Depression
Introduction. Many people
suffer from an emotional state we call depression. The CDC (“Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention”) in a study published in 2010 studied 235,000
people in the US, and found…
·
4%
suffered from “Major depression”—Defined in this way—More than half
of the days considered in the study they felt at least five of the following:
1) “little interest or pleasure in doing things” or 2) “feeling down,
depressed, or hopeless”. The other criteria are: 3) “trouble falling asleep or
staying asleep or sleeping too much,” 4) “feeling tired or having little
energy,” 5) “poor appetite or overeating,” 6) “feeling bad about yourself or
that you were a failure or let yourself or your family down,” 7) “trouble
concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television,”
and 8) “moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed…or
the opposite: being so fidgety or restless that you were moving around a lot
more than usual.”
·
5%
Suffer from “Other depression”—Defined as…– If they met two,
three, or four of the eight criteria for major depression, including at least 1
of the following 1) “little interest or pleasure in doing things” or 2) “feeling
down, depressed, or hopeless.”
·
9%
Suffer from “Any depression.”
There were a few interesting tendencies in
this:
·
Age:
Largest
numbers 18-24 and 45-64.
·
Gender:
Women
more than men.
·
Marital
status:
Previously married, and single more than married.
What can the Bible teach us about this
problem, and if it plagues us, how to overcome it?
I.
The Word “Depression.”
A. Most
translations do not contain the word “depressed” or “depression.”
1. Even in English,
its use of an emotional condition is relative recent > lit. a bringing
down of status, height, or spirits.
2. The result has
come to stand for the condition. One brought down in spirit is
“depressed.”
B. Only used in
NKJV (Prov. 12:25).
1. Heb. shachah
Lit. “prostrate” KJV “to stoop.”
2. What we think of
as depression is not the result but the cause “anxiety in the heart”—KJV
“heaviness in the heart.”
C. Heaviness of
heart in Scripture.
1. Job was heavy
because of his losses and physical distress (Job 9:27).
2. David was heavy
because of mistreatment (Psalm 69:18-21).
3. Paul was heavy
because of the condition of others (Rom. 9:1-5).
4. Peter speaks of
those heavy because of trials (1 Pet. 1:6-8).
§ Today we call
this depression.
II.
What Causes Depression?
A. Life isn’t what
it should be.
1. Disappointment.
2. Health.
B. People have hurt
us.
C. Sadness and
loss.
D. Our own sin.
III.
Biblical Solutions for Depression.
A. Meditation on
God’s word (Psa. 119:25-28).
B. Pray and
cultivate gratitude (Phil 4:6-7).
C. Don’t let
emotion control you (Prov. 16:32). True of anger and heaviness.
D. “A good word”
(Prov. 12:25).
1. Seek sources of
encouragement and be a source to others.
2. Refresh others
(1 Cor. 16:17-18)
C. Repentance (2
Cor. 7:8-11).
D. Focus on
heaven (Phil. 3:12-14).