“Finding God when you are:

Troubled and depressed”

Psalm 77

“Depression is as old as human history. The Bible has many examples of people struggling with despondency and despair. In his depression and fatigue, Elijah asked for his life to be taken. Jonah felt deeply despondent after God did not destroy Nineveh. Jeremiah regretted the day he was born. Job’s wife advised him to curse God and die in the midst of the suffering and pain. Well-known church leaders like Martin Luther, John Bunyan, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and J.B. Phillips struggled with depression and so did political leaders such as Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln.

Depression is no respecter of persons. It has been called the common cold of emotional disorders, and it appears to be on the rise. In the United States it is one of the most prevalent and serious mental disorders, affecting about 20 percent of the population at some time in their lives. People of both genders get depressed, although women are twice as likely as men to suffer from major depressive and dysthymic disorders.”

Life Lessons from Psalm 77:

Cry Out to God (v.1-3)
Recall Past Blessings (v.4-6)
Ask God the Hard Questions (v.7-9)
Choose to Redirect Your Thoughts (v.10-12)
Magnify God to Diminish Your Problems (v.13-18)
Trust God to Be Your Deliverer (v.19-20)

An Action Plan to Overcome Depression:

Examine Your Thinking:

Do you recognize that it is normal to feel depressed now and then?

Is your focus on the pressure / problems you’re experiencing; or on your response to those pressures / problems?

Examine Your Behavior:

Are you choosing positive or negative responses to your depression?

Have you willfully stopped to recall God’s blessings in your past?

Examine Your Future:

Can the God who did so much in your past handle what you are facing today?

Is there a specific, positive step you could take to thank God or to help someone else in order to demonstrate your confidence in God’s love for you?