May 7

Psalm 42 Towards a Cure of Depression

Depression is a major problem many people face every day of life. It impacts the rich, poor, learned, unlearned, professional, blue collar, all ethnic groups and all economic classes. Dr. Nathan Kline of New York Rockland State Hospital reports that he estimates 8 million people suffer from depression and most of these cases go unrecognized. Sometimes the depression becomes so severe that people start to have thoughts of suicide. Statistics are that 750,000 people attempt to commit suicide each year. Last years 30,000 of them were successful. That is a staggering lost of life.

Do you ever suffer from depression? From our reading today we discovered that David, one of the great men in the Bible, was not immune to depression. Psalm 42 is a frank discussion about his depression. Since this was written beyond the Jordon, many expositors are of the opinion that this Psalm was written by David on the occasion of his flight from his rebellious son Absalom. Can you imagine the pain of having your own son overthrow your kingdom? That could cause anyone to become depressed. But David was able to overcome his depression. I see several cures for depression in the Psalm but we will only look at two of them.

1. Desiring the Lord above all else in life. The deer analogy points to the longing of the human soul for the Eternal One, God. There is a desire in the human heart that can best be described as the desire of infinitude. We are so made that nothing which has limits satisfies. We try to satisfy this thirst with careers, houses, cars, money, sex, addictions and power but they don’t quench our souls. Our hearts are not satisfied until we have a relationship with God himself. St Augustine (300 AD) put it this way, “Thou hast made us for thyself and the heart of man is restless until it finds rest in Thee.” It seems at our lowest points that we are awakened to this deep thirst. Depression seems to compound it when it is unsatisfied. So here we need to make a hard choice, a choice to set aside the things of earth and become consumed in our pursuit of God. If you are suffering from depression make it your one and only desire to reconnect with God.

2. Develop relationships with others. In verse 4 David remembers the deep relationships he had going to worship. But now he is separated from them. He has lost part of his strength. Depressed people are lonely people. It these critical moments we need to do just the opposite of what we feel. When we become depressed the very first thing we want to do is to get alone. But the best thing we can do is just opposite of that, avoid being alone. When we are depressed we don't want to be around people. We want to withdraw. But withdrawing means isolation, and isolation during depression means alienation. Force yourself to be with people. This is again a hard choice we need to make. Call someone up on the phone and ask them if there is anything you can pray for. Join a small group at church. Serve others. Join our Blessing Sunday, May 16th. Give yourself. Develop a friendship. If you are the type of person who thinks you can make it alone. You are just an accident waiting to happen.

God has made us to live in community. One of the best things you can do if you are given to discouragement is to cultivate close friendships. And remember the old phrase... If you want a friend, be a friend.

If you are struggling with depression today and need someone to talk to, email me back, and we can set up a time to chat this weekend. I know about depression first hand and would love to talk with you. I promise there will not be any sermons... just a listening ear.

Today is accountability day... I would love to hear from you.