The Cause and Cure of Spiritual Depression -1

"And I said, this is my infirmity." Psalm 77:10

The word "infirmity" could also be translated as "to be rubbed worn" to "be grieved in soul." It is not necessarily a physical problem, though it could be. But more likely a spiritual one (read vv. 2-4). So some of us, perhaps, can identify with Asaph's prayer. We get soul-sick looking at our own hearts. How many times have I said, in my grief, "God hath forgotten to be gracious"? Too many, to my shame.

So this is a word to the dejected soul. You to whom the distance between your heart and your Savior seems too far to travel. You are foggy and tired, you can't pray or read with profit, and spiritual numbness has been your meat and drink day and night. You fully expect to be in the same state after reading this: wandering, wondering, cold, lifeless. Tell me, what is the cause of your infirmity? Why do you think the Lord has forgotten to be gracious to you? Asaph knew. He said, “This is my infirmity,” and perhaps the Holy Spirit will apply this to your own circumstances, too. We will examine the symptoms, causes, and cure of this infirmity.

Symptoms

We will not be investigating two things. We will not include clinical depression in this article. That is a medical matter. Nor are we speaking of the soul under the pangs of guilt when they are first awakened, looking for the way of salvation. No, we are speaking of something that happens to many within the life of grace. A spiritual depression that overtakes the soul. A perplexing anxiousness of spirit, an apprehension of God's anger, and prevailing doubts of one's pardon and acceptance before Him. That's our depression. The manifestations will vary from person to person, but they will all have a general character.

"Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord? My judgment is passed over from my God? But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me." Isaiah 40:27

This is the language of the spiritually despondent. It resembles our Psalm. "In the day of my trouble," exclaims the author, "I sought the Lord; my sore ran in the night and ceased not.” He prayed earnestly but found no consolation. “I remembered God and was troubled.” “I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed”— “billows of distress rose all around and deluged,” as it were, his soul. “Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies?" No.

I cannot speak to the exact situation or your experience. Only you can. Something has encroached upon you, filling you with the greatest darkness, overcoming you with constant doubt of soul. Am I speaking to you? You who say in your deepest, most secret thoughts, “Though the Bible speaks so much of God's grace and mercy in Christ, that must be for others, and not for me." There are a blessed number who have never felt this way. A blessed few, I imagine. Have you ever felt that way? Do you feel it now? We think about these things, and they seem only to confirm and enhance our misery and aggravate our fears of final rejection at the hands of God.

This is what spiritual depression looks like and feels like. So what are the causes of it?

Stay tuned...

Part 2