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Spiritual Depression

by Stephen Stillman  
5/20/2010 / Christian Apologetics

Should we ever get spiritually depressed? No we probably shouldn't, but I think we all can say at times we do. In the Psalms we find revelations of Truth in the terms of human experience. The Truth revealed is found in the emotions, desires, and sufferings of God's people by the circumstances through which they pass. In Psalms 42:11 the words of the Psalmist describe him as unhappy and troubled. "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance and my God."

The Psalmist is giving an account of his unhappiness which is effecting him deep in his soul. He seems to be speaking directly to his soul, the deepest part of his being, and questioning why he is so cast down and unhappy. The Psalmist tells us one reason he was so discouraged in verses 4, 5. He was exiled to a place far from Jerusalem and could not worship in the temple. But not only that, he was being attacked by certain enemies.

These same things can discourage and depress us today. When we are kept away from worship with others for what ever reason, it surely causes our soul to be cast down. When others are attacking us, not just our enemies, but especially when other Christians attack us it hurts to the depths of our soul. It is interesting to notice how often this particular theme is dealt with in the Scriptures. Because it is dealt with so often, the conclusion drawn is the fact that discouragement and despair is a very common condition. It seems to be a condition that has afflicted God's people from the beginning.

The thing we should be interested in today is not the fact that the Psalmist was so down cast, but instead how he faces the situation and the way in which he deals with himself. We want to learn from the Psalmist the causes of "Spiritual Depression" and the ways in which it should be treated. This lesson is important today because there are large numbers of Christian people who give the impression of being unhappy. They are cast down, their souls are 'disquieted within them'.

Let us look now at some of the general causes:

One of the causes is temperament. There are certain types of people. Although temperament does not make the slightest difference in the matter of salvation, and we are all Christians together, we are yet all different. The problems and difficulties we are likely to meet are in a large measure determined by the difference of temperament and of type. When dealing with "Spiritual Depression" it is futile to act on the assumption that all Christians are identical in every respect. There is a type of person who is particularly prone to "Spiritual Depression". He is the person classified as an introvert. He is the person who tends to be always analyzing himself, looking inward. He analyzes everything he does, and worries about the possible effects of his actions, always full of vain regrets. He cannot undo what has been done, but he still spends his time analyzing and judging, and blaming himself. We all should agree that we need to examine ourselves, but we should not cross the line and make self-examination the main end in our life. If we are always examining ourselves, we are putting our soul on a plate and dissecting it. Here, then, is the place we must always start. We must know ourselves and our particular dangers. The Bible warns us to be careful about our strengths and weaknesses.

A second cause is physical conditions. You cannot isolate the spiritual from the physical for we are body, mind and spirit. The greatest and best Christians are more prone to an attack of "Spiritual Depression" when they are physically weak. Again we must know ourselves. If you recognize that the physical may be partly responsible for your spiritual condition and make allowances for that, you will be better able to deal with the spiritual.

A third cause is what we can describe as a reaction. This is a reaction following a great blessing or unusual and exceptional experience. Remember the case of Elijah under the juniper tree. Elijah had just witnessed two great spiritual victories; the defeat of the prophets of Baal, and the answered prayer for rain. But now Elijah was alone in the wilderness experiencing the depths of fatigue and discouragement.

A fourth cause is the devil. He is the adversary of our souls. He can use our temperaments and our physical condition. He so deals with us that we allow our temperament to control us. There is no end to the ways in which the devil produces "Spiritual Depression", and we must always keep this in mind. The devil's one object is to depress God's people to the point that he can go to any man of the world and say, "there is one of God's people. Do you want to be like that?"

A fifth cause is unbelief. If it were not for unbelief even the devil could do nothing. It is because we listen to the devil instead of listening to God that we fall to his attacks. That is why the Psalmist keeps saying to himself, "hope thou in God for I shall yet praise Him" The Psalmist reminds himself of God, because he was depressed and had forgotten God, so that his faith in God and His power were not what they ought to be.

Now let us look at some of the general treatments:

We must take ourselves in hand. The Psalmist took himself in hand by talking to himself. He turns to himself and says, "Why art thou cast down O my soul, why art thou disquieted within me?" He talks to himself instead of listening to himself. We must realize that most of our unhappiness is due to the fact that we listen to ourselves. We listen as we remind ourselves how we have been hurt, or why we feel so down-trodden. We listen to ourselves as we tell ourselves how miserable we are and how we have made mistakes and have been ill-treated.

We must know how to handle ourselves. This is the main art of spiritual living. You have to address yourself, preach to yourself, and question yourself. You must say to your soul, "Why art thou cast down and what business have you to be disquieted?" You must turn on yourself, condemn yourself, exhort yourself, and say to yourself, "Hope thou in God". You must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done. Then you must defy yourself and other people, defy the devil and the whole world and say, "I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance, who is also the health of my countenance and my God".

Spiritual Depression is one of the common emotional ailments for Christians. One antidote is to meditate on the record of God's goodness to His people. This will take your mind off your present situation and give you hope that it will improve. It will focus your thoughts on God's ability to help you instead of your ability to help yourself.

Stephen Stillman, owner of www.amazingchristianproducts.com a website that offers great Christian articles and a variety of religious products.

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