1.Depression is the schoolhouse of God.
You may think that your mental anguish is futile and pointless. God says otherwise. "For this light, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." (2 Corinthians 4:17) Although depression often brings a fog and a loss concentration, God's light of learning penetrates through the mist. Thus, what is God teaching you through your depression? For believers in Christ, depression ought not be wasted. In the school of knowing God, depression is a classroom. You may say that depression has nothing to do with God, but depression is fundamentally about God. Consider the psalmist pleading with his soul: "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." (Psalm 42:11) Depression is not only about weaning us off the pleasures of this world but it does serve that purpose. Depression reorients us to our purpose even while we feel purposeless. Are you hopeless? Are you cast down? Instruct your soul to God as the source of hope and happiness.
2. Depression is antigospel.
Depression speaks loudly and clearly about who we are. "You are a failure." "You are worthless." "You have no hope." All of these assertions are fundamentally antigospel. Let me preface before continuing. I am not saying that our struggle with depression is merely a failure to believe the gospel. What I am saying is that depression attacks our belief in the gospel. Consider all those statements in light of what the gospel says about you Christian. Depression says "You are a failure." The gospel says, "You are a success. You have accomplished the law in every respect because of the righteousness of Christ." Depression says "You are worthless" and the gospel says "You have ultimate worth because you are a child of God." Depression says "You have no hope." The gospel says, "My hope is in Christ and the promise of our glorification with him."
3. Depression feels deterministic.
"You will always be in despair." "There is nothing you can do to improve your situation." These are the cries of depression to the tired soul. Depression convinces us that there is an absence of choices and that our lives are fatalistically designed for misery. The reality is that depression does not dictate the trajectory of your life but a sovereign God who loves and cares for you. When depression brings to you its certainties, undermine them with the gospel truth that in Christ you are set free (Galatians 5:1).
4. Depression is shortsighted.
Depression only sees the present agony and never the future glory. In many ways, depression is entirely a twisted perspective on the world. The difficulty is that it contains a half-truth. Outside of Christ and our redemption from the curse, all our work is vain and this existence is useless. The world has been subjected to futility for a time (Romans 8:20), but it has not been subjected by some impersonal force but by an omnipotent God who, as the verse goes on to say, subjected it "in hope." In hope for what? "That the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God." (Romans 8:21)
5. Depression can be overcome.
Although I have not attained this position yet, I plead with the Lord for deliverance and strive to serve him in my pain. Depression may seem like an unassailable giant in your life, but Christ has already defeated the ultimate giant on the cross. Depression too will one day be removed (cf. Revelation 21:4). In the meantime, we must persevere despite whether or not we receive relief in this life or only in the world to come. Until then, onward Christian soldier.
