Last week when I wrote the story below something came to my mind.
It has been almost 17 years since we started attending Grace. Several things attracted us at that time, and one of the vivid memories that I have is about the study the class was having when we first came.
Pastor Dave L. was talking about depression and he was doing it under a new light. A different approach to what I had typically heard in other churches.
The previous times I had heard about this topic it leaned more towards “You are a son or a daughter of God, you shouldn’t feel that way!”
Great, now the person becomes double-depressed, because they shouldn’t be depressed, but they are.
And this hits pretty hard when you are depressed (or someone you love is), because that puts additional weight on your shoulders and it is not what we learn in the Bible. What we find, as Pastor Dave was showing back then, is that even several devoted servants of the Lord went through phases of major depression.
If you read some of the Psalms written by King David, you will find a man that was at times deeply depressed. And he is the one called “a man according to God’s own heart”.
You can go to Elisha or Jeremiah, …and the list continues.
In other words, it is OK to be depressed. It is part of how we are designed. We can still honor God in those moments.
Obviously, it is not something desirable, or that should be ignored. It needs attention, it requires support from family and friends, it demands continuous prayer, it may deserve medical attention. These are all tools that God gave us to deal with a situation He allows us to have.
I am not qualified to give any formula on how to deal with depression. I guess all I am trying to say is when you are depressed, just remember that it is not your fault, and that you are loved by many and by our Father that knows your heart better than anyone.
