October 24, 2023 / Is it possible to be depressed and be a man or a woman of faith?

10.24.23

Hey, Calvary Fremont –

Is it possible to be depressed and be a man or a woman of faith? Can you be a ‘good Christian’ and be depressed at the same time?

In Isaiah 38:1-6, Hezekiah became deathly ill and God told Hezekiah that he was going to die. Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and wept – that’s depression. Hezekiah prayed – that’s faith. Can you be depressed & exercise faith at same time – Hezekiah says, “Yes.”

Are depression and faith mutually exclusive? Is Hezekiah turning his face to wall an act of unbelief? No, it was an act of desperation and depression which was immediately followed by prayer. Depression and crying out to God go hand-in-hand. In his depression he doesn’t say that there is no God, instead, he turns to God! He is desperate for God! Where do you turn when life shattering events throw your soul into the dungeon of depression? If depression means you can’t exercise faith, you’re without hope. But on his deathbed, in his depression, Hezekiah makes his way to God – and so can you!

You can exercise faith in depression. Some of David’s best praying came out of depression! “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord,” he writes in Psalm 130:1. He prays this in Psalm 6:1-3 – “Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chasten me in Your wrath. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am pining away; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed. And my soul is greatly dismayed; but You, O Lord—how long?” Psalm 6:1-3

Some say that if you have faith you won’t get depressed. This is like saying that if you’re healthy, you’ll never get sick. Hmmm… Your deepest moments of despair can become your highest expressions of prayer.

RC Sproul writes that the dark night of the soul describes a malady that the greatest of believers have suffered from time to time. It was the malady that provoked David to soak his pillow with tears. It earned Jeremiah the nickname, “The Weeping Prophet.” It so afflicted Martin Luther that his sadness threatened to destroy him. Charles Spurgeon who preached regularly to crowds of thousands up to 10 times each week was intensely Christ-centered in his preaching, but sadly suffered from severe bouts of sickness & depression.

And please note this – depression is not sin. Nowhere does the Bible attach guilt to depression. You don’t need to seek forgiveness for being depressed. David asks for forgiveness for other things, but never for the shadow that occasionally darkened his soul. But please note this, too – though depression is not sin, don’t normalize your depression – it is to be resisted/overcome.

Also, depression is no excuse for disobedience. Someone might say, “Because I’m depressed, I have no responsibility to obey the Lord.” A depressed spouse/parent still has responsibilities to their spouse/family. I know that some of you have been/are profoundly depressed, yet you continue to serve God and to press into God.

Jesus was deeply depressed in the Garden of Gethsemane, but went on to offer the greatest obedience ever given. And I don’t think he snapped out of His depression in the Garden. He was a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief. And our Champion is our Example. In His depression He exercised faith and obedience and who, because of the joy set before Him, endured the cross and despised the shame. He now sits enthroned at the right hand of the throne of God.

Can you exercise faith and render obedience when you are depressed, when the Valley of the Shadow of Death casts its long icy fingers of darkness over your soul? The Bible says, “Yes.”

Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim