The Bible and Depression: David suffered from depression - Week 6
Brief Review
Week 6 - David is Restored
Brief Review
In Step 3 we looked at a prophecy in Isaiah 61:1-3 about Jesus Christ. We saw that Jesus was anointed by God to bring the garment of praise for relief from the spirit of heaviness.
In Step 1, Step 2, Step 4 and Step 5 we studied the Biblical record of depression of Elijah, Job and Hannah. The Lord Restored all three.
Depression – A Study of David and Psalm 13
David’s story is one of the most dramatic in the Bible. He didn’t have an easy life, and he often made terrible decisions. Still he is named “a man after God’s own heart” in Acts 13:22 (also 1 Samuel 13:14)
22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.
He earned that title not because he was perfect, which he was not! However David always repented of his sin with great remorse; he always begged God to cleanse him and restore him to His favor. An example is in Psalm 139: 23-24
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Many times David experienced great sorrow, one of the symptoms of depression. Psalm 6:6 is an example.
6 I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.
7 Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.
David says he is weary with his groaning; that all night his bed is swimming in tears, and consumed because of grief. You will easily find other places in Psalms where this experience is repeated. His grief over his sin was great. His soul was weary with grieving, crying over the state of his disobedience to God, and the terrible results that followed. These are signs of depression.
But David was Restored by the Lord
Let’s look at Psalm 13, which is describing the steps David took from depression to prayer to being restored. It is a song, written from the vantage point of age, so that David can be objective about his earlier experiences. In this Psalm, he was running from King Saul. He was alone, as yet without the support of his band of mighty men. He was in the northern reaches of Palestine where it was dry, rocky and dusty, and the people were unfriendly. In the first two verses of Psalm 13:1-2
1 How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
We hear five complaints:
1. How long will You forget me, Lord?
2. How long will You hide Your face from me?
3. How long do I have to confer only with myself?
4. How long will I have daily sorrow?
5. How long will Saul have victory over me?
Like most of us, when the going got rough David complained and wept, feeling very sorry for himself and even going so far as to accuse God of forgetting about him. These are symptoms of depression! Haven’t we all felt like that at some point in our lives? The problem comes when we begin to believe that what we feel must be the truth.
Satan will deceive us – The Lord is Truth, not Man
There is an important message in that last statement. There is one
and only one truth, The Lord. Just as when Satan tricked Eve into following
what she believed to be the truth, Satan will do the same to us. If we let
him! It is never safe to “follow your heart” because our hearts are
deceitful and desperately wicked. In
Jeremiah 17:9 The Lord says:
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
The remaining verses in Psalm 13
show David starting down the path to Restoration. His focus is back on the
Lord.
Psalm
13:3-6
3 Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
6 I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.
Prayer begins David’s Restoration
David begins praying instead of complaining. He asks God to hear him and wake him up so he won’t “sleep the sleep of death.” Anyone who has experienced that craving for deep, oblivious sleep that never has to end will understand that David is describing an aspect of deep depression. The only thing that seems to bring peace is to sleep so long and so deeply that the depression is escaped, at least for a time. We saw that Elijah also had these thoughts of ending his life.
In verse four, instead of complaining that Saul is the victor David asks God to have the victory. The focus is now off of self and back on the Lord.
Finally, in the last two verses, we see the garment of praise as the cure for the spirit of heaviness. Isaiah 61:3. When you return to prayer, focus on the Lord and give Praise to the Lord – you can receive the garment of praise which is the cure for the spirit of heaviness
He reveals three important aspects of answered prayer:
1. Trust in God’s mercy;
2. Rejoice in His salvation;
3. Sing praises to God for his bountiful dealings.
Let’s look at Philippians 4:6-7.
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Most important is to rejoice in God’s salvation. Some time ago, I was impressed with a wonderful truth. In this passage, David says he will “rejoice in THY salvation.” He didn’t say he would “rejoice in MY salvation.” Salvation belongs to God. He provides it for us when we receive His Son as our Savior, but redemption is His. That truth alone should help boost us out of the pit of depression and despair.
The Lord will Restore His People, if you are not 100% sure that you are one of His people, now is the time to get right with the Lord.
