“Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O Lord.  Lord, hear my voice!” (Psalm 130:1-2)

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

“You call yourself a Christian and you are depressed.  What’s wrong with you?”

Sound familiar? If some actual person has not said that to you, perhaps that little voice inside you–the one that loves to call attention to your failures and pretenses–has beaten you over the head with those words.

Surely we who are the redeemed in Christ and thus more than conquerors should live on top of circumstances at all times and radiate joy 24/7, right?

Why then,  are we sometimes depressed?

Does it help to know we have lots of company?

Some of the finest people who have ever trod the Christian path have dealt with depression on a regular basis. Whether we call it the blues, the dumps, melancholy, or, as Winston Churchill referred to it, his “black dog,” God’s people can be depressed also.

The grandma said to the teenager, “Trials and suffering are not par for the course, honey. They are the course.”

To be sure, the believer’s suffering often takes the form of shipwrecks, temptations, persecutions, and official harassment.  Then, there are the trials common to all people: disease, financial struggles, relationship problems, and tragedies.

We understand those and as a rule, find ways to deal with them.

But what if our suffering is faceless and nameless, impossible to identify or quantify, but simply a heavy darkness that settles over our spirits and refuses to yield to spiritual warfare tactics?

Anglican minister J. B. Phillips, who gave us the wonderful Phillips New Testament so popular throughout the last generation, fought depression throughout his life.

His contemporary, British minister Leslie Weatherhead, dealt with the same malady. The two used to exchange letters on the subject.

Missionary stateswoman Elizabeth Elliot, author of a library-full of outstanding Christian books and famously the widow of Jim Elliot, slain by the Auca Indians in 1956, has had her own bouts with depression. She has written about these and has spoken freely as to how she deals with them and what Christians are to make of such heavy and dark times.

Arguably the greatest statesman of the 20th century, Winston Churchill fought with depression much of his life. A friend said, “He went from the top of the wheel of confidence to the bottom of intense depression.”  His way of dealing with what might later be diagnosed as manic-depression or a bipolar condition, was to work through it.

Likewise, the greatest statesman of the 19th century, President Abraham Lincoln, was said by his contemporaries to be profoundly melancholy and to have been suicidal on more than one occasion.

J. B. Phillips‘ depression, according to his biographers, seems to have been rooted in his harsh upbringing. His father, never satisfied with anything the son did, turned him into a perfectionist. Since no one can be perfect in this world, Phillips lived with a steady barrage of self-recrimination for his shortcomings, a fear of failure, and eventually a fear of criticism of any type. No amount of psychiatric counseling or the support of family and friends seems to have made a difference other than for short periods.

To his credit, Phillips did not give in to the fears or the guilt.  He turned out a great deal of work, which could itself be tied to the demons tormenting him. In his drive not to be ordinary, but to rise above it, his parish work went well–as it should, when the minister is driving himself 24/7–and he published a large number of books. Then, when the books were selling well and thus bringing in sufficient income to live on, Phillips resigned his church to devote himself to a life of writing and accepting invitations to speak at conferences in the US and well as the UK. Yet, the depression continued.

Since Phillips was indeed “not ordinary,” by constantly thinking through the matters which made his life miserable and how this related to the Christian faith he held so strongly, he produced the kind of well-thought-out writings on the Christian faith that compare favorably with those by his friend C. S. Lewis.

The biography of J. B. Phillips is appropriately called “The Wounded Healer” (authors were his widow Vera Phillips and his minister friend Edwin Robertson) because this is what he became. Through his correspondence and books, Phillips ministered to people going through their own darkness. One of his friends wrote to him, “There is no way out; only a way forward.” That “way forward” was: “Go on in faith.”  That is, believe that God is in control, working in all this for His glory, and has a purpose in it.  So, keep on breathing, live another day, do whatever your hand finds to do.

Do we find that helpful? Some will, I pray.  It’s the truth.

Leslie Weatherhead wrote J. B. Phillips that “I went through (a similar) hell thirty years ago. I had over two hundred hours of analysis and finally emerged, but it took years. If there is any possible way I could help I would do anything I could.”  Weatherhead then suggests certain medications which were new for that time.  (Sometimes medicines help. These too should be seen as gifts from a benevolent Father, and used wisely.)

Both Phillips and Weatherhead found comfort in knowing that “Christ faced agonies and evils both at the temptation and at the Garden. He was not rescued, but was given strength to go through with it.”  And, as Phillips pointed out to his friend, “Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things,” a reference to I John 3:20).

Elizabeth Elliot has written that when the dark depression lay heavily upon her and she found it impossible to make plans for the rest of the day, her technique was simply to “do the next thing.” She might sweep a floor or iron a shirt, then ask, “What is next?” and do that.  At the end of the day, she had not given in to the depression, but had accomplished a great deal.

Mrs. Elliot said, “Christianity deals head-on with suffering, in contrast with Buddhism and Hinduism which offer a nirvana in which a person rids himself of all feelings in order to desire nothing. The Christian message is as different as it’s possible to be.  Christ Himself suffered. The symbol of our faith is an emblem of suffering.”

Asked what she tells people who are going through their own dark depression, Mrs. Elliot answered, “God is there. He has a loving purpose.  He will turn it into joy if we offer it to Him.”

She added, “The Apostle Paul told the Philippians ‘it has been granted to you not only to believe in Jesus but also to suffer for Him.’ (Philippians 1:29) Suffering is a gift. We should accept it, thank God for it, and offer it to Him.”

We offer this for whatever it is worth with the prayer that you will know you are not alone, you are traveling in good company, that God is alongside you, and that He will be faithful in all He has promised.

Try to get through one more day.