Do Christians get Depressed? You Better Believe It!

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• Can a Christian get depressed? Yes, me for one!
• My own experience of depression opened my eyes
• There can be substantial healing here,
• A Bruised and Broken Christian...

Can a Christian get depressed? Yes, me for one!

What, not "happy, happy, happy all the time, time, time"? No. God never promises that in the Bible. Everyone, regardless of their beliefs, are to some extent bruised and broken by the historic space-time fall, with its cursing of every aspect of life. See The Glory, Dignity and Dislocation of Man

My own experience of depression opened my eyes

to the number of people in the Bible who suffered it too. Here are some:-

• Moses "kill me at once, if I find favour in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness." Numbers 11:15
• David - Psalm 22:14 "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax, it is melted within my breast" (and Jesus Himself used the first words of David's poem while hanging on the cross - "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?")
• Solomon - Ecclesiastes 2:11 "Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after the wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun."
• The writers of Psalm 42 "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?" and Psalm 88 "For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol".
• Elijah - 1 Kings 19:4 "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers."
• Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
• Paul the apostle - 2 Corinthians 1:8 "For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself."

There can be substantial healing here,

but not, I think, 100%. Not yet. But those who cast themselves upon Jesus will be healed at the last; "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." Revelation 21:4

A Bruised and Broken Christian...

A bruised and broken Christian is 'bout all you'll ever find
The wounds you carry may run deep, and healing takes some time
But be assured that you are loved 
As sure as you are here
As sure as Jesus died for you 
As sure as heaven's near

...and hope is anchored in your soul as you behold the Son
Who went before you in your place and waits for you to come

(from the "Song for the Wealthy Beggar", by Ruth Buchanan)

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