing burden, God draws near to you. He sees you in the midst of your affliction and moves toward you with deliverance. Even though you can’t feel his presence, God is nearer to you now than ever, and he is working on your behalf.

6. Isaiah 40:31. The Lord will renew your strength. " …but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." The good news is that God is in the business of giving strength to those who have none. He loves to sustain those who are fainting and give life to those who feel completely depleted. Wait for the Lord and he will give you life. He has promised to renew your strength even though you don’t feel it now. He has good things in store for you.

7. Isaiah 42:3. God will not break you. " A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice." What does that mean?? A bruised reed is one that that is on the verge of breaking, and a faintly burning wick is a flame that is almost entirely extinguished. That’s a very apt description of depression. You feel as though you’re about to be completely broken or totally extinguished. And though others may judge you because they don’t understand what you’re experiencing, God most certainly does not. But doesn’t break bruised reeds or blow out flames that are sputtering and smoking. Rather, he nurtures them and heals them and brings them back to life. God doesn’t despise you in your bruised, broken, smoldering state. Rather, he is near to you, nurturing you and sustaining you.

8. Matthew 11: 28-30. Come, all who are depressed. "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Jesus gives rest to those who are crushed by the weight of the world. He is gentle and lowly in heart, and he doesn’t rebuke those who find themselves laboring under the overwhelming yoke of depression. Come to Jesus in your depression and find rest for your soul. Let him carry the heavy end of your burden. Confess your utter weakness and frailty and let him be the burden bearer.

9. Romans 8: 38-39. NOTHING can separate you from God. "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." When you’re haunted by the chains of depression, you feel very cut off from the love of God. Everything seems dark and bleak, as if there will never be another good thing in your life. You feel as though God has left you to wallow in the mire. Nothing could be further from the truth. You are not outside of God's sovereign will and gracious love. Because you are in Christ, nothing can separate you from God’s love! The only way God will stop loving you is if he stops loving Jesus. Though you may feel alone and unloved, there is absolutely NOTHING, including depression, that can stop God from loving you. Your body may be a broken down temple, but that doesn’t diminish God’s love for you one bit!!

10. Psalm 34: 17. God hears your prayer, your cry, your petition. " When you are sunk into the valley of depression, it feels like you are totally and completely alone. Like no one cares like no one is listening. You feel isolated, cut off, and like God has abandoned you. But He has not, and could never abandon you. When you cry to Him for help, He hears and delivers. Maybe the deliverance won’t come tomorrow, but make no mistake, it will come. God does not leave his people to wallow and blunder their way through depression and hopelessness. He hears every cry you utter, sees every tear that rolls down your cheek. You are not alone. You have a good Father who is with you and for you.

11. Psalm 42:11. Hope is in God and God alone. "Why are you cast down, O my soul and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." Depression and hopelessness cause turmoil deep within your soul. You feel crushed, broken, downhearted, overwhelmed, and like there is no hope for tomorrow. But even though it feels like you have no hope for tomorrow, you DO have hope. Why do you have hope? Because God is your salvation. If your hope depended on you and your ability to pull yourself up, you would have no hope. But your hope depends on God. You shall again praise Him, even though it feels like that day will never come. Hope in God and trust Him to lead you out of the dark valley you find yourself in.

12. 2 Corinthians 1: 3-4. Comforted by God. "Blessed be the God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforts us in our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in trouble, by the same comfort wherewith, we ourselves are comforted of God." When you’re in the midst of a bout of depression or hopelessness or anxiety, it feels like you’re all alone. Like no one understands and like no one cares about you. But there is at least one person who deeply loves you and desires to comfort you, and that is God. God is the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. Run to him in the midst of your brokenness. Flee to him for comfort and grace and strength. He desires to meet you and to comfort you and refresh you. Don’t try to make it through the darkness of depression on your own. Run to the God of all comfort. Take shelter in the Father of mercies. He is for you and on your side.

Don't fear the storms! In the midst of your depression, all you see are clouds that are black with horror. Remember, it is God himself who controls the storms and Jesus is with you in your boat. You may not feel His nearness and it may seem that He is asleep in the stern, but He is with you nonetheless. When the moment is right, He will deliver you. Until then, hold fast to these verses. Until next time, -Pat-