Depression Flashcards
Jeremiah 15:16-19
When I discovered your words, I devoured them.
They are my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
17 I never joined the people in their merry feasts.
I sat alone because your hand was on me.
I was filled with indignation at their sins.
18 Why then does my suffering continue?
Why is my wound so incurable?
Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook,
like a spring that has gone dry.”
19 This is how the Lord responds:
“If you return to me, I will restore you
so you can continue to serve me.
If you speak good words rather than worthless ones,
you will be my spokesman.
You must influence them;
do not let them influence you!
Biblical terms for depression
Though most English Bible translations don’t use the word depression, mentions of sadness, being downcast, despair, and hopelessness appear throughout. Such feelings, when amplified, lead to depression.
The more the feelings of sadness increase, the more hope decreases.
Why not use the term depression?
The term depression tends to rob people from their personal responsibillity. It makes people think of depressio as something they have, instead of something they do
What is sadness
A response to disapointment, either to loss, or to unmet expectations
David’s Dispair
His of his sons (2 Sam 12:16; 18:33),
he felt grief over his sin (Psalms 6; 32),
and he was in despair as he fled from his attackers (Psalm 69).
Jeremiahs Dispair
Jeremiah (Jer 20:14, 18),
Job’s Dispair
Job 3:26
Job 17
elijah’s Dispair
Godly Elijah (1 Kgs 19:4),
Biblical Descriptors for sadness
Ps 143:4, “My spirit is weak within me; my heart is overcome with dismay,”
Ps 102:4, “My heart is suffering, withered like grass; I even forget to eat.”
Ps 6:6: “I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping”
Is Sadness Sinful?
No
Since God experiences sadness (over sin) and our emotions as image bearers flow from his, we also experience sadness.
Yet despair and hopelessness, magnifications of sadness, don’t mark God’s character. When Jesus experienced sadness, he did not grieve with despair. In other words, God does not “get depressed.” So, while we can understand the proper place of sadness over sin and loss, we must also acknowledge that sadness is not always sinless.
Dispair and Hopelessness is sinful. As our sadness intensifies, and our functioning decreases, so does the potential for sin
Depression is a whole person reponse that include Thoughts, feelings and behaviours, expressions, and physical symptoms
Thoughts: Suicide, Worthlessness, Helpless, Hoplessness
Feelings: sadness, emptiness, gloominess, melancholy, muted emotions, despair, hopelessness, suffering, unwillingness to function, loss of interest, apathy, fail to find pleasure in the things they enjoy, guilt, worthlessness, debillitation
Behaviours: isolation, lack of self-care
physical symptoms: muscle pains, fatigue, tirendess, exhaustion, loss of energy, decreased physcial activity, lack of appitite, sleeplessness. changes in sleep patterns and weight, struggling to concente or focus
Verbal descriptions: a heavy cloud that is difficult to lift or see through, a deep pit they are unable to climb out of, or a tunnel with no light at the end.
What is depression?
It is more than just a deep sadness; it is an intense sense of being downcast. It makes people feel they have little hope, little energy, and little motivation or ability to pull themselves out. It is, then, deep sadness paired with intense suffering. A sufferer might feel like David did in Ps 6:6: “I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping” (NIV).
Primary Scriptures for Depression
Psalm 34
Lamentation 3:19-24
James 1:2-4
Examples of Sinful Sadness
Cain in Gen 4:1–7. Cain is “despondent” because God does not accept his wrong offering. A close read reveals that his heart is the problem that led to his sadness. Soberingly, when he rejects God’s answer to his sadness, murder soon follows.
in Luke 24:13–24, who were discouraged on the road to Emmaus after the death of Jesus. They were downcast (v. 17 NIV) because their picture of who the Messiah would be seemingly had gone unfulfilled (v. 21). Their hearts were focused on their own understanding of the Savior rather than on who Jesus had already declared himself to be. Thankfully, Jesus addressed their remnant unbelief, revealing himself to them from the Scriptures and in breaking bread with them, restoring their hope and joy in him as their Messiah (Luke 24:25–53).
Job and the Entitlement to an explanation for our suffering
