Sure cure for depression

Introduction :

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:13, “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” Proverbs 12:25 says, “Heaviness in the heart of man makes him stoop..” Proverbs 17:22 says, “A merry heart does good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones.” Proverbs 18:14 says, “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness; but a wounded spirit who can bear?” Proverbs 14:30 says, “A sound heart is the life of the flesh…” So from all the above Biblical references, we can infer that if the mind, i.e our soul is healthy, then our spirit will be blooming and our body’s health will be alive and kicking.
Let’s therefore turn to our Bible to learn about the Biblical characters who suffered depression and got lost in the battle, and at the same time others who went through depression and outlived them to fulfill God’s will and purpose in their lives. Depression therefore is not sinful, but has to be handled prayerfully and carefully, and let’s learn from those who outlasted in the Bible.

Definition:

“Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person’s thoughts, behavior, feelings, and sense of well-being.” says Wikipedia.

Symptoms (Medical):

i) Sad most of the time
ii) Irritated or angry most of the time
iii) Less interested in any activity, even those that they once enjoyed
iv) Change in appetite – over-eating or starving
v) Sleeping disorders – over-sleepy or sleepless
vi) Feeling restless or fearful
vii) Unusually tire or lack of energy
viii) Feeling worthless or guilty
ix) Difficulty in concentrating, thinking and making decisions
x) Harming oneself or suicidal tendency

Causes (Medical) :

i) Brain Structure (improper functioning of nerves, etc)
ii) Genetic
iii) Life events – loss of someone dear, relationship issues, financial deprivation, false accusations, etc
iv) Childhood problems
v) Drugs, alcohols, etc
vi) Other physical illness

Biblical Characters who suffered Depression :

I. Suffered Depression and Deteriorated :

1. CAIN : Genesis 4:5-11
Cause : God’s favor to his brother Abel
Impact : Jealousy
Effect : Angry and disappointed. Killed Abel
Aftermath : Cursed by God

2. RACHEL : Genesis 30:1; 35:19
Cause : Had no child
Impact : Jealous of her sister Leah
Effect : Fights with her husband Jacob and wants to die
Aftermath : Didn’t get to the fore-fathers’ grave but died on the way

3. ISRAELITES : i) Exodus 6:9
Cause : Hard and cruel labor
Impact : Discouraged and depressed
Effect : Didn’t listen to Moses
Aftermath : Delay in deliverance

ISRAELITES : ii) Numbers 21:4-6
Cause : Because of the way – mountains, oceans and deserts
Impact : Became impatient
Effect : Spoke against God and Moses, and the manna
Aftermath : Fiery serpents and death

4. KING SAUL : I Samuel 18:7-9; 2 Samuel 1:8-10
Cause : Acclamation for David
Impact : Jealous of David
Effect : Started chasing after David to kill him
Aftermath : Himself got killed by an Amalekite

5. SAMSON : Judges 16:5-31
Cause : Delilah’s nagging day after day
Impact : Vexed unto death
Effect : Revealed his divine secret
Aftermath : Lost all strength and put to death

6. AHITHOPEL : 2 Samuel 16:23; 17:14,23
Cause : Affiliated with Absalom against King David. God made his counsel to be
rejected.
Impact : Vexation and fear for David
Effect : Hastened home, arranged his household and hanged himself to death

7. SOLOMON : 1 Kings 11:1-4; Ecclesiastes 1:2,14,18; I Kings 13:34
Cause : Married many women, followed other gods
Impact : Everything seemed meaningless
Effect : Sorrow and grief
Aftermath : Utter destruction of his descendants

8. KING AHAB : I Kings 21:1-19; 22:38
Cause : Wanted Naboth’s vineyard to make a kitchen garden
Impact : Selfishness
Effect : Felt sullen, took no food, lay in bed, turned off his face
Aftermath : Killed Naboth to take his vineyard. God’s vengeance came upon him

9. RICH YOUNG MAN : Mark 10:17-24
Cause : Jesus told him to sell all his wealth, give it to the poor and follow him,
because he had his hope not on God but on his wealth (Mark 10:24)
Impact : Saddened and grieved by the words of Jesus
Effect : Went away in sorrow
Aftermath : Lost eternal life

10. JUDAS ISCARIOT : Matthew 27:4,5
Cause : Betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver
Impact : Felt remorse and returned back the silver. But they refused to get it back.
Effect : Hanged himself to death

II. SUFFERED DEPRESSION FOR OUR SAKE:

1. DARIUS : Daniel 6:14-27
Cause : Daniel was entrapped by the hasty decree of kind Darius to be put into
the lions’ den
Impact : With his mind all set to rescue Daniel, he was greatly distressed
Effect : Did not have food, had no entertainment and could not sleep.
Outcome : Daniel rescued, his rivals punished and the God of Daniel glorified and
magnified

III. SUFFERED DEPRESSION AND PREVAILED:

1. MOSES : Exodus 32:19-32; 33:1
Cause : Saw the Israelites dancing and worshiping the golden calf
Impact : Burned with anger
Effect : Broke the tablets that God gave him, burned the golden calf, powdered it,
mixed it with water and made the Israelites drink it, killed 3000 of them,
and last but not the least asked God to forgive his people or to blot out his
name from the book.
Lived through : God told Moses that his request can’t be granted, in a way He told him to
mind his own business. In Exodus 33:1, we see God giving him the next
commands to lead the Israelites and he carefully heeded to it and kept
going.

2. NAOMI : Ruth 1:3-5,13,20,21; 2:20; 3:1; 4:14-16
Cause : Went away from Bethlehem to Moab and lost her husband and two sons
Impact : Much grief
Effect : Nagged about God saying He made her life bitter, and that she went out
full, God brought her back empty
Lived through : She could profoundly bless others. Her words of blessings on Boaz and Ruth
from the bottom of her heart, blessed them and in turn she was blessed
with a grandson, who became her restorer and nourisher at her old age.

3. DAVID : i) Psalm 32:3-5; 1 John 1:9
Cause : His sins
Impact : He groaned all day long
Effect : His bones grew old and his strength exhausted
Lived through : He confessed his iniquities to God and He forgave him and now David felt
relaxed

DAVID : ii) 1 Samuel 30:3-20
Cause : His wives and children were taken captives
Impact : Greatly distressed
Effect : He wept out with a loud voice until he had no more power to weep
Lived through : He strengthened himself in the Lord his God, inquired God, pursued the
Amalekites and recovered back everything.

DAVID : iii) 2 Samuel 19:2-8
Cause : Death of his son Absalom
Impact : Wept and mourned, covered his face and cried aloud
Effect : The people felt humiliated
Lived through : He gave heed to the counsel of Joab, got up from mourning and took his
seat at the town gate to meet his people.
4. ELIJAH : 1 Kings 19:1-10
Cause : Jezebel threatens to kill Elijah
Impact : Was afraid and ran for life
Effect : Wanted to die
Lived through : An angel brought him cake and water and strengthened him to go on.
Elijah ate and drank, and walked forty days to reach Mount Horeb, where
the Lord spoke with him.

5. HANNAH : 1 Samuel 1:6-18
Cause : Was barren
Impact : Her adversary provoked her severely and made her fret
Effect : She wept and did not eat
Lived through : She prayed and wept sore, pouring her soul before the Lord. The Lord
blessed her with a boy child.

6. SAMUEL : 1 Samuel 15:11,35; 16:1
Cause : He regretted for making Saul as king, because Saul did not keep his
instructions
Impact : He was grieved and distressed and cried out to the Lord
Effect : He did not see or speak with Saul until his death but kept on regretting
Lived through : The Lord said to him, “How long will you mourn for Saul, whom I have
rejected. Fill your horn with oil and go to anoint the one I have chosen to
be king.” Samuel got ready to implement God’s command and kept going.

7. NEHEMIAH : Nehemiah 13:7-14
Cause : When he came back to see the state of the temple in Jerusalem, he found
that the priest Eliashib had prepared a chamber at the temple courts for
Tobiah, who was the prime person to act against the Jews and the building of
the temple walls.
Impact : He was greatly upset
Effect : He cast off all the household goods of Tobiah out of the chamber
Lived through : He put back the goods that belonged to the temple inside it, rebuked the
officials for neglecting the temple, placed responsible Levites for work at
the temple and prayed unto God saying, “Remember me, O my God,
concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the
house of my God, and for its service.”

8. EZEKIEL : Ezekiel 3:14
Cause : The Spirit of the Lord lifted and took him away
Impact : He was embittered in rage of his spirit
Lived through : The hand of the Lord was strong upon him and obliged him to carry out
His works

9. DANIEL : Daniel 7:1; 8:27
Cause : Visions and dreams from the Lord
Impact : He was exhausted, fainted and sick for some days
Lived through : He the rose up and went for his work with the king

10. JONAH : Jonah 3:10; 4:1-8
Cause : God did not punish the Ninevites as Jonah had prophesied
Impact : He wanted to die. He told God that it was better for him to die than to
live
Lived through : God taught him a lesson through a plant.

11. JOHN THE BAPTIST: Mark 6:17-28; Luke 7:19-22
Cause : He was bound in prison for Herodias’ sake
Impact : He who pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of
the world, was now in doubt whether Jesus Christ is the Son of God or
someone else is yet to come
Lived through : Jesus sent him words of confirmation through His disciples. Though he
was beheaded, his end was glorious in the sight of God, for Jesus Christ
testified very affirmatively about him to His disciples.

12. PAUL : 2 Corinthians 7:5-7
Cause : Lack of physical rest and lot of afflictions from all sides due to ministry
Impact : Fear and anxiety
Lived through : The God of comfort, comforted him by sending Titus with good news from
his ministries

13. JESUS CHRIST : -45; Isaiah 53:3; Luke 22:44
Cause : Perception of His sufferings, the Cross and death
Impact : Exceedingly sorrowful and deeply distressed
Effect : His sweat became like drops of blood and fell to the ground
Lived through :
i) Matthew 26:37 – Took His close friends, Peter, James and John with Him. He was not alone.
ii) Matthew 26:38 – Frankly shared His grief with them
iii)Matthew 26:39 – Prayed unto God thrice
(Hebrews 5:7) Offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the
One who could save Him from death
iv) Matthew 26:40 – Requested prayer support from His close friends
v) Matthew 26:42 – Rested on the sovereign will of His Father God
Luke 22:43 – An angel from heaven appeared and strengthened Him.

CONCLUSION :

As Paul quotes in 2 Corinthians 4:8, though we are pressed on every side by troubles, we will not be crushed. Though we are perplexed, we will not be driven to despair. We are never left hopeless even for a second. We have our God of Hope who fills us with joy and peace as we keep trusting Him through all our odds of life. Even when we seem to lose hope, He is there to fill us with abounding hope through the Holy Spirit of God and help us to keep going (Romans 15:13). We have the privilege of speaking to and encouraging our minds ourselves by saying, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? and why are you disturbed within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. (Psalm 42:11).” May God bless you!