I grew up in a Christian home. As a family, we went to church on Sunday morning and Sunday evening, and on Wednesday night for youth group. Through high school, I was a part of Youth for Christ. I accepted Christ as my Savior at a young age. The many bad choices I made pushed me toward feelings of guilt and shame that added the fuel Satan needed to create the beginning of my journey of depression. I have become an expert at hiding instead of sharing my burden. Depression is a word people in church seem to whisper. People, meaning well, say hurtful things about depression because they themselves have neither experienced it nor known what it’s like to battle it.
Maybe you have had a similar experience, and now you isolate yourself from people you feel are judging you. You feel like you don’t have faith, so you shy away from your relationship with God. You’ve heard your friends or others talking about someone who suffers from depression, and you don’t want them saying the same about you, so you keep silent. You are bearing the weight of depression alone and are exhausted.
Well, it’s time to realize depression is not a sin and run into the arms of Christ and cry out to Him and let Him comfort you and give you peace. In your exhausted state, lean on and into Him to find rest.
Take heart as we look in the Bible to see what it says about depression and why you can know it is not a sin.
The Scriptures base their views of depression on profound emotional and physical suffering that happens in this earthly, fallen world rather than a lack of faith or a spiritual failure. Scripture highlights God’s closeness to those who are hurting, not judgment. He is near to the broken-hearted — Psalm 34. He binds up their wounds — Psalm 147. Father of mercies and God of all comfort — 2 Corinthians 1:3. Christ promises rest from burdens — Matthew 11:28. He gives power to the faint and increases strength — Isaiah 40:29.
Elijah collapsed in exhaustion after a major spiritual victory, praying that he would die. (1 Kings 19:4) God responded with food, rest, and a gentle whisper, not rebuke… Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind.
David asked himself, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?” in Psalm 42:5. In fact, the Psalms are filled with expressions of despair. Scripture tells us that David was a man after God’s own heart.
Job cursed the day he was born and expressed deep hopelessness — Job 3:1. God abundantly restored all he had lost — Job 42:10.
Jeremiah is known as the “weeping prophet” and experienced deep sorrow. (Jeremiah 20) In chapter 29, there is a promise of divine hope and restoration. It reassures believers that even in times of suffering, God’s ultimate intentions are to provide peace and a meaningful future.
Jesus himself in the Garden of Gethsemane told the disciples that His soul was very sorrowful (Matthew 26:38). In Isaiah 53:3, He is described as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
Again, I encourage you to take the verses from my previous post about speaking life over yourself, look up verses about God drawing close to the broken-hearted, and say them out loud. As you remind yourself of who you are, thank God for being your God who draws close to you. He is the God of all comfort, and He will give you power and strength in your time of need. He is a loving and merciful God who longs for you to live in His peace, not condemnation.
Romans 8:1 – “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Gram