Introduction: Last week I heard an inspirational message pointing
out that humans, and specifically Christians, are God’s hands and
feet to accomplish His will on earth. When you get sick it is God’s
will for you to go to a medical doctor. If our lesson was titled
“Hope Against Broken Bones,” I would tell you to immediately see a
doctor, not study the Bible to fix your broken bone. Is depression
(a broken mind), like a broken bone? Some think so. The mind is a
part of the body. Fixing a broken mind, however, is infinitely more
complex than fixing a broken bone. If you have a “broken mind,” I
think you should consult a specialist – on two conditions. First,
you must only consult a committed Christian. Much in psychiatry and
psychology is directly at odds with the Bible. Second, you must read
Robert Whitaker’s Anatomy of an Epidemic. This is what lawyers call
“informed consent.” Whitaker argues that much of psychotropic
medicine is like throwing a rock in a finely tuned machine. Let’s
explore what the Creator of our finely tuned machine has to say
about depression!
- Downcast Soul
- Read Psalms 42:9-11. What two problems does this poor
person face? (His bones hurt and he is depressed.) - In your experience do these two things sometimes go
together? (If you are in pain, it is hard to have
joy.) - Sometimes when someone is depressed, we say “trust
God.” What does this text teach us about depression
and trusting in God? (The writer of these verses
calls God “my Rock,” yet he suffers from despair.) - What does the writer of these verses suggest is
the solution to despair? (In verse 11 he says
“put your hope in God” and praise will come.) - How does that make any sense if he already
trusts God, but suffers from despair?
(Because we are human, we face suffering.
That does not change the fact that
trusting God puts us on the path to the
solution.) - Read Ecclesiastes 9:1-5. How would you like to invite
this fellow to a party? - This is King Solomon writing. How wise was King
Solomon? (Read 1 Kings 3:11-12. God said no one
would ever be like Solomon.) - Is what King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 9:5 true?
(Of course not. Jesus promises us in John 6:38-40,
that we will have a further reward. That reward will
be eternal life.) - What caused King Solomon to write what he did?
(Solomon suffered from depression.) - What have we learned so far? That a wise person, a
person who trusts God, can suffer from depression! If
wise, trusting people suffer from depression, for what
can we hope? Let’s turn to that next. - Jesus and Illness
- Nowhere in the Bible can I find a specific prescription
to cure depression. Does this mean the Bible is
irrelevant to curing depression? - Read Matthew 8:16-17. Was illness and infirmity part of
Jesus’ mission? (It was prophesied that Jesus “took up”
our infirmities.) - How did He do that? (In this text Jesus drove out
evil spirits and healed disease.) - What is Jesus’ attitude towards illness? (Read Matthew
12:15. Jesus showed us that He wants us to be free of all
illness.) - Read Luke 11:9-10. If Jesus wants us to be free from
depression, and He has the power to cure all illness, and
He has promised to give us the things we request, is just
asking the answer to depression? - Paul and Illness
- Read Acts 14:8-10. What was the key to the healing of
this man? (Faith to be healed.) - Read 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. The Bible does not explain
the nature of Paul’s “thorn.” Perhaps it was depression.
Did Paul ask that the thorn be taken away? (Yes! He
pleaded.) - What about Jesus’ promise to give us what we ask?
Why didn’t that work here? - In Acts 14:9-10 we read that Paul healed the man who had
faith. What does Paul’s situation say about faith and
healing? (Obviously, Paul still suffered from his “thorn”
even though he asked and he had great faith.) - Look again at 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. What positive
purpose might depression serve? (Paul tells us that
difficulties in life help strengthen our faith. He also
suggests that his thorn helped him to handle his pride.) - What was Paul’s attitude towards the thorn that he
begged to have taken away? (He said he delighted in
it.) - Would it seem reasonable to you to delight in
depression? - We know that God loves us. We know that Jesus eliminated
the mental illness He encountered. We know God promised
to help us when we ask. But, we see Paul suffering from
his “thorn” and we know that we suffer. How can we
reconcile these apparently opposing ideas? (If the goal
of our life is to give glory to God, Paul suggests in 2
Corinthians 12:9 that our depression allows God’s power
to rest on us. We can use it to show how God can work
through our weakness.) - Faith and Illness
- Hebrews 11 recites glorious stories about faith and
victory over oppressing problems. It also discusses
something else. Read Hebrews 11:36-39. What is the
relationship between faith and avoiding suffering? (When
it comes to life on earth, the answer may be “none.”) - Notice the reference to a promise. Whose promise is
this? (God’s promise to them.) - Read Hebrews 11:40. What is faith’s answer to suffering
and what appears to be a broken promise? (Heaven. God,
who hates illness and disease, will fulfill His promise
to make all things “perfect.” In the meantime, we should
consider our depression a vehicle for giving glory to
God.) - What have we learned about depression so far? That good
people, people of faith suffer from it. Our God is
opposed to suffering, He cured it when He walked the
earth. But, we see that suffering can be a tool to
improve our Christian witness and our Christian walk. Not
until heaven will God cure all suffering.) - Does this sound like nonsense to you? Depression can be
good? (Depression is a very widespread problem. If you
deal positively with your depression because of your
faith, think what you have to offer to all those who
suffer from the same affliction?) - Saul and Depression
- Read 1 Samuel 15:26-29 and 1 Samuel 15:35. King Saul’s
sin caused God to reject him as king. How did this sin
affect Samuel? (It depressed Samuel.) - What does this teach us about the source of
depression? (Sometimes the bad decisions of others
creates depression.) - Read 1 Samuel 16:23. Did Saul suffer from depression?
What helped him with it? (Our sins can cause depression.
Separation from God, as in King Saul’s case, allowed an
evil spirit to enter him. However, music helped Saul with
depression.) - Elijah and Depression
- Recall that Elijah was at the center of the glorious
defeat of the prophets of Baal. Victories do not get any
more impressive than that one. Let’s read 1 Kings 19:2-4.
How is our victor doing? (He is depressed. He wants to
die.) - Read 1 Kings 19:5-6. Excessive sleep is connected with
depression. What angelic treatment for depression do we
find? (The angel asked Elijah to get up and eat. We need
to choose to go forward, even if we feel depressed.) - Does Elijah keep moving forward? (No. He goes back
to sleep!) - Read 1 Kings 19:7-10. What angelic remedy do we see here?
(He gets Elijah moving again and he gives him a goal.) - Has Elijah’s depression gotten better? (He is not
asking to die.) - What do we see in these verses that might aid us
with depression? (Elijah has done a lot of walking.
Exercise is an important tool to combat depression.) - Read 1 Kings 19:11-13. What remedy for depression do we
see here? (God has Elijah observe that God can do great
things by no visible means. God is above all power on
earth.) - What question does God ask? (Notice this is the
second time God has asked this ( 1 Kings 19:9): “What
are you doing here?”) - What does this teach us about depression? (When
depression hits, we need to review the power of God
in our life. Then we need to make a decision to move
forward and accomplish what God has assigned to us.) - Friend, if you suffer from depression will you try this
approach? Will you decide that you will move forward in
weakness so that the glory of God may be displayed in
your life? Exercise and good nutrition are simple steps
we can take to help. If you are using drugs to help, read
Anatomy of an Epidemic, and make an informed decision.
God loves us, He understands our mind, and in His time He
will cure our depression. - Next week: Resilience.
- Downcast Soul
- Read Psalms 42:9-11. What two problems does this poor
person face? (His bones hurt and he is depressed.) - In your experience do these two things sometimes go
together? (If you are in pain, it is hard to have
joy.) - Sometimes when someone is depressed, we say “trust
God.” What does this text teach us about depression
and trusting in God? (The writer of these verses
calls God “my Rock,” yet he suffers from despair.) - What does the writer of these verses suggest is
the solution to despair? (In verse 11 he says
“put your hope in God” and praise will come.) - How does that make any sense if he already
trusts God, but suffers from despair?
(Because we are human, we face suffering.
That does not change the fact that
trusting God puts us on the path to the
solution.) - Read Ecclesiastes 9:1-5. How would you like to invite
this fellow to a party? - This is King Solomon writing. How wise was King
Solomon? (Read 1 Kings 3:11-12. God said no one
would ever be like Solomon.) - Is what King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 9:5 true?
(Of course not. Jesus promises us in John 6:38-40,
that we will have a further reward. That reward will
be eternal life.) - What caused King Solomon to write what he did?
(Solomon suffered from depression.) - What have we learned so far? That a wise person, a
person who trusts God, can suffer from depression! If
wise, trusting people suffer from depression, for what
can we hope? Let’s turn to that next. - Jesus and Illness
- Nowhere in the Bible can I find a specific prescription
to cure depression. Does this mean the Bible is
irrelevant to curing depression? - Read Matthew 8:16-17. Was illness and infirmity part of
Jesus’ mission? (It was prophesied that Jesus “took up”
our infirmities.) - How did He do that? (In this text Jesus drove out
evil spirits and healed disease.) - What is Jesus’ attitude towards illness? (Read Matthew
12:15. Jesus showed us that He wants us to be free of all
illness.) - Read Luke 11:9-10. If Jesus wants us to be free from
depression, and He has the power to cure all illness, and
He has promised to give us the things we request, is just
asking the answer to depression? - Paul and Illness
- Read Acts 14:8-10. What was the key to the healing of
this man? (Faith to be healed.) - Read 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. The Bible does not explain
the nature of Paul’s “thorn.” Perhaps it was depression.
Did Paul ask that the thorn be taken away? (Yes! He
pleaded.) - What about Jesus’ promise to give us what we ask?
Why didn’t that work here? - In Acts 14:9-10 we read that Paul healed the man who had
faith. What does Paul’s situation say about faith and
healing? (Obviously, Paul still suffered from his “thorn”
even though he asked and he had great faith.) - Look again at 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. What positive
purpose might depression serve? (Paul tells us that
difficulties in life help strengthen our faith. He also
suggests that his thorn helped him to handle his pride.) - What was Paul’s attitude towards the thorn that he
begged to have taken away? (He said he delighted in
it.) - Would it seem reasonable to you to delight in
depression? - We know that God loves us. We know that Jesus eliminated
the mental illness He encountered. We know God promised
to help us when we ask. But, we see Paul suffering from
his “thorn” and we know that we suffer. How can we
reconcile these apparently opposing ideas? (If the goal
of our life is to give glory to God, Paul suggests in 2
Corinthians 12:9 that our depression allows God’s power
to rest on us. We can use it to show how God can work
through our weakness.) - Faith and Illness
- Hebrews 11 recites glorious stories about faith and
victory over oppressing problems. It also discusses
something else. Read Hebrews 11:36-39. What is the
relationship between faith and avoiding suffering? (When
it comes to life on earth, the answer may be “none.”) - Notice the reference to a promise. Whose promise is
this? (God’s promise to them.) - Read Hebrews 11:40. What is faith’s answer to suffering
and what appears to be a broken promise? (Heaven. God,
who hates illness and disease, will fulfill His promise
to make all things “perfect.” In the meantime, we should
consider our depression a vehicle for giving glory to
God.) - What have we learned about depression so far? That good
people, people of faith suffer from it. Our God is
opposed to suffering, He cured it when He walked the
earth. But, we see that suffering can be a tool to
improve our Christian witness and our Christian walk. Not
until heaven will God cure all suffering.) - Does this sound like nonsense to you? Depression can be
good? (Depression is a very widespread problem. If you
deal positively with your depression because of your
faith, think what you have to offer to all those who
suffer from the same affliction?) - Saul and Depression
- Read 1 Samuel 15:26-29 and 1 Samuel 15:35. King Saul’s
sin caused God to reject him as king. How did this sin
affect Samuel? (It depressed Samuel.) - What does this teach us about the source of
depression? (Sometimes the bad decisions of others
creates depression.) - Read 1 Samuel 16:23. Did Saul suffer from depression?
What helped him with it? (Our sins can cause depression.
Separation from God, as in King Saul’s case, allowed an
evil spirit to enter him. However, music helped Saul with
depression.) - Elijah and Depression
- Recall that Elijah was at the center of the glorious
defeat of the prophets of Baal. Victories do not get any
more impressive than that one. Let’s read 1 Kings 19:2-4.
How is our victor doing? (He is depressed. He wants to
die.) - Read 1 Kings 19:5-6. Excessive sleep is connected with
depression. What angelic treatment for depression do we
find? (The angel asked Elijah to get up and eat. We need
to choose to go forward, even if we feel depressed.) - Does Elijah keep moving forward? (No. He goes back
to sleep!) - Read 1 Kings 19:7-10. What angelic remedy do we see here?
(He gets Elijah moving again and he gives him a goal.) - Has Elijah’s depression gotten better? (He is not
asking to die.) - What do we see in these verses that might aid us
with depression? (Elijah has done a lot of walking.
Exercise is an important tool to combat depression.) - Read 1 Kings 19:11-13. What remedy for depression do we
see here? (God has Elijah observe that God can do great
things by no visible means. God is above all power on
earth.) - What question does God ask? (Notice this is the
second time God has asked this ( 1 Kings 19:9): “What
are you doing here?”) - What does this teach us about depression? (When
depression hits, we need to review the power of God
in our life. Then we need to make a decision to move
forward and accomplish what God has assigned to us.) - Friend, if you suffer from depression will you try this
approach? Will you decide that you will move forward in
weakness so that the glory of God may be displayed in
your life? Exercise and good nutrition are simple steps
we can take to help. If you are using drugs to help, read
Anatomy of an Epidemic, and make an informed decision.
God loves us, He understands our mind, and in His time He
will cure our depression. - Next week: Resilience.
