Overcoming Depression

 

How long, O Lord? Will yo forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Psalm 13:2–2

Depression has been called the common cold of mental illness. When experiencing the "blues," we feel hopeless and helpless in the midst of our circumstances, and such was the case for David in Psalm 13. In Psalm 38, David expresses almost every symptom of depression (poor health, despair, mourning, feebleness, low energy, being isolated and withdrawn, negative thoughts). Yet God sought out David because he was "a man after his own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14).

In Psalm 13, however, David is depressed for one major reason: He thinks God has forgotten him forever. God couldn't forget anyone even for a moment much less forever. But if that is what we believe, then we feel helpless and hopeless. David overcomes depression by first recalling, "I have trusted in your steadfast love" (verse 5). Then he expresses hope: "My heart shall rejoice in your salvation" (verse 5). Finally, he exercises his will: "I will sing to the Lord" (verse 6).

This devotional is an excerpt from The Bondage Breaker Devotional by Neil T. Anderson.

 
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Neil T. Anderson is the founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He began the ministry in 1989 and continues to spread the message of freedom to this day.

 
Daily DevotionNeil T. AndersonNeil T. Anderson, Bondage Breaker, Depression, Mental Health, DavidComment