It is not every day that you hear that a Christian fights and deals with depression. Something that I am learning is that it is every day that a Christian is learning how to handle it and move forward in victory. Depression doesn’t define the spirituality of a believer and follower of Jesus Christ nor does it negate the fact that they are saved. What it does mean is that the believer is a human being. Often when we get saved, we dehumanize ourselves and have this belief that we won’t have these emotions nor will we feel anything which is completely false.
Even Jesus fought with depression. The word “depression” means that a person is in a “state of being sad; dejection.” That was a hard pill to swallow considering our Lord and Savior died so that we could be free. Where do we find that He fought it? This is found in Luke 22 where Jesus had gone to the garden with his disciples to pray. The Lord had asked them to pray as He went off alone and it was then that He fell to the ground and in verse 44, Jesus sweat great drops of blood. These drops were not sweat because He was joyful and excited about going to the cross. He agonized over it. He did not want to endure this pain. He had sweat blood because He was in deep sorrow.
In Psalms 143:7, the Psalmist David spoke on it as it “deepened” in his life. It wasn’t that David was overwhelmed with joy that he spoke that if God turned on him he would die. It was the fact that he was overwhelmed with sorrow. With that fact, it is plain to see that at times even believers go through depression. The key word is “through.” God does not expect for you or for I to stay in a state of sadness. He expects that we will come through it.
What do we do? King David in that same chapter stated; “Teach me to do your will for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.” It is nothing that you and I do alone but that we ask God to help us through this journey. The title “The Journey” is not something to take lightly and it is not something that happens overnight unless there is a miraculous occurrence. What is does mean is that you and I are on a journey each and every day of our lives with God that leads us through victory.
This year, I have experienced a lot of victory in my life and a lot of exciting things are happening as I write this. In the same breath, I have to admit that I have been experiencing great sorrow in silence and the pain has been unexplainable. I haven’t been able to truly understand why I have been going through this “depression” other than the fact that I know that when the devil comes, he comes. I can’t stop or persuade him to leave me alone. I believe that the only way to defeat his tactics is to reveal them and to lead others through it. It is nothing to be ashamed of being depressed as long as you don’t stay there. If you stay there, it is not depression anymore. It is self pity. I have learned over the past few years that God desires you to have a life of fullness and not foolishness. If you are depressed, it is time to get help. Whether it is getting help professionally or spiritually, it is time to take the journey to freedom.
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