WORSHIP:YOU CAN FROM HEAVEN TO HEALTH
PRAYER
TOPIC:DEPRESSION
What is depression?
Depression is a mood disorder that causes feel sad ,irritable or hopeless.
It is also means a long period of unhappainess of irritability.
CAUSES OF DEPRESSION
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Childhood experiences.it includes experiences:
Physical, sexual or emotional abuse
Neglect
The loss of someone close to you
Traumatic events
An unsettled family situation
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People who have experience certain patterns of thinking
may be more likely to develop depression. For example, if
we tend to blame ourselves for negative events. Or think
about the same negative event over and over.
Life events.
Financial problem
Bereavement
Major life changes, like changing job, moving house or getting married
Being physically or sexually assaulted
Being bullied or abused, including experiencing racism
Styles of thinking.
EFFECT OF DEPRESSION/SYMPTOMS
● struggling to find joy in worship
● withdrawing from your church or religious community
● avoiding other members of the church
● losing interest in your regular church activities or performing them
only from a sense of duty
● feeling as if Bible study or other religious pursuits have lost their
meaning
● failing to find comfort in prayer
● negative or pessimistic thinking about God or religion
● questioning or doubting your faith
● a sense of spiritual hopelessness or discouragement
5 PEOPLE IN THE BIBLE WHO STRUGGLED WITH DEPRESSION
1. Job
Job is the oldest book in the Bible. And it’s all about suffering.
The story starts with Job—a rich, healthy, blessed man who was “blameless and
upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” But in one day, Job’s life
falls apart.
Foreigners kill his servants and steal all of his animals (aka his livelihood). Then a
great wind comes up and pulls down the house on his family, killing his seven sons
and three daughters. And to top things off, Job ends up with boils all over his body.
You think your life is hard…
He ends up writing really depressing poetry. In Job 30:16-20 he says, “Depression
haunts my days. At night my bones are filled with pain, which gnaws at me
relentlessly. With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt. He grips me by the collar of my
coat. He has thrown me into the mud. I’m nothing more than dust and ashes….I cry to
you, O God, but you don’t answer. I stand before you, but you don’t even look.”
You may relate to Job if you feel constant sadness. It may seem as if every day is
filled with depression, or you may even believe God is absent.
2. Elijah
Elijah saw God do the most incredible things (like calling down fire from heaven to
win a bet against false prophets). You’d think after seeing God move in radical ways,
he’d be on a constant Jesus-high, right? Well, he later becomes overwhelmed with
fear, unsure that God is going to act in the way that he wants him to. He’s afraid for
his life and begins to experience suffering. In the midst of that suffering, Elijah finds
himself reaching the point of, “I don’t want to live anymore.”
In 1 Kings 19:4 he cries out, “I have had enough, LORD…Take my life, for I am no
better than my ancestors who have already died.”
You may relate to Elijah if you’ve ever thought, “I am all alone. I can’t take it anymore.
I don’t want to live anymore. There’s no point.”
3. King David
David wrote most of the Psalms, and was maybe the most emotional in the whole
Bible—up and down, up and down. One minute he’s going off praising God, and the
next he’s like, “Where are you, God?!”
He feels like God has turned his back on him, and claims that his life is full of
depression and sadness.
In Psalm 6:5-7 David’s words ring, “I am worn out from sobbing. All night I flood my
bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears. My vision is blurred by grief...”
He becomes overwhelmed with sadness and unable to sleep. And yet God calls him
“a man after his own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).
You may relate to King David if you’ve ever just felt exhausted from grief, or like you
can’t even sleep.
4. Heman son of Korah
This one’s a guy most of you probably haven’t heard of. Heman wrote Psalm 88,
which has been described as one of the darkest Psalms in the whole Bible. The book
of Psalms would be like the Spotify list for the Israelites (God’s chosen people),
because they would go to the temple (where the church) and sing them. In this
Psalm, Heman cries out that God has abandoned and betrayed him.
He says in Psalm 88:5-7, “I am forgotten, cut off from your care. You have thrown me
into the lowest pit, into the darkest depths. Your anger weighs me down; with wave
after wave you have engulfed me.”
He does what so many of us do when we’re in a bad place—he turns and points the
finger at God. He feels like he’s already in the lowest place, and it’s like one wave
after another just keeps hitting him. Do you know what he means?
By the book of Psalms 88:18 Herman says, “Darkness is my closest friend.”
You may relate to Heman if you’ve ever felt alone, angry at God, or stuck in darkness.
5. Jeremiah
Jeremiah was another major prophet (chosen by God to proclaim truth and warn
others). He had a lifelong battle with sadness and wrote an entire book of his sorrow
called Lamentations.
In Lamentations 2:10 he says, “I have cried until the tears no longer come; my heart
is broken.”
Jeremiah writes in the Bible that he’s cried so much that there’s nothing left to come
out. Sound familiar?
You may relate to Jeremiah if you’ve ever thought, “I’ve cried so much that I ran out
of tears…I feel so heartbroken.”
The Bible is not full of men and women who are immune or unaware of what it’s like
to experience sorrow and pain. God included and made sure that these true stories
were included in the Bible, partly so that you would know you’re not alone.
Depression can come for anyone.
God doesn’t want you to experience depression, but he also understands what you’re
walking through. He is merciful, gracious, and empathizes with what you're going
through (Hebrews 4:14-16). Even in depression, Jesus is your healer and hope in the
darkness. Cry out to God in prayer when you’re feeling depressed and focus on the
truth in his Word. He will work all things together for good. And one day, if you are a
believer in Christ, he'll wipe every tear from your eyes in heaven.
Hold on to that hope. And keep fighting depression with the help of God's Spirit, his
people, and his word. Your life has purpose.
SOLUTION TO DEPRESSION
FIND SUPPORT
THINK POSITIVELY AND SPEAK POSITIVELY ABOUT YOURSELFBUILT CONFIDENCE
THROUGH PRAYERS
THANK YOU
ANY QUESTIONS