Spiritual Dangers of Depression

Well, over the years, I've given some sermons periodically on Satan's devices. You know, Paul admonishes us to be aware of Satan's devices so that we don't fall prey to them. And over the years, we've talked about things like division. That's one of Satan's devices. If he can do anything to divide us, that's what he will do. God is for unity. Satan would like to separate us. We've talked about deception. We've talked about debt. Or, not debt. Doubt.

Not too long ago, we talked about distraction because we live in a world where we can be distracted so easily from the calling that God has given us, and we can have our lives consumed with all these physical things and watch the spiritual just be kind of taken and wired away from us. In years past, we've talked about disappointment because the disappointment, if it's left unchecked, can lead to some serious problems, discouragement. We can have things happen in our lives that can discourage us, and that is one of the devices that Satan uses to take us away. Again, whatever he can do to lead us away from God's truth and the calling he's given us and get our minds on something else, he will do. Over the last few weeks, I've been thinking about another one that I hadn't really focused on too much. But as I watch what's going on in the world and sometimes some of the problems in the church mirror some of the problems in the world, I've been thinking about discouragement and I've been thinking about disappointment. We all face that in life. We are humans, and even Jesus Christ faced disappointment with the people who followed him when they would leave him and everything like that. But he resisted it and he didn't let it go down the road of that. We can all become discouraged if we have ongoing problems in our lives. Whatever those problems are, we can become discouraged and lose faith. I was looking back at my sermons on discouragement and disappointment. Let me read you the definition of discouragement from him now by the name of William Ward. He's a frequent contributor to Reader's Digest, and so he comes up with these quotes. This is a pretty good quote on discouragement. It says, and impolite-ness to God. I think he covers that pretty well. When we're discouraged, all those things define us. Life just isn't the same. It's like a cloud hangs over us and anything that used to be pleasing to us just sort of disappears, and life is just something to endure, but not to enjoy. God didn't create us to just endure and to be miserable and to wallow in things and to lose our interest in life and just think, I just got to get through one day to get to the other, and they're all the same. You know, the thing about disappointment and the thing about discouragement, we all feel it. None of us are exempt from it, and as long as we're alive, we will have those episodes in our life. They can happen because of various things, but unchecked, uncheck disappointment and discouragement can lead to another D that Satan uses to take people away from God, or that can lead to people being away from God, and that's depression. You know, depression is almost a plague in the world today. You know, it's hard to turn on the TV and, you know, not see some kind of ad for depression, anti-depressant and whatever, and when you look at the statistics of where the country is in terms of the anti-depressants, it's alarming. You know, this is from 2017, the latest statistics I could find. Instead of all those 12, now not adults, but all those aged 12 and older, 12.7 percent of the population. 12.7 percent, that's more than one in 10, it's like one in eight, had taken an anti-depressant medication in the last month.

Isn't that alarming? One in eight people felt so bad that they had to turn to medicine to try to alleviate these symptoms of depression. Among the older people, it's even higher. Among those 60 and older, one in 10, one in 10, or I'm sorry, one in five, had taken anti-depressant medications. From ages 40 to 59, it was one in six. And that was an increase of 65 percent, the article said, of the statistics in the last 15 years.

If we had statistics for 2018 and 2019, I think we'd be amazed at how many more have tried. It seems like the world is depressed. They have these things happen to them. Life happens.

They don't know how to get rid of the depression, and they turn to medicine. And medicine doesn't always the answer to the problem. You know, the depression, it is over, it is overcomeable, and depression can come from a number of sources. One of them I'm not going to get into today, and that would be from, you know, physiological factors. You know, you look at brain scans and things like that, and they do show that some people have a chemical imbalance in their brain.

And some drugs do help them have that balance to help them be happier again. But that's not everyone that's on antidepressants. There's some people that are that. Another leading cause of depression is the number of medicines that people take. If you read some of the prescription medications you have, it says one of the side effects that you can have is depression.

And they say, especially if you're taking five medicines or more, and you have multiple doctors prescribing for you, probably with this polypharmacy age we live in, where everyone is on so many medications, probably depression is going to set in as a result of that. So in that case, it's something we're doing to ourselves. You know, doctors don't often know what your other doctor has prescribed.

They're not really studying what's going on and things like that. And as I talk about depression today, I'm going to look at the Bible, okay, what it is. And I'm not, I don't want anyone to go from here saying or thinking you need to get off any depression medication. If you're on antidepressants, don't just stop it, okay? If you decide you want to be off of it, work with your doctor and wean off of it, because I know there could be some serious problems if you just go cold turkey if you've been taking something for a year.

But you know, depression is something God knew that we were going to be prone to. It's something that we see in the Bible. It's not anything that surprises him. It's something that Satan will use to us, because when we're in depression, which can come, and the most important reason people will develop depression is because of a life event that's just in adverse or in reverse of what they would want. Maybe it's a broken relationship.

Marriages break up, people get depressed, and it lasts for a while. Maybe it's a financial disaster that happens. Back in the 1920s, I mean, it was correctly called a Great Depression. People took their lives because they lost everything that they had had because it was in the stock market. It might be anything that happens in life. Chronic health problems. You just get over one, and another one comes up, and it's like it just is never-ending.

My life is just horrible, you might think. And you get depressed because you think, how long do I have to go through this? Life is just not what it should be anymore. And it could be anything that happens in life that can cause us to get discouraged. And if we don't check that discouragement, if we let it just fester in our minds, if we let it just continue to go there, it can turn into depression. And depression has an adverse effect on our lives in more ways than you might think. Let me read some of the signs and symptoms of depression.

This comes from medical websites. And as you hear these, you probably will know some people that have had these very things happening to them. Maybe you yourself have had some of these happenings to you. Some of the signs and symptoms of depression include a prolonged sadness.

You just feel you wake up every day, you're just sad. Life just doesn't seem to have the happiness and joy anymore. You wake up in the morning, it's like everything just hits you, the reality. Again, it's whatever it is, you know, loss of a loved one, a death in the family, loss of a job, whatever it is can be marked by, and this isn't everything for everyone, unexplained crying spells.

You know, I've heard people say, I wake up sometimes and all I do, I just cry. I don't even know, I don't even know what caused it, I just find myself crying. It's not a natural state that we would be in, but it shows that there's a problem that we have to deal with. Significant changes in appetite and sleep patterns. And those significant changes in appetite, you know, they can be, you either don't eat or you eat too much. And when you eat too much, it's usually not the healthy food, it's the junk food, the comfort foods they call them, and that creates problems as well. So significant change in appetite and sleep patterns. If you used to sleep all night through and now you're waking up every two hours, it's a problem. You know, something to do that. Maybe you don't sleep anymore, maybe now, some people, they sleep all the time. They feel tired all the time.

Irritability, anger, and agitation. Because life just isn't good, you're just, someone will say something to you and you just go off on them. Because you're always in a state of anger, you're just mad. Life isn't good. It can be marked by worry. Worry and anxiety. And sometimes we're in stressful situations, and things have happened to us, we'll worry. What are we going to do? What happens next? What am I going to do about this? Is my health ever going to get better? Am I ever going to feel good again? Will I ever find someone that I love again? Will people ever look at me the same again? All these worries and all this anxiety that's with us. And if we want to talk about antidepressants, just think about the anxiety drugs that are out there, where people are looking for solutions to these problems. And probably some of us are too. It can be marked by pessimism.

Everything is bad. Everything I do, everything I do just turns out wrong. Every day I wake up, there's a new pain I have. Everything the doctors do and I take, it just doesn't work out. I just feel bad all the time. And every thought is negative. And rarely do you hear a positive comment come out of someone, even when maybe something positive has had in their life. Or it can be a feeling of indifference. I just don't care. Nothing motivates me anymore. I'm just kind of apathetic to the whole thing. And you know what? Life goes on. Nothing affects me.

As can be marked by a loss of energy, chronic fatigue. People just, you know, there's no excitement to life. There's no reason to go on. And, you know, I just feel tired. By 10 o'clock in the morning, I'm ready for a nap. By 2 o'clock in the afternoon, I can't go on. I'm just tired all the time. And people will look for physical reasons for that. But maybe it's something going on with us emotionally that causes those things. Feelings of guilt or worthlessness.

You know, sometimes in the Bible, when we look at a few things, you'll see where even King David, you know, when there was an unrealized sin that could have led to some depression in him.

Feelings of guilt or worthlessness. When we know that we should be doing something, but then we're not. And we're kind of burying our heads in it. And we know we should be doing something, but we don't. And that can lead to a depression, an inability to concentrate. Just can't focus anymore.

Can't read a book anymore. Can't read the Bible anymore. I can't get anything out of it, you might hear people say. It can lead to indecisiveness. Just can't make my mind up what to do. I don't even know what to eat tonight. I don't know what to do. Don't know where to go. Don't know where to turn. I just can't do anything. It's just it affects the mental status. No longer do you take pleasure in your former interests. And often, people turn to isolation. They just want to sit in their house, and they want to stay all by themselves. They don't want to see other people, and they kind of feel like they're all alone in the world. There's unexplained aches and pains, and you know, this is well documented. You know, I've got a pain. I've got an ache. Go to the doctor. They do all the tests. Nothing comes back. Everything looks fine. Everything looks fine.

Unexplained aches and pains. And, of course, depression in the worst scenario can lead to recurring thoughts of death and suicide. Not a pleasant situation to be in at all. And we've all been there, at periods of our life. We've all known what it feels like to feel just kind of hopeless, and like nothing is going right, and life is just, you know, during this period of time, we're just despondent, and nothing, nothing happens. Nothing happens, and nothing, nothing seems right, and nothing is worth living for. There's a lot of physical effects of depression. That's well documented. You've all heard of that before. More importantly for us, you and me, Christians, lasting depression can have devastating spiritual effects on us. It can even lead to spiritual suicide. So it is something we need to discuss. It's something that we need to be aware of. It's something that if we suffer from it, we have to overcome it. We cannot allow depression to kill our spiritual lives, or our physical lives. And God wants us to overcome it, and He gives us the way to overcome it. The answer isn't on TV commercials. The answer isn't in the doctor's office. The answer isn't any place, but the answer isn't the Bible. Like everything that comes our way, the answer is in the Bible. And sometimes people are looking for a magic bullet. You know, what is it? What's the new potion I can take? What's the new thing I can take? What is it I can do? The answer is in the Bible. And as we go through some of this today, you know some of this today. You know some of the answers. It's just a matter of doing them. Depression is mentioned a few times in the Bible. We'll talk about a few people here today that had it and see how God brought them through depression. But let me give you some of the things. You see, you only see depression, the Word, show up a couple times in the Bible. But there are other places in the Bible, and as you hear these, you'll think about those verses, primarily in Psalms, that talk about it, Psalms and Proverbs. When you read the word downcast, or, my soul is cast down, it's a feeling of discouragement. It's a feeling of depression. It's, nothing is going right in my life. When you read brokenhearted, my heart is broken. We talk about that in terms of romance. Brokenhearted, you feel bad after a while on that if a romance breaks up or a marriage breaks up. Troubled, miserable, despairing. When you read those words in the Bible, the person writing it is talking about this malady that affects our nation today and that affects a number of us and that can affect every single one of us. None of us are immune from it. But we can learn how to deal with it, and when the symptoms come, to arrest ourselves and let God pull us out of it. Let's go and look at a couple of scriptures here in Proverbs. Proverbs and Psalms and Proverbs are good life lessons and a lot of things that face us. A lot of wisdom, of course, in these books that are called the Wisdom Books, back in Proverbs 12 and verse 25, one of the places where, at least in the New Kings, the word depression shows up. It says anxiety. We're worried. We're anxious about something. We just can't rest. Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression.

But a good word makes it glad. Now, often in the Bible, when you see a malady or you see something that's coming in, the antidote is very close to it. You probably read in nature that, you know, if there's poison, something that can harm us in the universe or in the earth, there's an antidote to that close by. For instance, when you see poison ivy, I don't remember what the antidote is, but in that vicinity, usually is the plant that you can rub on that can be the antidote to that. Often in the Bible, when you see these maladies, anxiety and depression, God will give us what the antidote to who it is. Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression. It's a worry. It makes us sick. It causes us to have some mental problems. But a good word makes it glad.

It's encouraging to us to have a pat on the back from someone else. It's encouraging us, encouraging to us when people look at us, because when we're feeling down and when we're feeling out and we're feeling downcast, we can feel the whole world is against us. No one cares. Our lives are worthless. We just, you know, we don't even know why we're alive. Why would anyone else care whether we're alive? A good word makes it glad. It's one of the reasons God would want His people to be together and not just sit alone in the house, but to come and be encouraged by each other. Certainly, you know, the Word of God encourages us, too, if we get into that word. Over in Proverbs 17, I'm just going to hit a couple of them here, Proverbs 17 and verse 22, it says, a married heart does good, like medicine. Ah, there's good medicine to have joy in your heart.

But a broken spirit dries the bones. A broken spirit. Let me read you that from the God's word translation, a newer translation directly from the Hebrew. It says, a joyful heart is good medicine, but depression drains one's strength. You become weak. You're no longer the person you have. You don't think clearly. Your mind isn't operating. You don't care. You just have this blanket over you and you're not the person. You may not realize it and know where it is, but others can see it when someone is depressed and they realize, you know, there's situations in life we aren't exempt from them. There's nothing wrong with it. It's wrong if we don't do something to get ourselves out of it and to help each other and certainly look to God who is the healer of all the things that come our way. Let's go back and look at a few Psalms. We'll talk about David in a minute, but here's a couple Psalms that weren't written by David, at least according to the heading in your Bible, Psalm 42. Psalm 42, a familiar Psalm. You'll recognize the hymn that we sing that's taken from this Psalm. Psalm 42 verse 1. Let's just read through the first five verses here. Psalm 42 says, it's a contemplation of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for you, O God. That's where I'm looking. I'm thirsty. I need you. I'm looking to you, God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God? Well, there's at least one week we come before God, right? Other times during the week when we pray and study, we come before God in our homes.

My tears have been my food day and night. Is this person happy? Is this person joyful? No. This person is discouraged, already pressed. My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, where's your God? What is it about you? Where's your God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude. I used to be with the people. That's what I used to do. I went with them to the house of God. Now I don't come.

Now I divorce myself from them. Now I sit at home. I used to be happy when I went there, but I don't do that anymore. I went with them to the house of God with the voice of joy and praise with a multitude that kept the pilgrim feast. Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you depressed? Why do you feel this way? Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? And here's the answer. Hope in God. For I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. Somewhere along the line, depression takes away our hope. We lose sight of what we're called for. Kind of no longer difference is what the purpose, how, or was He ever going to get out of this? How will things ever be any different? Let's drop down to verse 11. As he goes on in Psalm 42 and 43 are good depression psalms, if you feel that way. Verse 11, he says, Why are you cast down? He repeats it again, actually, in this chapter. I think it's three times.

Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God. Put your hope in Him. Not in yourself, not in man. Put your hope in Him. For I shall yet praise Him. I'll take my words of despair, my words of negativity, and I'll praise God. The help of my countenance, or as my margin says, the salvation of my countenance and my God.

He's our salvation. Spiritually, He's our salvation. He's our healer. That's where we look to. Let's go on to verse 43. Verse 1, Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation. Deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. I've got these things going on around me. It's wrong what's going on to me. The writer here knows it's wrong. There's no justice. This is the wrong thing that's going on in my life. Deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man, for you are the God of my strength. Why do you cast me off? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

I don't feel like you're listening to me, God. I feel like my enemies have it over me.

And I feel like I go along mourning, and I'm feeling not good. Send out your life and your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy hill and to your tabernacle. Then I'll go to the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy. And on the harp, I will praise you, O God, my God, my hope will be in you. I'll praise you. I'll take the feelings of pessimism and the words of negativity or the words of indifference, and I'll turn those into praise. I'll discipline myself, and I'll use the Holy Spirit you put in me to make myself praise you and trust in you no matter how long it takes. Verse 5, Why are you cast down on my soul? Why are you diswited within me?

Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the salvation of my countenance and my God.

There's answers in the Bible. It may not be the magic potions that everyone wants to hear.

The answer may not be in a pill, may not be in something we drink and have instantaneous relief, but the answers are there. Sometimes I'll counsel with people and I'll say, you've got to trust in God. You've got to seek in God. You've got to seek God. You've got to do His way. And they'll kind of look at me and they'll think, I know what you're thinking. Tell me something new. They're simple things. You seek God. You do His will. I don't have a magic bullet. I don't have a magic prayer that I can say, do this and depression's going to overcome or this problem is going to heal you. You've got to trust God. That's where your thoughts have to be.

And the same thing with depression. You have to turn your thoughts to God. You have to seek Him.

He will answer. Now, we all have problems. We've had things in our life that can cause, and you can name them. We could go around the room and we probably have, you know, however many people here, 40 or 50 different answers, you know, and I was depressed after this happened to me and whatever. And you can kind of see the things that happen in life and life isn't good all the time.

None of us probably have gone through the things that King David did. When we look at King David's life, you know, while he went through a lot. And oftentimes, you know, we'll go to King David, but you know, God says David was a man after my own heart. And so we can look at David and say, you know, he went through a lot. And look, God was pleased with the way he responded to that situation. God was pleased with the way he handled that. He sought God and he didn't get instantaneous answers because that wasn't the proof of David's loyalty to God.

It wasn't that he prayed to God and instantaneously all the bad things in life disappeared. Bad things happened to David and they were prolonged things that happened to David. How many years did he have to run for Saul? He was anointed king and yet for years he ran from Saul. Saul was trying to kill him. Have any of us had someone trying to kill us for years?

He had to leave Israel. He had to run to the Philistines. He had to feign madness to keep himself alive. When he sinned with Bathsheba, he didn't want the baby to die. God said the baby's going to die and through that period of time he didn't eat. His servants didn't even know what was going to happen when the baby would die. He got himself through that and he made himself get through that part and turned around. He had to live through Absalom, his son, a son that he dearly loved, a son that he was merciful to, who betrayed him and then David led him back into the courtyard, put him back into the the seat of God. And what did Absalom do? He turned right around and betrayed him to the point that he wanted to kill him. He wanted to take the kingdom away from David.

And when Absalom died, David was very, very sorry. He loved that boy. He loved that boy just by everything he had, just like you and I love our children. And he could have been depressed and he could have been despondent. He had a number of things happen in his life. And as you read through the Psalms that he wrote, you see often this pain that's there with him. Often he talks about enemies that are against him, people that are against him, the things that are there. Where are you, God?

But you know, never through his life did David ever turn to another God. Never did he bow to another God. He always kept his focus on God. And though it was taking years sometimes for God to answer, David remained loyal to him. He never lost hope. He never lost the memory of what God could do.

He never forgot God. And at some level he knew that God was working something in his life that he had to have in order to be a better person, just like you and I when we go through these things. God knows what we need to become the people he wants us to become.

Let's look at a couple of David Psalms. Psalm 6. Psalm 6. The short Psalm, let's just read through it and see how David is feeling on this.

Psalm 6 verse 1, O Lord, don't rebuke me in your anger. Don't chasten me in your hottest pleasure. Well, there's something that David has done here that he knows he should be punished for. Have mercy on O Lord, for I'm weak. O Lord, heal me. Heal me, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord, how long? How long until you answer me? How long am I going to go through this? Return, God. Deliver me. Save me for your mercy's sake, for in death there's no remembrance of you. In the grave who will give you thanks? I'm weary with my groaning.

All night I make my bed swim. I drench my couch with my tears. My eye wastes away.

Because of my grief. It grows old because of all my enemies. You don't think this man is in despair?

Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. God has heard my supplication. He will receive my prayer. Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled. Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly. As he's talking about how he's feeling, he turns to God and he goes, okay, I know you're hearing me. I know you know what's going on with me. I know you have the answer. And sooner or later, you will take care of these problems that I'm in. I will continue to look to you and praise you and wait for you. And you can feel David's, as he writes, you can feel the energy back in him when he comes to that conclusion. I will wait for God and I will turn to him and he will take care of it. Let's go and look at Psalm 13. Psalm 13. Another one. Another short song. How long, O Eternal? Will you forget me forever?

How long am I going to go through this? How long will I feel this way? When will you lift me out of the situation that I'm in? How long, Eternal? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?

Life just isn't good. There's no joy in it anymore. How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and hear me, O Lord my God. Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.

I need hope from you. I need to focus on you. Life isn't even that important to me anymore because of how I'm feeling. Lest my enemies say I have prevailed against him. Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved. But I have trusted in your mercy. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Eternal because he has dealt bountifully with me. I remember what he's done. He's given me so much. I'm going through this period, but I know God is there. I know he wants what's best for me. Today we would say we know that all things work together for good to those that love him. I remember that. This is a difficult time, but all things work together for good. But we have to be patient. God isn't the magic genie in the bottle that we just kind of pray a couple prayers to, and then all of a sudden he says, Your wish is my command. He develops faith and trust and reliance on him over the course of trials and depression, even, that sometimes lasts longer than we would want it to. Let's go to Psalm 51. Psalm 51, model prayer of repentance, heartfelt from David. He had sinned with Bathsheba. He came to realize his sin. He was in denial. Had his head buried in the sand on that sin for a long time until Nathan came to him and exposed that sin to him. Sometimes we can bury our heads in the sand over sins that we're committing. We don't want to believe their sins. We kind of want to just kind of look over them and think, Oh, God's okay with that. God's okay with that. But, you know, just like David was doing for that period of time, but Nathan, when Nathan came and told him his sin, David knew he had to repent.

And sometimes when we know we're sinning, when we may bury our heads in and say, Oh, it's okay. It's okay. It can cause us depression. Notice some of the words that David says in here. Let's go to Psalm verse 7. He says, Purge me. Purge me with hisith. Wipe my mind clean, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I'll be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness.

I don't feel joy and gladness is what David is saying anymore. I don't feel that anymore.

My sin is with me, and I need to cleanse myself of it, because until I'm pure before you, I'm not going to feel joy and gladness again. Take the bones you have broken, or that the bones you have broken may rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all of my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

My spirit's broken. Let me get back to where I was. Don't cast me away from your presence, and don't take away your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me, verse 12, God, the joy of your salvation. I've lost it. I've lost it, and now I know why. And now I repent before you in dust and ashes, and I come before you. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me by your generous spirit. Oh, David. David learned a lot. There are many things that led to despair, discouragement, even depression on him. But when he turned to God, when he listened in the various times, God pulled him out of it. Let's go over to Psalm 69. Psalm 69.

Another Psalm of David.

I'll just read through the first, I think, 18 verses here. It's good to just kind of read what David writes and feel the thoughts that he has here and what he's going through. In verse 1 in Psalm 69, save me, O God. It doesn't sound like someone who's at the top of his game, who's happy and whatever. Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.

Maybe sometimes we feel like that. These financial problems have me up to my neck. They're going to swallow me. These health problems I have have me up to my neck. They're going to swallow me. I can't think of anything else. These relationship problems I have in life are just swallowing me. I feel like I'm waiting in water to the deck and I just keep going down and down and down and down.

For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there's no standing. I have come into deep waters where the floods overflow me. I'm weary with my crying. My throat is dry.

My eyes fail while I wait for my God. Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. They are mighty who would destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully. Though I've stolen nothing, I still have to restore it. Oh God, you know my foolishness, and my sins aren't hidden from you. Let not those who wait for you, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me.

Look at where his concern goes. I want to be an example to others. Don't let them look at me. Don't let me be a bad example to them. Those that wait for you, I don't want to be ashamed of me. I know this is a tough situation, but I've got to do things the way you say. And I don't want to be a bad example to those around me. Let not those who seek you be confounded because of me, O God of Israel. They've heard me say things. They've heard me teach things. I have to have my actions meet my words. I have to show what it is, even in these trying times. Because for your sake, I born reproach. Shame has covered my face. I become a stranger to my brothers. They don't look at me the same way anymore. And an alien to my mother's children. Because zeal for your house has eaten me up in the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that became my reproach. I made sackcloth my garment. I became a byword to them. Those who sit in the gates speak against me. And I am the song of the drunkards. Everyone's against me. They're making fun of me. They look at me and saying, what is his problem? But as for me, but as for me, my prayer is to you. My prayer is to you, O Lord, in the acceptable time.

O God, in the multitude of your mercy, hear me in the truth of your salvation. Deliver me out of the mire and let me not sink. Let me be delivered from those who hate me and out of the deep waters.

Let not the flood water overflow me, nor let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut its mouth on me. It's not God's will for us to be destroyed. But we go through things sometimes that aren't right, that aren't fair, that break our hearts, that cause us depression.

But God is there. And remember, His will for us is good. But sometimes we have to learn, and one of the things we have to learn in life, turn to Him. Seek Him. Don't give up on Him. Do the things. Draw closer to Him. Draw closer to each other. And don't hide, and don't run away, and don't separate yourself from who God has called you to be. Verse 16, Hear me, O Lord, for your lovingkindness is good. Turn to me according to the multitude of your tender mercies, and don't hide your face from your servant, for I am in trouble. Hear me speedily. Draw near to my soul and redeem it. Deliver me because of my enemies. You can read on through the rest of the chapter there. A very good chapter if you're feeling down to see what David did.

That he went through the same things that you and I go through, and so many more.

Let's go to Isaiah. Isaiah 61. Isaiah 61. Christ spoke these words in Luke 4 that you'll remember as He was handed the book on that Sabbath day, and He read these words, and He said, In these today these words have been fulfilled in you. And you know what? When we read these words, they're fulfilled in us today. When Jesus Christ said these words, He's speaking to His people, you and me. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. Verse 1, Because the Eternal has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor.

He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted. See that? He sent me to heal the brokenhearted. I know life is tough. I know in Satan's world there's going to be trials that come your way. He sent me to heal the brokenhearted. That's what His will is. To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prisons of those who are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God. To comfort all who mourn. To console those who mourn in Zion.

To give them beauty for ashes. To the oil of joy for mourning. And notice the garment of praise.

The garment of praise for the Spirit of heaviness. That heavy Spirit that falls on us. That stops us.

That sorrows us.

That makes our mental status dull. That shields the joy of life and the joy of God's salvation.

I'll give them, Christ says, the garment of praise for the Spirit of heaviness.

We need to praise God even in times of trouble. Ask Him yes, but how to shroud ourselves with praise is what He's saying.

So you can ask yourself, when in life have you been depressed? Maybe some of you are depressed today, or severely discouraged. What is it? What is it? Because there could be any number of things.

David, we've seen, went through a number of things in life. He always came back to God, and God always delivered Him and said, this is a man after my own heart. And we can look at the men of the Old Testament. Probably all of them, if we studied in depth the Scriptures, what their lives were like, had these periods of despondency and depression that they went into. Look at the man Job. Look at the man Job. He was sailing along in life, and he had everything. He had wealth, he had kids, he was happy. God said, this is a blameless man. He does what's right in my sight. And then all of a sudden, one day, he lost it all. You talk about financial disaster. None of us, I don't think, have had the financial disaster that Job did.

Not one of us, as I hope, lost all the family like Job did in one day. Not one of us has lost so closely his health that here's a vibrant man, and then he's on an ash heap because he's just riddled from head to toe with boils and an misery. Think Job may have been a little depressed?

I think I'd be a lot depressed if that happened to me. And as you read through Job, you see him struggling with things. You see him saying, God, I just want to die. What's the purpose of my life anymore? And then as he comes to his senses, as he absorbs the shock that he's had, which sometimes we get the shock of a disaster, the shock of a health diagnosis, the shock of whatever it is that may come in our life, and it takes some time to absorb it. And then you see his friends who were also kind of a source of depression to him, right? Because all they did was accuse him, Job, it's all your fault. You did this wrong. You brought it upon yourself. And he knew he didn't.

He knew the things they were accusing him weren't doing it. So they were a source of even more depression. But he found himself battling against them through it all. And it lasted a long time, right? What was it that finally brought Job out of that depression? Well, let's go to Job at the end of the book. Job, for he's justifying himself. He's making excuses for everything that went on.

God's watching what's going on back and forth between him and his friends. And finally, after time, God says, it's time. It's time. It's time, Job, for you to learn your lesson and come out of this state that you're in. Job 40 verse 1. The Lord answered Job and said, that's not what I want.

Job 40 verse 6. The eternal answer, Job, out of the whirlwind and said, prepare yourself like a man. I will question you and you will answer me.

Job, somewhere along the line, you've forgotten I'm in control. You've forgotten who I am.

And that all things that happen in your life, I'm aware of. Over in chapter 42, after God reminds him, all these things that are around you, the stars, the moon, the sun, the plants, the snow, and he goes through a whole litany of them. Job, remember who I am. See me. It's been all about you. You've just regressed into, it's all about me and what I've done. You've forgotten me, Job, in the past.

Job gets it. He says, I know, verse 2, chapter 42, that you can do everything and that no purpose of yours can be withheld from you. You asked, who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?

Therefore, I've uttered what I didn't understand, things too wonderful for me, which I didn't know. Listen and let me speak. You said, I'll question you and you will answer me. I've heard you. I've heard your word. And you know, when you're depressed, we can hear God's word.

Take the Bible and read. If you have to read through the Psalms and see what David went through, read through the Psalms. If you have to read through Job, read through it. After, go through the Bible and hear God's word, the answer will be there.

Job, when he listened to God and he listened closely to what God said, the light began to dawn. The heaviness and the cloud began to lift.

The bad things were about to end. Verse 5, he says, I've heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. Therefore, I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.

I can't believe I let myself get into that state. I knew better.

But this depression and everything that happened to me kind of overwhelmed me for a while.

But God, thank you for shaking me and letting me know I have to follow you.

It's not going to lift as long as we continue in opposition to God.

And God was pleased with Job's response. He knew it was from the heart.

But what did Job have to do?

The word is done in verse 10.

He couldn't just say all about himself anymore. He couldn't just focus on self and woe is me, woe is me, woe is me. God restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends.

When he got his mind off self, and he was willing to forgive them, and he was willing to acknowledge that. When he was ready to serve others and get mind off self and woe is me. You know, Christ lived and served. His life when he's on earth and his life now is service, and he calls us to a life of service. We're at our best when we're serving others, and that's what God was showing Job here. And I'll restore you, Job, when?

Get your mind off self. Get on with it.

Well, you could read through Job and things. Another man who had it tough in life, tougher than I've ever had it, it's Jeremiah. Jeremiah, right? Jeremiah, you told him, you're never going to marry, never going to have a family. You're going to prophesy to this land of Judah. They're not going to want to hear what you have to say. They're going to hate you. They're going to make fun of you. You're going to be left out. You're never going to be part of the crowd. You're going to live a life that's just in our minds. If we think about what Job went through, that would just be awful, right? Everyone hates you. Everyone's against you. No one wants to hear what you have to say but Job, but Jeremiah, you're going to do it anyway. And you read through Jeremiah, and you can see Jeremiah having these talks with God. Frank talks with God, which is okay to do. David had Frank talks with God about how he's feeling. Jeremiah did. He said, God, I just want to die. I don't want to do this. I don't want to say it anymore. I'm tired of having people hate me. I'm tired of having people when I come, they want to turn the other way.

Maybe we felt that way.

You know what? Jeremiah kept doing it. He had feelings just like you and I have. If we were in that situation, we might tell God the same thing. I'm tired of doing this. I don't know how to do this. I don't have the strength to do it anymore. Over in Jeremiah 15, as he's coming through one of the times that he was feeling downcast, troubled, heartbroken, and hurtful, and heartbroken. In Job 15 verse 10, among the other times that you can go through the book and see yourself, Job 15 verse 10, here's one of these, Woe is me! Woe is me, my mother, that you have borne me, a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth.

I've had neither lent for interest, nor have men lent to me for interest. There's really nothing they can say personally that I've done to them, but every one of them curses me. I'm in a sorry state.

Life is just pretty bad. It's just awful. And God talks with him down through the ensuing verses, and Jeremiah responds in verse 19, it says, Therefore thus says the eternal. Jeremiah, if you return, I'll bring you back. You will stand before me. If you take out the precious from the vial, you shall be as my mouth. Let them return to you, but you must not return to them. Now, that's an interesting set of words. Hard to decipher what exactly is God saying in all those words. Let me read to you from the New Living Translation, and also very similar to God's word that puts it in modern-day English that tells what God is saying here. This is how the Lord responds. Verse 19, If you return to me, I will restore you, so you can continue to serve me. If you return to me, if you get back to me, Jeremiah, if you realize what you're calling is and you're going to do my will and you're not all about yourself and what's best for you and whatever, if you return to me, I'll restore you, so you can continue to serve me. If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you will be my spokesman. Get rid of the negativity. Yes, life is tough. Yes, God knew exactly how tough life Jeremiah's life is. He knew exactly what he was putting him through. If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you'll be my spokesman. You must influence them. You must influence them and not let them influence you. Now, those are words that God would say to you and me today, wouldn't he, when we're feeling down. Don't speak the worthless words. Replace them with words of profit. You don't let them influence you. You don't let the world influence you. You don't let others and how they treat you influence you. You keep your focus on me because I called you to serve and you're an example and you're being prepared for what God wants you to be. Jeremiah felt all alone. Jeremiah felt all alone. One of the common things in depression was no one else but me. In Jeremiah's case, he was actually right. There was no one but him who was following God. You know, there was another man, another man, who felt like he was all alone, too. Let's go back to the first kings.

In the first kings, we have the story of Elijah.

Elijah was a prophet of God, a very outspoken one. He had faith and we can marvel when we read through what he did and how he worked with the people. Of course, one of those notable times, when the prophets of Baal were there and they were going to have an altar and whatever God could bring down the fire and consume the offering, that would be the God of Israel. The prophets of Baal paraded and paraded. It never happened. Elijah called on God. It was immediately done. Elijah kills the prophets of Baal and says, as we would all think, now we've proven to Israel who God is. And he assumed, as you and I would, they can't deny this. They're going to follow God from here on out. But when he finds out, he gets a dose of reality here in chapter 19, that Jezebel is like, I'm not listening to that. Now my mission is to kill you. I don't want God and we can feel depressed, sometimes right? I mean, sometimes our family people can, you know, if we think we've proved this and we've proved that, and all of a sudden, you know, they're gone. They're gone or they don't want at all what we have to say. And it can be a depressing thing if it comes our way. But let's read through, because here in the case of Elijah, we find some real steps. We've already talked about some steps, but some real steps, step by step, of things that God says to Elijah who has found himself in a justified state of depression. Okay?

First Corinthians 19. Let's pick it up in verse four. Verse three. When he saw that, he arose, Elijah did and ran for his life, and he went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah and left his servant there. But he himself went to today's journey into the wilderness, and he came and sat down under a broom tree. What did he do? The telltale sign of depression. He prayed that he might die I am so tired of this, God. I am so tired of this life. Just let me die. And he prayed that he might die, and he said, it's enough. Now, God, take my life. I'm no better than my fathers. Those other prophets, they didn't listen to them either. I thought I was going to be different. I thought that I was going to be the one, and what I did here was going to make a difference in Israel. It made no difference. I'm no better than them. Just let me die. Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him and said, arise and eat. Then he looked, and thereby he said, was a cake baked on coals and a jar of water. So he ate and drank as he was commanded, and he lay down again. Now, it's interesting that God puts that verse at that time. That just seems almost inconsequential, if you will. Here's Job. He's had a terrible time, right? Or not Job, Elijah. He's had a terrible time, a shock to his system. He's having to absorb what went on, just like we do when we have some kind of cataclysmic thing happen in our lives. He needs time to heal and to absorb what was happened and to come to grips with it, like we all do. God says, sons and angels says, here, take this and eat it.

Take it and eat it. You know when you read through depression, and what many of the medical websites say and everything is, when we're depressed, what do we do? I've been guilty of it myself in the past. You might turn to potato chips. You might turn to ice cream. You might turn to Oreos, right? Whatever your comfort food is, and it's the wrong thing to do.

Depression can come from eating the wrong foods, because we feed our bodies physically and mentally with the things we eat. I guarantee you what God sent for Elijah to eat wasn't ice cream. It wasn't a package of Lay's. It was good, nutritious food, because God said you've had a mighty, mighty shock to your system. Elijah, you need to be in tip-top shape, and this is what you need to eat. Sometimes when we're in depression, we need to look at our diets, just like the medical websites say.

And alter what we eat, and go back to what God created. Cleanse your system. Don't go to the junk food. Don't do the things that we would naturally do. Remember that depression is a way for Satan to take us away from God. He would love nothing more than to see that depression kill us spiritually. He would love nothing more than to see it kill us or cripple us for months and months and months so that we don't feel good, so life is terrible. Turn to God. Eat what He said, and God sent it to Him. And Elijah ate it. You don't see him. Like, I'm not hungry. I don't want that. It's not what I like. Blah, blah, blah. He just eats it. Verse 7, and the angel of the Lord came back the second time. Not only once, but the second time. And Tushman said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you. You need strength. You need something, and your body is going to see you through this. This is tough. This is tough, but Elijah, you can get through it with God's help. But you need the physical. The physical body has to be in shape, too. In verse 8, there he was.

He arose and ate and drank, and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights.

Boy, I would love to eat what Elijah ate. It must have been really, really powerful and really good, as anything from God is. So he arose and ate and drank, and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. What did he do? God said, you're not going to lay under this broom tree anymore, Elijah. You're going to get up and move.

You're going to get up and move. And he walked for forty days and forty nights on the strength of that food to where he was going next.

You can read any website on depression. It says, if you're feeling depressed, get out and exercise. Get away from the TV. Get up off of the couch. Push yourself away from the table.

Get out and exercise. The body has to be in shape, and the body has to be doing something so that the depression to help the mental fog disappear. And you see things differently. If we sit in our houses and we just sit and worry about everything that's going on, I can't do this and I can't do that. I never feel better. No one likes me. That's exactly what Satan wants us to do. And it's an unending circle that will never result. Enjoy again.

Eat differently. Get out and exercise. Do the things and do something. And so Elijah did it.

To his credit, he obeyed God. He could have said, I'm not moving. I'm sitting under this broom tree and this is where I'm going to die. But he obeyed God. He obeyed God and he did it.

Verse 8, so he arose. Oh, I heard that. But when he got there to the Or of the mountain of God, what did he do? There he went into a cave. Verse 9. And he spent the night in that place.

God knew what was going on. Behold, the word of the Lord came to him. And God said to him, what are you doing here, Elijah? And so Elijah said, and he could say, the depression's still there. All these days later, I've been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts. For the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and they seek to take my life. There's no one but me, God. This is what I've done. I did everything you said to do. And yet, why am I still alive? I did what you said to do and life is tough. They don't even like me. They just want to kill me. Verse 11. God said, Go out, Elijah. Get out from this cave. Stand on the mountain before the Lord.

The Lord passed by and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks and places before the Lord. Oh, he was out and he was looking at the power of God. There was no power of God in that cave. All he could see was rocks, rock walls. All he could see was stone, darkness.

God said, You get out. Get out of there. Look at my creation. Look what I do. And here's this great strong wind. Ah, the power of God. There is God. He's alive. He's strong. But the Lord wasn't in the wind. After the wind, an earthquake. Another majestic power of God, but God wasn't in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire. But he wasn't in that either. But as Elijah looked, and as he watched, he could see the power of God. You know, several months ago, I wrote one of my Friday morning letters on nature deprivation. And so one of the common causes here among, or one of the problems with our young people today, and the depression they have is social media, number one. But nature deprivation. They don't even go outside. They're always constrained to the TV. They're looking at a computer screen. They don't go out. They don't appreciate the grass, the sky, the moon, the flowers, the trees. They don't see God. All they see is what they are chained to. Like slaves who just sit in front of something and don't have any contact with anyone.

And they don't get outside and see that. And they said, and some of the treatment in the mental health facilities now is, get out and enjoy nature. Get out and see God and what's going on. Get out of that house. Work in the garden. Mow the lawn. Pull some weeds. Anything you do, because when we connect with the earth that God created, it can bring some life back into us.

One of my go-to things when I'm feeling down, or even tired, as I go outside and if I do nothing more than pull weeds, I feel energized by the time I come back in. And I know when I'm feeling down, go out and work in the yard. It works every single time. And that's what God had he lied to do here. Go out and see me. See my creation. Remember who I am? The same thing he said to Job. Remember in Job 40, 41? 40 and 41? Look what I did. I created this. I created that. Where were you, Job? And Job is, yeah, God is pretty good. God is so much greater than me. Look what he did. Look at the earth that he created for us. I can trust in him. He wants to do well by us. Look what he's already done. And Elijah came to that. So it was, verse 13, when Elijah heard it, he wrapped in his face in the mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. He saw all those things. It was part of his process of coming out of depression. Suddenly a voice came and said, what are you doing here, Elijah? But he still wasn't over it. He repeated the same thing that he repeated before. God didn't answer him directly about those things.

But he said, okay, Elijah, it's time. Time to stop feeling sorry for yourself.

Go. Get out of here and start doing some things. Go and anoint this man over Syria. Go and anoint this man over Israel. Go and anoint Elisha. He's going to be your replacement.

Go out and do some things. Follow me and get out and do some things. Be among the people, and you can't be alone anymore. And he says in verse 18, and by the way, Elijah, you're not the only one. I've reserved 7,000 who haven't met the need to bail.

You know, we may feel all alone at times. We feel like, oh, life is worse for us than anyone has ever been. If we ever think that, go back and read the Bible. And Jesus Christ, you know, when he was being that night when he was going to be arrested and crucified in John 16, verse 32, he says, I'm alone, yet I'm not really alone. God is always there. He felt alone. We are never alone. God is always there, and he knows what we're going through. And he's letting us go through it for a reason. Well, this isn't the end of Elijah. You can see him again in 2 Kings. Well, let's recount some of the things that we talked about today. Just kind of put together a little checklist here from the Bible of how God shows us that he can heal the broken heart.

One, remember that depression, okay? Depression, discouragement, it can steal our spiritual life if we don't watch it. It can literally steal it, and that's what Satan wants. It can steal our spiritual life. And understand when you're in it, you're in a battle for your life. You're in a battle for your life. Satan's got you where he wants you, and it's only God who can deliver us. Number two, we must turn to God. We must turn to Him with our mind and our heart. We must seek Him and seek Him earnestly. Is it something I've done? Heal me of this. Show me what to do. If we need to repent, repent and acknowledge. Just like David had to repent and acknowledge, and sometimes it is sin that we're ignoring. That has to be repented of. And we take a stand for God. Ask Him to restore joy to you. He gave us the spirit of joy. One of the fruits of the spirit is joy. If it's gone, there's a reason. Number three, refrain from negative thoughts. Just don't let them be your constant communication. Refrain from negative thoughts. It's okay to tell people what your problems are. What it's talking about here is that every single word out of your mouth for months and months is, woe is me, woe is me, woe is me, woe is me. It's fine to let people know. People need to pray for each other. But when you're alone and you have those negative thoughts, speak praise and gratitude to God. Find yourself, and instead of thinking, woe is me, thank you, God, for what you've done. Thank you, God, that you can deliver me. Thank you, that it's a matter of your time, and in your time, you will. I know you will, but it's your time, not my time, that it's going to happen. Number four, obey Him. Obey Him diligently and carefully, as we've read. That doesn't mean lip service. That means what God says, do it. Do it even if it hurts. Even if you've got all the reasons in the world not to do it, do it. Do it. There is no excuse for not obeying God. And if we don't obey God first, we've got someone else or something else or ourselves in place of God that we're doing.

Going along with that, obey Him. Don't isolate yourself. So many times, people hide themselves. They hide themselves from God, I say. They stop coming to services. It's like, you should be running toward God. And those times run toward Him. And we as a congregation are supposed to be there for each other, encouraging each other. That's why God says, don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together. You need each other, especially in times when you're not feeling well. You can think of 1 Peter 5, 8. And he says, Satan is a roaring lion. He's as a roaring lion, seeking who he may be to bow. And where do the lions look when they're looking for sheep?

Oh, man, the easiest prey is the one that's standing off by himself. When they're part of the flock, they're harder to attract. But if you're off by yourself, you're easy prey.

Don't isolate yourself. Don't be away from God. Seek each other. Seek Him.

Number five, eat a proper diet and exercise. And get out into nature. Go out and appreciate what God has given us. Number six, serve others. Get the mind off the self and do things for others. And self can include our associated self, just our family, just whatever. Serve others and remember what we're called for. And finally in Psalm 34 verse 18, remember that God is there.

He hasn't forgotten. He's not ignoring. Know that He hears. Psalm 34 verse 18, the eternal is near to those who have a broken heart. He's there. He's watching.

He knows we're going through a tough trial. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and saves, such as have a contrite spirit. Those who are yielded to Him. Those who will do His will.

Those who don't look to themselves for the answers and rely on their own understanding, but seek Him and do His will. Depression. Depression can be deadly.

And it's one of the maladies or plagues, I think, of our day and age. Let's just be sure that depression or discouragement isn't something that leads us away from what God has called us to.