Some believe that when a believer suffers from depression or mental disorders, it is caused by demon possession. But this cannot be, for believers today have the Holy Spirit living inside of them and in 1 John 4:4 we read, “You are of God, little children, and have OVERCOME THEM (evil spirits…see verses 1-3), because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” It is impossible for the Holy Spirit and a demon to coexist in a believer. It is most certain that “depression is not from God, for we are told “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:3)! It is impossible to “rejoice in the Lord” and at the same time to “be depressed.” So, what does cause depression and how can one be delivered from it? Let’s consider David’s depression and his deliverance.

David said in Psalm 31:9-13, “Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am in trouble; My eye waste away with GRIEF, yes, my soul and my body! For my life is spent with GRIEF, and my years with SIGHING; My STRENGTH FAILS because of my iniquity, and my BONES WASTE AWAY. I am a reproach among all my enemies, but especially among my neighbors, and am repulsive to my acquaintances; those who see me outside flee from me. I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel. For I hear the slander of many; fear is on every side; while they take counsel together against me, they scheme to take away my life.” David is clearly describing a state of depression where his mental and emotional state was so bad it affected him physically. Can we see the causes of his depression in these verses? Yes, we can! David’s ENEMIES wanted to kill him (verses 11-13); his NEIGHBORS and ACQUAINTANCES shunned him (verse 11), and his OWN SINS brought on further depression (verse 10). In each case David was occupied with HIMSELF and OTHERS instead of being occupied with THE LORD. If you read the rest of the Psalm, we see David “turning to the Lord for deliverance.” He realized that “his times were in His hand” (verse 15) and he reflected on God’s GOODNESS (verse 19) and His KINDNESS (verse 21). He was then free from his depression and could exhort other believers to “love the Lord, all you His saints! For the LORD preserves the faithful….Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD.” In a word, David learned to “take his eye off from himself and focus on the Lord.”

This, in short, is the solution to depression.

I will close by presenting other cases of saints who were depressed and as you read about them you will see that they, like David, had taken their eyes off from the Lord and were occupied with adverse circumstances and with others (enemies and friends) who were causing them to be sad and afraid (two marks of depression). You can read in the Old Testament of Elijah who prayed to the Lord that he might die and then cried out, “It is enough! Now, LORD TAKE MY LIFE, for I am no better than my fathers” (1 Kings 19:4). Jonah is another classic example of a depressed believer who, like Elijah, cried out to the Lord saying, “Therefore now, O LORD, please TAKE MY LIFE FROM ME, for it is better to die than to live” (Jonah 4:3). If you read the context in which these prayers were offered up to God, we see that both men, who were servants of the Lord, had become DEPRESSED when their “reputation” was being threatened. In short, their depression was caused by BEING OBSESSED WITH THEMSELVES and not with the Lord.

In the New Testament we see that even the great Apostle Paul experienced depression. In 2 Corinthians 2:4, 12-13 we read, “For out of much affliction and ANGUISH OF HEART I wrote to you, with many TEARS…Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I HAD NO REST IN MY SPIRIT.” Paul’s “anguish of heart” and “having no rest in his spirit” led to “tears” and forsaking an opened door of service. Paul too had “his eyes on problems and people who discouraged him, instead of fixing them on the Lord. I started this lesson by quoting the words, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” It was Paul who said those words, for in time he was delivered from his depression by taking his eyes off from MEN, and by putting them on the LORD! This, dear fellow-believer, is the ultimate solution to depression.

In closing, there are other causes of depression from mental disorders such as dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease. These are “physical in nature” and in those cases one should seek professional help. One may not be fully delivered from these “in this life.” But the believer can still look to the Lord and seek God’s grace to endure these afflictions (please read 2 Corinthains 12:7-10). And then we can take comfort in the fact that this trial is only temporary, for the Day is coming when Christ will give believers a new body (including a NEW MIND) and all our sufferings will be over forever! (Romans 8:18-23, 2 Corinthians 5:1-4, and Philippians 3:20-21).  (DO)  (673.1)