5 Why, my soul, are you down­cast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalms 42: 5 Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Prov. 16: 24 A merry heart does good like a medi­cine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. Prov. 17:22

Do you know that one of the most loved and popular American execu­tive, President Abraham Lincoln, suf­fered depression most of his life? Also one of the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Winston Churchill had the same problem. Dr. Neil Nedley, in his book, Depression, The Way Out had this to say. ”The life histo­ries of Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill offer hope to all who experi­ence depression. They both engaged in many bitter conflicts on the battle­fields of human opinion . However, their most important confrontations occurred on the level of their own minds.” P. 2. He said that one out of every three to six patients an internist sees in his outpatient practice suffers from depression. What is depression? Do some of us suffer from it and don’t know it? Depression is defined as: “An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts, that af­fects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. A depressive disorder is not the same as a passing blue mood. It is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be wished away. People with a depressive disease cannot merely “pull themselves together” and get better. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or years. Appropriate treatment, however, can help most people with depression.” How do we recognize this dis­ease? “The signs and symptoms of depression include loss of interest in activities that were once interesting or enjoyable, including sex; loss of appetite (anorexia) with weight loss or overeating with weight gain; loss of emotional expression (flat affect); a persistently sad, anxious or empty mood; feelings of hopelessness, pes­simism, guilt, worthlessness, or help­lessness; social withdrawal; unusual fatigue, low energy level, a feeling of being slowed down; sleep distur­bance with insomnia, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping; trouble concentrating, remembering, or making decisions; unusual restless­ness or irritability; persistent physical problems such as headaches, diges­tive disorders, or chronic pain that do not respond to treatment; thoughts of death or suicide or suicide attempts. Alcohol or drug abuse may be signs of depression.”

In Kirk Douglas’ book, My Stroke of Luck , he emphasized that a stroke victim must make it a point to see the brighter side of things and engage life in a positive way. He had a stroke but he did not let the disease get him down. Depression is one of the side effects of the disease because it causes one person who used to be active and can do everything himself. Now he had to depend on others to do things for him. Being unable to tell people what you want or need could compound the effect of depression. Whether Mr. Douglas knew it or not, he was applying the Biblical way of healing himself. “A merry heart does good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dies up the bones” Prov. 17:22. He said in his book that whenever he hears of someone having a stroke, he tries to humor them up and make them laugh.

Dr. Nedley advocates the follow­ing general lifestyle treatments for depression: (1) Better nutrition, es­pecially when based on plant food s help fight depression (2) Bright light therapy (3) Avoid negative thinking ( 4) Regular, restful sleep (5) Daily spiritual exercises (6) Regular physi­cal exercise (7) Deep breathing exer­cises (8) classical music therapy and (9) owning a pet especially a dog that seems to respond to attention and give back the same affection. This is a documented fact . To discuss all these would fill a book, but it would be better if you can get his book so you can read it yourself.

King David asked himself why he felt down cast and disturbed. In Psalms 42:5 he gives the answer, “ 5 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” Psalms 42: 5 So he sang songs and put his trust in God. because God is the best physician to go to. He can heal all kinds of dis­eases, physical ,mental , and spiritual sickness.
Let us remember that there is a lov­ing God who can save us to the end of the age. When we feel that noth­ing is working for us, when everything seems to go wrong, do what the Lord’s brother advice. He said, 13 “Is any­one among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore con­fess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous per­son is powerful and effective.” James 5: 13-16. Asking the help of friends can help one out of the emotional dol­drums . Personal prayer can help even more. King Saul felt well after David played the harp for him. I remember a little song that went this way; “Sing the clouds away/Night will turn to day;/ If you sing and smile and pray/You’ll drive the clouds away.”
Being depressed is like having dark clouds over our heads. There was a saying in Latin that meant “a sound mind is a sound body”. There are many out there who are very” healthy” physically, but inside their minds are sick and in need of treatment in facilities or clinics best equipped to serve them. There is nothing more delightful to Satan than to cause misery and heartache to the human race. But God has provided a way out of the depression that comes to every man, woman, and child in this world. In John 3:16, it is writ­ten, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Someday, God will destroy Satan and his angels in the lake of fire that could not be put out until they are consumed and reduced to ashes.

Finally, remember that God loves us to the uttermost. Saint Paul said in Romans 8: 37-,39 7” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Je­sus our Lord.” With that assurance I won’t get depressed any more. Don’t we love a God like that?

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