Depression/Discouragement

The other night my friend and I were working through a chapter on depression. One of the activities was to look at some Old Testament people who seemed to struggle at some point in their life with depression/discouragement - Elijah, Jonah, Moses, and Jeremiah - and see why they were depressed, whether they stayed in their depression, and if it was remedied. I thought you might also benefit from some of the neat concepts we came across...

Elijah (1 Kings 19:3-4) - fearful, felt all alone, tired of continued persecution - we don't know to what extent he turned back around - God responded by challenging him in his response to run away, passed his ministry on to Elisha, and confirmed there were still 7000 faithful to God - Some things to learn: we sometimes should challenge ourselves/others in times of depression/discouragement about why we are acting why we are, sometimes we need to be done with what we have been doing, sometimes we need to be reminded of the big picture

Jonah (Jonah 4:3) - didn't think life was fair - have no idea if he turned around - God confronted him with spiritual truth - Some things to learn: what we think of as fair or not fair is often very short-sighted and self-serving, God sees the entire picture and we need to trust him regardless of the circumstances, we may need to confront ourselves/others with God's truth whether we like it or not

Moses (Num 11:10-15) - tired of people grumbling, felt like carrying burden alone, had no answers to the problems he faced - he doesn't appear to continue in his depression/discouragement - God provides clear direction for him, gives him the help he needs - Some things to learn: when we feel overwhelmed take our problems to God, there are often answers to our problems that we can't see but others can, God doesn't intend for us to do everything ourselves, God won't call us to a job He doesn't equip us for

Jeremiah (Lam 3:1-36) - this is a really amazing section, if you are prone to depression/discouragement or in that place right now I highly suggest you take the time to read and meditate on this selection of scripture - he's basically feeling like everything is against him, he's living in darkness, sees no escape, nothing he tries is working - the last couple verses of Lamentations seem to imply he's still struggling - his remedy was to remember God's character, that God alone is enough, that he should wait quietly, to humble himself, to remember God's compassion, to remember God's sovereignty, to remember he is a sinner - Some things to learn: being depressed/discouraged can feel totally debilitating, but we need to not wallow in it, we need to hold onto truth about God whether or not it seems true at the moment, we should realize that since we are sinners, every good thing we've ever had is a gift from God, we don't deserve anything good, God is in control of all things and has specific purpose for us in it, there is never a time when something happens that He is surprised, His affliction will not pass beyond the point of purpose in our lives, we need to not make everyone else's lives miserable if we're feeling depressed/discouraged

It was really interesting and helpful to look at these men's lives because we all feel to some degree or another aspects of their depression/discouragement. Thankfully God not only gives us examples in His Word to guide and direct us, but is always ready to hear and help us in our time of need through prayer.