Day 6: Remedies for Depression

Some people choose the worst ways to counter depression, including leaning on substances to numb the pain. Let me suggest three helpful remedies, all of which include a replacement, taking something out and exchanging it for something else. First, replace your thoughts with God’s truth; second, replace yourself with your God; and third, replace your past with your future. Spiritual depression tends to exchange each of those in reverse order—we replace our future with our past, our God with ourselves, and His truth with our thoughts—so these remedies hinge on restoring the proper order of things.

First, replace your thoughts with God’s truth. Did you notice that the sons of Korah in these two psalms talked to themselves? Three times they said, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you disquieted within me?” It’s like they were saying, Hey, you in there, soul, I’m talking to you. And what did they recommend to themselves? “Hope in God” (Psalm 42:5, 11; 43:5). According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, “Most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself.”

The New Testament calls this taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. As soon as you hear the chatter in your head, stop it. Replace your thoughts with His truth. Look to see what the Bible says about your situation—how others cried out to God and were heard, how much God loves you, how He gives us light for our darkness—and let those verses inform the way you approach your life.

Second, replace yourself with your God. It's human nature to be self-absorbed in suffering, but at some point, you need to bring God into the picture. That’s what the psalmists did when they wrote, “The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me—a prayer to the God of my life. I will say to God my Rock, ‘Why have you forgotten me?’” (Psalm 42:8-9).

They were admitting how they felt, but they were saying it to the Lord. “Have You forgotten about me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of my enemy?” (see Psalm 42:9). They shifted their focus from inward to upward. You might say that your outlook is determined by your up look. The sons of Korah looked up.

Third, replace your past with your future. Psalm 43 is all about forgetting the past and looking ahead. Paul later echoed this sentiment in his letter to the Philippians: “I do not count myself to have apprehended”—I don’t pretend to understand everything that has happened—“but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead” (Philippians 3:13).

To underscore this truth, read Revelation 21 and 22. That’s your future, and it is glorious. “God will wipe away every tear…there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying” (Revelation 21:4). Whatever has happened in your past is your past. It cannot be changed. But God can use everything you’re going through now to build your faith, to encourage others, and to prepare you for glory in eternity. Replace your past with your future, and God will help you in the present.

For Further Thought

Which of the three spiritual remedies mentioned may be out of order in your life? Talk with a trusted Christian friend or counselor who can help you figure out the next step in getting that priority in line.