I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 38-44.

    I was talking about how the psalmist (actually, psalmists, there was more than one) advises us to deal with depression this morning with a friend at breakfast (remember, I write these the day before you read them, sometimes longer in advance). I am cautious about saying this because I have never had depression, but I believe that reading the Book of Psalms can give you sound advice on how to deal with and overcome depression. It is clear to me that those who wrote the Psalms suffered from depression at points in their lives. I believe that the psalmists gave sound advice on dealing with depression. I do my best to condense that advice in my devotions on those psalms, but don’t take my word about it, read what the psalmist had to say.

    Our first psalm today is primarily an expression of the despair which the psalmist is feeling. To a degree that is part of the psalmist’s method of dealing with despair: he expresses what is making him feel despair. But it is more than just expressing his reasons for despair, it is also a prayer. If you are feeling despair, cry out to God and tell Him why you are feeling desperate and depressed. There is one thing more the psalmist offers in this psalm: do not listen to those who threaten and condemn you. Wait for God to speak to you and listen to Him. Again and again throughout these psalms (and throughout the entire Book of Psalms) the psalmists remind us to wait for God.

    Another thread in the psalmist’s advice is to watch what you say. It is better to be silent than to say something which will hurt someone else needlessly. Yet, if we are doing God’s will and listening to Him, His Spirit will cause words to burst out from us that need to be said. If you are suffering from depression read Psalm 40, see how the psalmist waited for God, then he spoke out and told everyone who would listen how God had saved Him. He did not break out of his despair by force of will. He did so by turning it over to God, by calling on God to save him and trusting that He would. Then he told people about what God had done before he even saw his deliverance completed. While his trouble still surrounded him, the psalmist told anyone who would listen about the great things which God had already done. In Psalms 42 and 43 the psalmist repeats a verse which really strikes me:

Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and my God!

If you are feeling discouraged or depressed (and even if you are not), put your hope in God and praise Him. He will come to you and lift you out of your despair. This is not an easy fix. You may need to cry out to God day after day and wait for Him to come to you. I have never suffered from depression, so I want to make clear that I am not sure how this works, but I place full faith and trust in God. I believe that if you do the same He will rescue you from whatever is overwhelming you. Don’t rely on what I say, read the Psalms as you cry out to God and He will show you the path.