Deliverance from Depression
This time last year the world was shutting down. Fears that Covi-19 would kill everyone spread like fire. We began a twelve-month odyssey of social distancing, quarantines, and vaccines. I have heard from so many people who have faced depression over the last year. Isolation and worry has attacked our mental health as we wonder what will happen next.
Depression hits everyone at some point. No one really talks about it but in this world depression is a reality. We face its hopelessness because of health issues, family issues, and financial issues.
The Bible is a book about real life. It gives us the good and the bad. There is no rosy picture of perfect people. The men and women in Scripture struggled just as we do. They also face depression.
Moses wanted to die (Number 11:15).
Elijah asked God to kill him (1 Kings 19:4).
Jeremiah wondered why he had been born (Jeremiah 20:14).
How can we deal with depression? The ultimate answer is not found in a world of sin. It is not kept by the rich or those who claim power.
To truly overcome despair, one must find their self-worth in a relationship with the Creator. The God of hope is our strength. Knowing that He holds you eternally provides power for the present. Each person has great value and is important because they have been made in the image of the eternal and loving God.
The fight of depression will not be over in an instance, but leaning on the Bible provides a path to hope, joy, and peace in God.
"Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God" (Psalms 42:11).
"But the LORD is with me like a dread champion; Therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will be utterly ashamed, because they have failed, With an everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten. Yet, O LORD of hosts, Thou who dost test the righteous, Who sees the mind and the heart; Let me see Thy vengeance on them; For to Thee I have set forth my cause. Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD! For He has delivered the soul of the needy one from the hand of evildoers" (Jeremiah 20:11-13).
Matt Emerson
Depression hits everyone at some point. No one really talks about it but in this world depression is a reality. We face its hopelessness because of health issues, family issues, and financial issues.
The Bible is a book about real life. It gives us the good and the bad. There is no rosy picture of perfect people. The men and women in Scripture struggled just as we do. They also face depression.
Moses wanted to die (Number 11:15).
Elijah asked God to kill him (1 Kings 19:4).
Jeremiah wondered why he had been born (Jeremiah 20:14).
How can we deal with depression? The ultimate answer is not found in a world of sin. It is not kept by the rich or those who claim power.
To truly overcome despair, one must find their self-worth in a relationship with the Creator. The God of hope is our strength. Knowing that He holds you eternally provides power for the present. Each person has great value and is important because they have been made in the image of the eternal and loving God.
The fight of depression will not be over in an instance, but leaning on the Bible provides a path to hope, joy, and peace in God.
"Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God" (Psalms 42:11).
"But the LORD is with me like a dread champion; Therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will be utterly ashamed, because they have failed, With an everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten. Yet, O LORD of hosts, Thou who dost test the righteous, Who sees the mind and the heart; Let me see Thy vengeance on them; For to Thee I have set forth my cause. Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD! For He has delivered the soul of the needy one from the hand of evildoers" (Jeremiah 20:11-13).
Matt Emerson