Dealing With Depression: What Can We Do?

I wonder if you have ever been in a place where you feel absolutely hopeless; like there is no way out.  Everything you do seems to make things worse.  As far as you are concerned the world is collapsing around you.  You have a feeling of suffocation, as you sink in a pit of mud and mire; barely able to reach your neck far enough to gasp a breath of air.  Have you ever been there?  I know that I have.  Perhaps you are there right now.  I believe that God has a word for us who have been delivered from such a situation, as well as those who are currently going through it.

A friend of mine gives an illustration of depression.  He compares it to a pilot who is in the middle of a great fog.  He was a pilot—I am not—so he tells it much better.  But he explains this feeling of hopelessness that can come over a pilot in the middle of a fog.  Because of the lack of visibility, the pilot has no idea which way is up or down, left or right.  He can literally be flying straight down, believing that he is on the right path.  In this situation, there is only one hope for the pilot—an instrument called the artificial horizon.  This instrument is designed to indicate the aircraft attitude with respect to the true horizon.  So, in a great fog, the pilot has to place his trust in this, lest he crash.  No matter how much it feels that he is heading toward the ground; if the artificial horizon indicates that the aircraft is level, the pilot has to trust that.

It can be the same way in the midst of great depression.  When we go through this great fog of depression, it can seem that up is down, right is wrong, truth is deception, etc.  Our first inclination is to make a correction.  Our desire is to fix this thing on our own, so we take things into our own hands.  Often times, we turn to drugs or alcohol.  Sometimes we simply try to occupy ourselves.  Sometimes we even think that the only solution might just be to end it all.  In those situations, we only have one answer, Jesus!

Jesus is our only answer.  It is He who heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds (Psalm 147:3).  His desire is always to pour out His mercy on those who are downtrodden.  He said, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)  His desire is to give us rest.  However, there is something that must take place before He can pour out His grace and mercy.

Hosea 6:1 says, “Come, let us return to the Lord.  He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.”  We need to get to the place where we realize that we are not victims of depression.  God allows us to go through these things to bring us to repentance.  Now I know that sometimes the mind gets sick, and there are some instances where we have no control.  I don’t mean to bring condemnation on those who go through those things.  However, some of us have gone through rough times that we know were brought on by sin.  For, as soon as we totally surrendered everything, the weight of sin and guilt was lifted.  We were free from sin; free from depression!

So, if any of you are going through depression, you have probably already discovered that there is no hope in you or anyone else.  I have great news for you.  Jesus can rescue you.  Every sin you have ever committed can be forgiven in one moment.  He will set your feet upon a rock and give you a firm place to stand.  Romans 10:13 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  That word for “call” is epikaleo in the Greek, meaning “to cry out.”  That is what Jesus is looking for.  He is looking for us to cry out to Him, in total desperation; and in total surrender.  When we do that, He will save us.  Praise the Lord!

Now for those of us who have been delivered from depression, God has a word for us too.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

I want us to notice in this section of Scripture that God comforts us for a specific reason.  Yes, we can take refuge in Christ for our comfort, but that doesn’t mean we cling to him and hide in our homes.  Paul said that the purpose of God comforting us is, “so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”  So when God is acting as our artificial horizon, showing us the way to go, we must then go and show others the way.

I know from personal experience that when I am going through things, I can always find relief when I reach out to others who are going through things as well.  The danger is that when things get us down, we get the “woe is me” attitude.  This is selfishness.  I can say this because I’ve been guilty of it.  It becomes all about me.  However, that is not why God created me.  My purpose is to comfort others in the midst of my sufferings.  Have you ever noticed the joy that comes from helping others?  It really does release something that brings joy into your life.  Why?  Two reasons.  One, you are bringing comfort to others.  I believe God created us to experience joy when we are able to help someone else.  Second, you are obeying God.  His desire is for us to reach out to others; not to be hermits.  There is no greater place to be than in the perfect will of God.

So if you are going through depression right now, please realize that you cannot beat this on your own.  You can’t even beat this solely with the help of a support group.  Only Jesus can bring you peace.  When you find this peace, share it with others.  Also, please email me if you need help.  My desire is that you find the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, and will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.