Depression and Christianity

I was standing in line at a local pharmacy, and the lady in front of me was waiting for her receipt, and as it printed out, it just kept on coming like she hit the jackpot as a long white piece of paper spilled out, and it was funny. The cashier laughed, and the lady with the receipt laughed, and she turned around to look at me to see if I was laughing too, but I just stood there silent with an expressionless face. I was too depressed to laugh.

I was in a period of depression where I was breathing, going about my business, but not connecting, not able to interact with the world around me. I couldn't even laugh at a funny thing. Nothing was funny to me.

I believe you can be a believer and enter a season of depression. The prophet Elijah went from cutting down the prophets of Baal on top of Carmel to sitting under a juniper tree in a bout of depression so severe he wanted to die. Charles Spurgeon, the great British preacher, suffered from bouts of depression.

He even had a name for it. He called it the Black Dog. I have seen photos of a depressed-looking Charles Spurgeon, and they're hard to look at.

He looks like he's in pain. I see pictures of Justin Bieber in the news lately who's also going through a time of depression. He has all the fame and money of the world.

He has a beautiful wife who loves him, millions of fans who adore him. But he's walking the streets of New York City with a dead look in his eyes. He's like a walking zombie because of depression.

I know the feeling. You exist, but you are not living. Depression is a terrible thing, friends.

Perhaps some of you know the dregs of depression. Maybe one of you are there right now. There are many reasons for depression.

It can be a chemical imbalance. It can be the result of a trauma, the death of a loved one. It can result from overwhelming circumstances and continued trial.

It can result from emotional and physical overexertion. I was reading the biography of F.J. Hegel, the missionary to Mexico, whose little daughter was poisoned by the people he was trying to reach with the gospel. And there was a season in his life where he entered into a deep depression, which in those days was unfortunately treated by electric shock therapy, which he underwent to his detriment.

But the fact remains, you can be a believer and be depressed. Depression and Christianity is an oxymoron, but it happens. But Jesus can pull you through.

The best way I can describe depression is this a way. If you've ever been on a train and that train enters a tunnel and everything goes dark, you know what I mean. I used to ride the subway in Chicago and it would come to a place in the loop where it went under the Chicago River.

And when you enter that tunnel on that train, everything went black. The key to depression is to be sure it doesn't turn into despondency where there's no turning back. If you, friend, are now in a period of depression, keep this thought in your mind.

You're on a train and that train has gone into a tunnel. The key is to stay on the train until it comes out of the tunnel. You don't want to get off by a selfish act.

Stay on the train, friend. The light is at the end of the tunnel. The Son of God is the light of the world, and he can bring you back into the light.

Jesus is sitting beside you on that train. He can get you through just about anything. Keep looking at him.

Jesus will pull you through.