Hi there (Again). I know you’re probably wondering what the title is all about. Well, me too. Initially when God placed this word in my heart, let’s just say the prevailing context was a magnanimous state of confusion. But who is God if not a God of clarity? A phone call here from a special friend (Key operative word here being friend but imma still shout her out anyways because it’s my article and no one can do anything about that, LOL – Just kidding on that last part) and I had a plan, or what I suppose may look like the crust of one.
So my biggest aim of my understanding of the word of God is three fold;
i)To have a well thought out understanding of the Biblical Context of the books/chapters I read.
ii)To understand the persona of God through his word (He is His word after all).
iii)To bring the word of God to life in my time. I firmly believe that the word of God is not only immutable, but also relevant to the context of the present century.
Today I took a very interesting dive, linking the scientifically proven principles of Major Depressive Disorder according to the DSM-V criteria (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)for depression to the people of the Bible. Why you may ask? Because it is mental health month and what better way to tackle head on, the elephant in the room that is depression and show that, like the wise author of Ecclesiastes said, there is nothing new under the sun. But more importantly, to bring home the reality that God isnt just concerned about our minds from a generalistic perspective, but rather knows and fully understand the realities of our existence intricately as it is succinctly put in his word;
Psalms 139:13
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
PS: This article isn’t meant to provide a “roadmap to handling depression”. My experience with God is that he is a potter, an artiste curating the very blank canvas that is our lives as opposed to an Alladin-esque “Genie”.
With that being said, buckle up. And let us begin.
CRITERIA A (I and IV): Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day/Insomnia or hypersomnia.
For those unfamiliar with the clinical lingo, the DSM criteria is a proven diagnostic tool that is used to classify psychiatric disorders. As such, it breaks down psychiatric disorders into classification criteria with specifics that differentiate it from other psychiatric diagnoses. Out of my desire for as much brevity as possible, I will focus on just criteria A for MDD(Major Depressive Disorder) but If you feel studious enough, you can do research on the other criteria.
The first symptom is pretty much self-explanatory. And who better to exemplify the trueness of the existence of this in scripture than David himself??
Psalms 6:6.
[6] I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.
The context of David’s words here are intriguing. He was just in the throws of a potential coup and threat to his life from one of the sons he loved so much, Absalom. And in the midst of his sorrow, he writes such a gut wrenching piece of admission of his anguish at not only the trials, but the overall sense of in-house betrayal at the unfolding events in Psalms 6. Look at his choice of words, “I am worn out from all my groaning… All night long I flood my bed…”. Pretty heavy words with a sense of deja vù with the title right?? I leave that for you to decide.
CRITERIA A (II and VI): MARKEDLY DIMINISHED INTEREST/PLEASURE (ANHEDONIA).
Job 10:1
I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.
If there’s a man who could give a PowerPoint presentation of trials and tribulations it would be Job. I mean who else can boast of being used directly as a wager between God and the devil, so much so that the devil demanded his skin directly? And what Job went through was indescribable agony. To be described as blameless yet go through what he went through is diabolical work if you ask me. As while many like to skip forward to the scene where God gives him double the portion of what he lost (Hindsight truly is 2020 right?), we tend to forget the valley of the in between, when Job didn’t even think he was ever coming out of this season at all, let alone alive. And in Job’s shoes, wouldn’t you lose the very essence of the Joys of life?
CRITERIA A (V): FEELING OF WORTHLESSNESS OR EXCESSIVE GUILT.
Psalms 38:4-5
My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly.
David shows up, again. This time for his sin with Bathsheba and Killing Uriah. It’s funny how David did all this with the arrogant assumption that no one would clock him on it (Sin tends to give a false sense of confidence). So much so when Nathan brings up the parable of the two men and their sheep, David self-righteously declares judgement on the greedy man without knowing that he IS the greedy man being referenced. When the Lord convicts him of his sin, we see a great sense of overwhelming guilt and grief. And it lasts for so long that when his son dies, his officials are afraid of telling him as they assume the news will kill him.
CRITERIA A (VI): Recurrent thoughts of death, recurrent suicidal ideation, a suicide attempt, or a specific plan for suicide.
1 Kings 19:1-4
[1] Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. [2] So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” [3] Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, [4] while he himself went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
Elijah had come from probably the biggest flex of his time; proving Yahwheh’s existence beyond reasonable doubt. You would think this would trigger a wave of “I told you so’s” and reverence in the streets of Israel. And that is where you go wrong. Elijah becomes a wanted man in all of Israel by none other than Jezebel. And if you know anything about Jezebel, she was a woman of her word. If God allowed, she was going to kill Elijah without any hesitation. You can imagine one of Israel’s greatest prophets, one so big that he was shown in Jesus’ transfiguration, ended up in a situation so dire that he considered death as a reprieve to his sorrow. Imagine the levels of distress so hard it overcomes the intricate human desire for self preservation??
Now if you notice in my approach, I have specifically avoided talking about what God did to get the said people through their situations. It was an intentional decision. Reason being, while I believe God has a history that we can use to hold on to in seasons of uncertainty, God’s will for us is like a fingerprint. The basic architecture is similar for all who believe in him (And we must know it and bank on it fully). But the intricate interior design is unique to God and each individual believer. As such, we as believers are called to allow ourselves to be his clay and let his will for us shape us. My aim was to bring the concept of Jesus being our high priest and the Holy Spirit our advocate a little closer to home. Because sometimes we (Including myself from time to time), tend to reiterate such sentiments without fully understanding their gravitas, particularly during seasons of trial. For a high priest to stand in the gap, he needs to understand the sacrifice he is making and who he is making it for. For an advocate to defend, he needs to understand his plaintiff/defendant. And who does that better than our God?
This is a message to anyone who may be going through a season of depression or whose symptoms here ring a little closer to home. When we say God understands, allow me to hold your hand here as I say it; he REALLY REALLY does. Your diagnostic criteria/symptoms/trials are not new to him. Hold the helm of his garment. I don’t know what he will do with your situation. But I assure you, it WILL be for your good.
Adios.