Scriptures on "Depression"
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See Also: Anxiety/Worry Dissatisfaction Grief Guilt/Shame Help Hopeless Self-Esteem, Low Sleep Problems Sorrow Strength Thinking, Unhealthy Weakness
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Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God. (Psalm 43:5)
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. ( Psalm 62:5) Anyone who is among the living has hope. (Ecclesiastes 9:4) Everything is possible for him who believes. (Mark 9:23) The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18) Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. (Isaiah 53:4) He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3) The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. (Psalm 145:14) The Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials. (2 Peter 2:9) **Copyright, 2002, Brian Campbell (Permission is granted to copy for personal use only.) |
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DEPRESSIONArticle by: Dr. Brian Campbell, from: "
Godly Counsel: Scriptures to live by."
“But as
for me, I will always have hope
;
I will
praise you more and more.”
(Psalm 71:14)
Depression
: a
pessimistic state of mind that affects
thoughts,
emotions, and behavior
Depression
is one of the most common mental health problems in the entire
world. People who are depressed feel sad, blue, or
downhearted. They have lost their energy for life, and
feel hopeles
s,
helpless
,
worthless,
and guilty. Fortunately, God’s Word is filled with
inspiration for people who are feeling depressed.
Synopsis
Hopeless:
One of the triggers for depression is the false belief that your
situation is hopeless
.
If you are a
Christian, this is a lie that is contradicted throughout the
Bible.
If you are feeling hopeless
about life, try turning
to God’s Word for guidance
and direction.
Everything written in the Bible was written to teach and
encourage so that we might have hope
.1,2
For everything that was written in the past was written to
teach us, so that through endurance and the
encouragement of the Scriptures
we might have hope
.
(Romans 15:4)1
You are my refuge
and my shield;
I have put my hope
in your word.
(Psalm 119:114)2
Throughout the Bible, we are reminded that God alone is the
source of our hope
.3 In fact, the
Scriptures
refer to God as the “God of hope
.”4
When Jesus Christ died on the cross and was raised from the
dead, He became a living hope
for all of us.5 Because of Christ’s sacrifice, we can
now rest in the assurance that when we die, this is not the end
of life, but only the beginning of eternity with Christ Jesus.6
If you are feeling downcast and gloomy about life, step back and
put things in perspective
.7 Put your hope
in God’s promise of His
glorious inheritance—eternal salvation and life ever
after in heaven
.8 The Lord is good to those who place their hope
in Him—to the one who seeks Him.9 If you are feeling hopeless
, turn back to God. 
Find rest,
O my soul, in God alone; my hope
comes from him.
(Psalm 62:5)3
May the
God of hope
fill you
with all joy
and peace
as you
trust
in him, so that you may overflow with hope
by
the power
of the Holy Spirit
.
(Romans 15:13)4
Praise be
to the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus
Christ!
In his
great mercy he has given us new birth into a living
hope
through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
(1 Peter 1:3)5
God has
given us eternal life
, and this life is in his Son.
(1 John 5:11)6
Why are
you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed
within me? Put your hope
in God, for
I will yet praise him,
my Savior
and my God.
(Psalm 43:5)7
I pray
also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in
order that
you may know the hope
to which he
has called you,
the riches
of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his
incomparably great power for us who believe.
(Ephesians 1:18-19)8
The
Lord
is good to those whose hope
is in him,
to the one
who seeks him.
(Lamentations 3:25)9
Regardless of your current situation, God’s plans
are for you to prosper and to have hope
.10
If you put your hope
in God, you will never
be disappointed,11 or put to shame.12
Be patient in your afflictions and faithful in prayer.13
Even if you are suffering, this experience can help develop
character and ultimately lead to hope
,14 as you rest in God’s unfailing love.15
As you turn to God for hope
, be careful that you don’t listen to the “false hopes” given by
the world.16 Watch what you say to yourself. Refuse
to tell yourself your situation is hopeless
,17 and don’t focus
space 
“For I
know the plans
I have for you,”
declares the
Lord,
“plans
to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans
to give you hope
and a
future.”
(Jeremiah 29:11)10
Those who
hope
in me will
not be disappointed.
(Isaiah 49:23)11
No one
whose hope
is in you
will ever be put to shame.
(Psalm 25:3)12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
But we
also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that
suffering
produces perseverance; perseverance, character;
and
character, hope
.
(Romans 5:3)14
May your
unfailing love rest upon us,
O
Lord,
even as we put our hope
in you.
(Psalm 33:22)15
This is
what the
Lord
Almighty says: “Do not listen to what
the
prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with
false
hopes. They speak visions from their own minds,
not from
the mouth of the
Lord.
(Jeremiah 23:16)16
You were
wearied by all your ways, but you would not say,
“It is
hopeless
.” You
found renewal of your strength
,
and so you
did not faint.
(Isaiah 57:10)17
on your afflictions—focus on the Lord’s compassion and love.18
God knows your needs; you have not been forgotten.19
In the final analysis, only those who do not know God should
feel hopeless
.20,21
For Christians, there is always hope
.22,23
“But those who hope
in the
Lord
will renew their strength
.
They will soar on
wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will
walk and not be faint.”
(Isaiah 40:31)
Helpless:
If you are feeling helpless
or powerless, turn to
the Lord and His strength
.24 Remember that you have the Creator of the
universe on your side.25 He is the God who
performs miracles
and displays His power
among the people.26 Nothing is too hard for
God.27
I remember
my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness
and the
gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast
within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope
:
Because of
the
Lord’s
great love we are not consumed,
for his
compassions never fail.
(Lamentations 3:19-22)18
But the
needy will not always be forgotten,
nor the hope
of the afflicted ever perish.
(Psalm 9:18)19
Such is
the destiny of all who forget God;
so
perishes the hope
of the
godless.
(Job 8:13)20
When a
wicked man dies, his hope
perishes;
all he
expected from his power comes to nothing.
(Proverbs 11:7)21
But as for
me, I will always have hope
;
I will
praise you more and more.
(Psalm 71:14)22
There is
surely a future hope
for you
and your
hope
will not be
cut off.
(Proverbs 23:18)23
Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.28
The Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials.29
If you are feeling helpless
, try turning to God; the prayers of a righteous
man are powerful and
effective.30 If we ask anything in God’s name,
He promises to provide.31
Worthless:
If you are feeling worthless,
consider that you are
made in God’s image,32,33 and that God loves you more
than you can ever know or understand.34,35
It is God who arms me with strength
and makes my way perfect.
(Psalm 18:32)24
In his hand is the life of every creature and the
breath of all mankind.
(Job 12:10)25
You are the God who performs miracles
;
you display your power among the peoples.
(Psalm 77:14)26
Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and
the earth by your great power and outstretched
arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
(Jeremiah 32:17)27
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
(Ephesians 6:10)28
The Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials.
(2 Peter 2:9)29
The prayer of a righteous
man is powerful and
effective.
(James 5:16)30
I tell you the truth
, my Father will give you
whatever you ask in my name.
(John 16:23)31
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he
created him; male and female he created them.
(Genesis 1:27)32
God is our Heavenly Father,36 and we are His
offspring.37 He has made us “a little lower than the
heavenly beings,” and He crowns
us with glory and honor.38
He counts the very hairs on our heads.39 When
we follow His commandments, Jesus Christ, who holds the keys to
eternal life
, even calls us His “friend.”40
And just
as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man,
so shall
we bear the likeness of the man from heaven
.
(1 Corinthians 15:49)33
How
precious is your unfailing love!
(Psalm 36:7)34
I will
sing of the
Lord’s
great love forever.
(Psalm 89:1)35
O
Lord,
you are our Father.
We are the clay,
you are
the potter.
(Isaiah 64:8)36
We are his
offspring.
(Acts 17:28)37
You made
him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and
crowned him with glory and honor.
(Psalm 8:5)38
Indeed,
the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
(Luke 12:7)39
You are my
friends if you do what I command.
I no longer
call you
servants, because a servant
does not know his
master’s
business. Instead,
I have called you friends,
for
everything that I learned from my Father
I have
made known to you.
(John 15:14-15)40
Has not
God chosen those who are poor in the eyes
of the
world to be rich in faith
and to inherit
the
kingdom promised those who love him?
(James 2:5)41
You don’t have to be rich or successful to be worthy
in God’s
eyes,41-43 and you don’t have to be perfect.44
Everyone sins,45 and
everyone makes mistakes.46 If you have broken
God’s commands, repent47 and turn back to God.48
He will receive you with open arms.49
Joyless:
People with depression have a difficult time experiencing joy
and happiness. They have convinced themselves that there is nothing at all
in this world in which to be happy
.
No matter what
happens in their lives, they tend to look at the world “through
dark colored glasses,” and focus on the negative aspects of
their experiences.
Wealth is
worthless in the day of wrath
but
righteousness delivers from death.
(Proverbs 11:4)42
Whoever
trusts in his riches
will fall,
but the
righteous
will thrive like a green leaf.
(Proverbs 11:28)43
There is
not a righteous
man on earth who does
what is
right and never sins.
(Ecclesiastes 7:20)44
For all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
(Romans 3:23)45
No one is good except God alone.
(Mark 10:18)46
Come back
to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning.
(1 Corinthians 15:34)47
Let him
turn to the
Lord,
and he will have mercy on him,
and to our
God, for he will freely pardon.
(Isaiah 55:7)48
The
eternal God is your refuge
, and
underneath
are the
everlasting arms.
(Deuteronomy 33:27)49
Christians who are joyless have lost perspective
in life.
They have let their own inadequacies or their own
experiences blind them from the truth
of the gospel and the
source of all joy
—our relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, with
God the Father who sent Him, and with the Holy Spirit
who dwells within us.
As Christians, there are plenty of things about which to be
joyful
.
If you are
depressed and find it difficult experiencing joy
, try meditating on God’s incredible love for you.50,51
Not only did God send His son to die for us, He sent the
Holy Spirit
to testify that we are
His children.52
The God of the universe created us and gave us life.53 We can rejoice in that fact and be glad for every day that
God has given us on this planet.54,55
As the
Father has loved me, so have I loved you.
Now remain
in my love.
(John 15:9)50
May the
Lord direct your hearts into God’s love
and
Christ’s perseverance.
(2 Thessalonians 3:5)51
The Spirit
himself testifies with our spirit that
we are
God’s children.
(Romans 8:16)52
For in him
we live and move and have our being.
(Acts 17:28)53
I will
praise you forever for what you have done.
(Psalm 52:9)54
This is
the day the
Lord
has made;
let us
rejoice and be glad in it.
(Psalm 118:24)55
Be joyful
always, pray
continuously, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is
God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)56
Regardless of what has happened to us, we can still be joyful56
and give thanks to the Lord for what He has done.57
Sing joyfully to the Lord,58 sing praise to
Him; tell of all His wonderful acts.59
Energyless:
People who
are depressed often feel weak and energyless. They have lost their zeal and enthusiasm for life.
They find it difficult to “get going” and get things
done.
If you are
feeling weak and depleted in energy, turn to God for help. He
gives strength
to the weary, and increases the power of the weak.60
Draw on
His strength
, and seek
His help.61 If you are weary and burdened, He invites
you to come to Him to find rest.62 Pray for God to
refresh your heart.63
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
(Psalm 136:1)57
Sing
joyfully to the
Lord, you
righteous
;
it is
fitting for the upright to praise him.
(Psalm 33:1)58
Sing to him,
sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
(Psalm 105:2)59
He gives strength
to the weary and
increases
the power of the weak.
(Isaiah 40:29)60
Look to the Lord
and his strength
; seek his face always.
(Psalm 105:4)61
Come to me, all you who are weary and
burdened,
and I will give you rest.
(Matthew 11:28)62
Refresh my heart in Christ.
(Philemon 1:20)63
Once you
have been re-energized (or even if you are still feeling tired),
one of the best things you can do to help yourself is to “get
up” and “take action.”
If you are physically able, start taking walks and
getting exercise; remember, your body is the temple of God, and
you should take care of it.64
To the
extent that you are physically able, go and help someone;
helping others will serve to get your mind off your own
problems. God does
not want us to simply talk about our faith
—He wants
to see it in action.65,66
Regardless of how tired you may feel, you can always find
some way to reach out and help others. By so doing, you will be
showing God’s love67 and helping yourself at the same
time.68
Guilty:
People who are depressed often feel that they have committed
some horrible act for which they can never be forgiven.
As a result, their guilt
is overwhelming. This
is one of the biggest lies they can believe.
Apart from
the special case of blasphemy, the Bible tells us that there is
absolutely nothing that God will not forgive if we confess
our
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit
,
who is in you, whom you have received from God?
You are
not your own; you were bought at a price.
Therefore honor God with your body.
(1 Corinthians 6:19-20)64
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue
but with actions and in truth
.
(1 John 3:18)65
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.
Do what it says.
(James 1:22)66
Love
one another deeply, from
the heart.
(1
Peter 1:22)67
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another,
God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
(1
John 4:12)68
our sin and repent
. Everyone who believes in Christ receives forgivenes
s of sins through His name.69
If you believe in Christ, there is no longer any condemnation for
sin70—none whatsoever!
This is precisely why Christ came to this earth to die for
us, so that we could be reconciled with God.
He laid down His life for us to take away our sins,71
so that we could live forever with Him in heaven
.
If you have sinned, there may certainly be unpleasant consequences
in this world for what you have done.72
A man reaps what he sows.73 Fortunately, if you
are a Christian, the consequences of your sin will not block your
entrance to heaven
.74,75
After
all, Christ came to this earth to save sinners,
just like you and me.76
Everyone who believes in him
receives forgiveness
through his name.
(Acts 10:43)69
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the
Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
(Romans 8:1-2)70
I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd
lays down his life for the sheep.
(John 10:11)71
There will be trouble and distress for
every human being who does evil
.
(Romans 2:9)72
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.
A man reaps what he sows.
(Galatians 6:7)73
God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(Romans 5:8)74
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
not counting men’s sins against them.
(2 Corinthians 5:19)75
Try not to dwell on any wrongs you may have committed. Instead, confess
your sins and then turn them
over to God—knowing that they will never be counted against you.77
If you have harmed someone, take time to confess
your sin to him or her.78
Then, as far as possible, take
any action you can that will lead to peace and restoration of the
relationship.79,80 If
you are blocked from taking action, then pray for the person you
have offended,81 and ask for God’s wisdom
and guidance
on how to proceed.
Finally, when you commit a sin
you “grieve the Holy Spirit
” who lives within you.82 Therefore,
it is only natural that you will experience temporary sorrow
and guilt
for what you have done.
However, your guilt
should be short-lived, as
you move on to accept the
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and are justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
(Romans 3:23-24)76
If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and
just and will forgive
us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
(1 John 1:9)77
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other
so that you may be healed.
(James 5:16)78
Let us therefore make every effort to what leads
to peace and to mutual edification.
(Romans 14:19)79
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you,
live at peace with everyone.
(Romans 12:18)80
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions
with all kinds of prayers and requests.
(Ephesians 6:18)81
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit
of God,
with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
(Ephesians 4:30)82
awesome gift of forgiveness
that was paid in full by
Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.83
He himself
bore our sins in his body on the tree,
so that we
might die to sins and live for righteousness;
by his wounds
we have been healed.
(1 Peter 2:24)83
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