Is God Happy When I Take Pills? What Does the Bible Say About Depression?

Let's be honest: depression and mental illness can be a complicated discussion for many Christians. Simply put: Bible is the top authority for a Christian's life and practice of faith. So Christians should naturally want to inquire what the bible say about depression--does it speak to it? And does Jesus Christ say anything about depression? What does the Christian community say about depression? And what does my own understanding say about depression?

Allow me to posit that depression, anxiety, and mental health issues are sometimes exacerbated by misunderstanding (or worse) via Bible verses related to humanity's emotional well-being. Sometimes this can be the misunderstanding of others and their instance on their own right understanding. But sometimes that's due to a misunderstanding of Bible verses too.

The gist of the debate is this: some Christians view depression as a symptom of sin. Meaning that turning to a life free of sin under Christ will result in a joy-filled life, thus giving you the ability to overcome depression. The other side of the coin is this: that depression is a physical disorder and that God gave (out of God's goodness) physical remedies (medicines) for those who experience it, in order to grant them physical and mental rest.

Like every dichotomy, the answer is probably somewhere in the middle. In any case, my hope and prayer for you is that you can find a trusted Christian who loves Jesus and can express God's love for you in a healthy and life-giving way.

What Does the Bible Say About Depression and Anxiety?

John Mark Comer wrote a book in 2012 titled My Name is Hope: Anxiety, depression, and life after melancholy. The book flap alone includes some compelling and startling statistics:

Staggering numbers of modern Americans fight anxiety and depression on a daily basis. In 2010, there were 253 million prescriptions for antidepressants in the U.S. alone. That's in a nation of 311 million people. And the battle is nothing new. My Name is Hope is the story of one follower of Jesus who went through the horrors of anxiety and depression and came out the other side. It is his ruthlessly authentic and scripturally authoritative account of prophets and poets, mothers and fathers, and even a Messiah who all came up against anxiety and depression.

With obvious relevance and prophetic resonance, My Name is Hope speaks needed truth into the over-stressed, over-medicated reality of our lives and culture. It is a book that will awaken and guide many towards a return home to the hope that is ours in Jesus.

Let's run through a quick Bible study for those who have experienced depression and want to experience God's peace.

Joy and Happiness are NOT the Same Thing

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” —Philippians 4:4

You might be happy about something, but you are not going to be continually happy forever. Happiness is great, but we can get happiness from many things, even earthly things. Joy, on the other hand, is a long-lasting state of being. Joy is promised by God and something we should strive towards. Being able to tell the difference between these two things might mean the difference between compounding your situational depression with feelings of guilt and shame. In other words, in the Christian mindset, it is possible to feel depressed and yet supernaturally by faith know that the joy of the Lord Jesus Christ can also be with you. The spiritual emotion of joy is not tied to the physical reality of depression or any other symptoms of depression.

In trying to think through this somewhat confusing concept let us look to David. In Psalms, he writes:

1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
    his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
    let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the Lord with me;
    let us exalt his name together.

(Psalm 34:1-3 NIV)

The opening of Psalm 34 shows David giving praise to God...and that you are invited to join him. Do not suffer alone. Let those who are afflicted join a Christian community where they can exalt the Lord together. The last part of the same Psalm reads:

17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
    not one of them will be broken.

(Psalm 34:17-18 NIV)

After inviting the reader to join him even when they are afflicted (Biblical-speak for depressed) in praising God, David ends by saying that God is with them. The Holy Spirit is walking alongside you. The merciful Father upholds you. He will deliver you.

Sometimes people read the above verse and say, "Yeah but the Bible verses you just pointed out say that The Lord upholds and gives life and perfect peace to those who are righteous. That counts me out! Thanks for the try though."

Listen, friend, the beauty of faith in Christ Jesus is that your righteousness is not based on you. When you express your faith that Christ is the Lord your God then you have His righteousness and not your own. You have it already. And because you have it this Bible verse and Bible verses like it apply to you, full stop. Remember the old adage: The Bible wasn't written about you but to you.

We often think something like, "Things are going my way! Therefore I must be living rightly! and/or Things are bad. I must be a terrible sinner." Your life circumstances, including your depression (and any other trouble), do not mean that you do not have Christ's righteousness. How else could you have righteous people who are "crushed in spirit" or "have many troubles" or "brokenhearted"? Karma doesn't work. That's bad theology my friend. You can be a Christian and be brokenhearted at the same time. Nevertheless, my soul will praise the Lord.

God Can Turn Your Anxiety and Depression into Something Good

“We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” —Romans 8:28

Suffering causes our focus to turn inward, to face those parts of ourselves we might otherwise ignore. God can use suffering then to develop us into better people: the people who can love and enjoy Him forever.

Depression and faith feel like oil and water sometimes, but God's interaction with your intense feelings can make all the difference. In fact, James 1 says:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." --James 1:2-4

This means that your trouble may be a good thing. We already talked about the concept of joy being different than happiness so James can't be saying that you should feel a particular emotion when going through a difficult bout of depression. He is saying that you should "consider" it joy. Consider means that your rational mind is engaged not your emotional center. You have to intellectually remind yourself that you will make it through such things and become more perseverant. And you know that making it through your own trouble will give you a more credible voice to help others through the same or similar trouble. You can help someone else find peace because you have had trouble. Recall Psalm 34. Invite others to join you in praising God. You might help someone else find life.

The Enemy is Using These Against You

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” —Ephesians 6:12

Oh by the way, don't forget that there is someone out there who is actively trying to make it worse. A spiritual enemy who wants your downfall. There are several Bible verses about this and it is possible that you may be under attack. An interesting bit of spiritual judo that I have seen the enemy use on Christians is that they begin to hyper-focus on their own spiritual battle. This also makes them ineffective as Christians and although the spiritual battle is real you shouldn't get too distracted by it. Even Michael the Archangel who was in spiritual battle with Satan called on the name of the Lord"

"But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” --Jude 9

This brings us to the next Bible verse consideration on the matter of depression.

You Are Never Alone

“For a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”—Hebrews 4:15

Meditate on that: Christ Jesus, the Lord your God, is praying for you. He is a great High Priest and he holds you before our heavenly Father. He asks for those who are heavy laden to come to him for peace and that he will bring you peace. Cast all your anxieties on Him because he cares for you.

And guess what!

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." --Romans 8:38-39

You are not alone. Jesus knows what it is like to be heavy laden (Matthew 26:38-40), he passed through the trial, he became the High Priest and prays for us, and will never leave us or forsake us. The total package is all in one, amen.

Does the Bible Say It's Okay to Take Medicine for Our Mental Health?

Now we come to the very physical reality of clinical depression and physical conditions. As someone with family members who struggle with this, I can tell you that I am grateful for professional help. There is a very real physical reality that we live in. Christians are unique in word religion in that we are very affirming of the physical body.

One of the ways that God shows us that he cares for our mental health is by providing us with the things we need: perhaps a great therapist, access to medication, time with Him, a good support system, a community of believers, or all of the above. Loving God with our minds can mean utilizing some of the things he provides. The Center | Does God care about my mental health? (thecentercounseling.org)

Let the authority of Scripture speak:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” --Gen 1:1, 27-28

God created the physical universe. He created your physical body. When we encounter physical things in the physical universe we can rest assured that God's good word applies. This isn't to say that all things physical are permissible there are ways to misuse the physical universe that God has given us. But medicine taken to correct a physical problem is well within the limits of the creativity and creation that God has given to humans to subdue.

So, step out in faith against depression and combat it with everything you can. Utilize spiritual disciplines, and in all your ways, acknowledge Him and trust in the mighty hand of God to bring you to eternal life in all of life's circumstances.

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