Condition: Depression
This is covered in a general sense in the section on mental illnesses. However, there are some points about depression that are worth mentioning separately.
God calls “sorrow of mind” a curse.
Deuteronomy 28:65:
And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
You are redeemed from this curse (Galatians 3:10-14).
Job’s eyes were dim from sorrow (Job 17:7), a condition that Satan gave him, and from which God healed him.
If you suffer from depression, it is vital that you develop the habit of praising God. Read what Jesus was anointed to do for you, prophesied by Isaiah hundreds of years in advance (Isaiah 61:1-3): “The Spirit of the LORD GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives [this would include captives of depression], and the opening of the prison to them that are bound [depression is a form of bondage]; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”
If you are always feeling “heavy,” you should start praising God to get that heaviness off of you. You also need to declare depression to be a curse and resist it. The devil wants you to be depressed all the time. He will do what he can to keep you that way. You must actively resist his thoughts of hopelessness and gloom. Don’t just dwell on whatever negative thoughts pop into your head. Your weapons are mighty through God to pull down strongholds. They are able to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). In Christ, you have the goods to defeat depression and its associated negative thoughts.
If you’ve been convinced that you have a chemical imbalance that is keeping you depressed, know that Jesus is the healer of your physical problems as well the healer of your mental problems. You don’t have to know which is the cause and which is the effect to believe God for your healing! You are redeemed from depression. You do not have to be depressed. I suppose that you could end up with a chemical imbalance by paying heed to depressing thoughts all the time, but even if you have such a physical situation, Jesus paid a price for you to be free from it and He wants to fix it.
I am not saying that something is wrong because you have emotions. We all have emotions. It is not wrong to experience emotions, but it is wrong to let those emotions control you. If you are not praising God because you don’t feel like it, you are letting your emotions mean more to you than the Word of God, which lists enough reasons to praise God to keep you busy praising Him for a long time.
Even Jesus had to deal with extreme mental heaviness.
Matthew 26:37:
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
Mark 14:33-34:
And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
What did Jesus do? He PRAYED. He did NOT say to His disciples, “Guys, any of you got a bottle of strong drink on you? This mental heaviness is more that I can bear without chemical help.” He proved that He could beat depression as a MAN, and He now lives in you. The One who BEAT depression is inside you 24/7, and He can now help YOU beat it.
Depression is just another illness from which Jesus redeemed you. Yet many Christians think that mental illness is a special case. So without even asking what the Word says, their reflex reaction is, “I’d better ask my doctor about Upliftium so that I’ll feel better.” If you need medical help for now, go get it – it’s not a sin – but continue to learn what the Word says so that you will eventually be free of the need for Upliftium or anything else. Meanwhile, you can converse with your doctor.
“Doctor, is Upliftium right for me?”
“I think so, but don’t take Upliftium if you’re allergic to Upliftium.”
“How could I know if I’m allergic to Upliftium when I’ve never taken Upliftium?”
“If you suddenly swell up like a pufferfish, go into shock and pass out after you take Upliftium, you’re allergic to it. And some side effects may include major organ failure, brain swelling, blurred vision, hallucinations, heart palpitations and suicidal thoughts.”
“But wait a minute, aren’t suicidal thoughts what depressed people have? What good is an antidepressant that gives you suicidal thoughts?”
(You and your doctor can continue the conversation from there and he can explain it all to you.)
Many more comments on the issue of depression can be found in the answer to Objection: Mental Illness Is Treatable, But Not Curable.