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Overcoming Depression
by Joyce Meyer
Even though we may be singing "Tis the season to be jolly," the truth is, many people could use an emotional lift during this time of year.
You may not be aware of it, but as wonderful as the holiday season can be, it’s also the time when the number of people suffering from depression is at its highest. The fact is, whether it’s the holidays or not, most of us will deal with feelings of depression at some point in our lives. Even King David, a man after God’s own heart, battled depression. But just as God reached down and pulled him up out of a miry pit, He will do the same for you and me.(1)
I had problems with depression myself a long time ago. But, thank God, I learned I didn’t have to allow those negative feelings to rule me. I discovered that God’s cure for my feelings of heaviness was the release of His joy in my life. You too can be set free from depression by learning to release the joy of the Lord in your life. Let’s take a look at some of the things that can cause depression and how to release the joy of God’s gladness as a remedy for sadness.
The Weight of Depression
I believe one of the main causes of depression in our lives is disappointment. Almost all of us become disappointed when things don’t turn out the way we’ve planned or would have liked. Other things that can make us feel depressed are nagging feelings of guilt, ongoing physical illness, the heartbreak of a broken relationship, or spiritual issues we’ve failed to deal with, such as unforgiveness, self-pity or unconfessed sin.
One thing that can really weigh us down during the holiday season is the loss of a loved one. At times of great loss, we are often overwhelmed with feelings of sadness and struggle to find reasons for joy in our lives. Experiencing the comfort and joy of the Lord after someone we love has died—especially during the holidays—is vital to avoid falling into a pit of depression. The extra support from family and friends is a great help, but we must also choose to rejoice in the Lord by focusing on His Word and His truth to sustain us.
Overwhelming debt is another common source of depression that can bring us down during the holidays. When Dave and I were young, we dealt with this issue. There was a time when we ran up our credit cards to the limit, buying things we wanted for our children and for ourselves. We were making minimum payments, but the interest was so high that we never seemed to be able to pay off our cards. You may think it’s a good idea to use credit cards to buy Christmas gifts, but if you’re still paying that debt off months later, it is definitely depressing!
Whatever our reason for being depressed, the devil loves it. He is thrilled when we are weighted down with feelings of heaviness. His goal is to keep us so miserable and hopeless that we’ll never rise up and damage his kingdom. The good news is, God has given you and me a very simple and powerful weapon to keep from being pulled into the pit of depression, and that weapon is the joy of the Lord.
The Power of God's Joy Sets Us Free
Throughout the Bible God instructs His people to rejoice and be filled with joy. For example, Philippians 4:4 says, Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice! When the Lord tells us to do something twice, as He does in this verse, we need to pay special attention to it. What does it mean to rejoice in the Lord? A great example is found in Acts 16:25,26. Here we see Paul and Silas in prison. Not only were they in jail, they had also been beaten and placed in the inner cell with their feet in stocks—now that’s a depressing situation!
What was their response to this seemingly hopeless set of circumstances? The answer begins in verse 25: About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose (NIV). Not only were Paul and Silas set free from their depressing circumstances when they rejoiced in the Lord, but everyone else around them was also set free! The same power that broke the shackles off Paul and Silas is available to you and me today. When we are imprisoned by feelings of heaviness and depression, the key to opening our prison door is rejoicing.
The Presence of God's Joy Is In Us
Now, when we read about Paul and Silas rejoicing in prison after being beaten and placed in chains, we may wonder how they did that. In the same way, when we hear people singing “Joy to the World” around the holidays and we’re feeling depressed, we may wonder how people can do that too. We think, That sounds nice, but how do I rejoice when I am feeling so bad? The truth is, if you and I have a personal relationship with the Lord, His Holy Spirit dwells in us, and joy is a fruit of His Spirit.(2) And if joy is a fruit of His Spirit, and His Spirit is in us, then joy is in us. So we’re not trying to get joy—it’s already there. What we need to do is learn how to release it. How do we release joy? Through simple acts of rejoicing, like smiling, laughing or singing songs to the Lord like Paul and Silas did. When we choose to respond with acts of joy as soon as we start to experience feelings of depression, those feelings cannot stay. In other words, depression can’t gain control of our emotions when we respond to onward feelings of heaviness with outward expressions of joy.
Feelings of heaviness drain us of our strength because they drain us of our joy. Remember, the joy of the Lord is our strength. (3) I believe
maintaining our level of joy is a major key to overcoming depression
because it preserves our level of strength. Now, when I say we need to resist feelings of heaviness with expressions of joy, I’m not saying we can remove depression in our strength and effort. What I am saying is that many times when we don’t feel joyful, we will need to make the choice to rejoice before we start slipping into depression. Eventually our feelings will catch up with the decision of our will.
It’s like priming an old-time water pump by repeatedly moving the handle up and down until the water begins to flow. My grandparents had one of these pumps, and I can still remember standing at the sink in their home as a small child, moving the pump handle up and down and feeling as though the water would never start coming out. It actually felt as if it was connected to nothing, and I was just pumping air.
But, if I didn’t give up, pumping the handle would become harder and harder—a sign that the water would soon start flowing. This is very similar to the way we experience joy. We have a “well of living water” in our spirit. The pump handle to bring it up is acts of joy—smiling, laughing, listening to music, singing, dancing… At first it may not seem to be making a difference in how we feel. And after a while it may seem harder to continue, but if we don't give up, we will soon get a “gusher” of joy that is hard to contain.
Resist Depression by Maintaining Your Joy
While it’s not wrong, or even unusual to experience feelings of depression, it’s not God’s will for us to stay in that condition. Jesus came that we may have and enjoy life…(to the full, till it overflows).(4) The good news is, Jesus can heal and deliver us from depression in the same way He can set us free from any other sickness or problem we may encounter.
No matter what the cause of our sadness, Jesus will lead us to victory when we choose to rejoice in Him. As soon as we feel disappointed, we must resist it and say to ourselves, I better do something about this before it gets any worse. Then, we need to begin “priming the pump” of joy in our lives with outward expressions of joy in the Lord.
I encourage you not to give in to feelings of depression during this holiday season. Instead, let it be a time to focus on why Jesus came. Isaiah 61 says He came to preach the Good News—to heal the brokenhearted…to open prison doors…to give us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a heavy, burdened and failing spirit. As soon as you feel the enemy come against you with the heaviness of depression, choose to exchange it
for the garment of praise that Jesus purchased as His gift for you. 
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(1) See Psalm 40:1,2. (2) See John 14:16,17; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Galatians 5:22. (3) See Nehemiah 8:10. (4) John 10:10.
Please note that we are aware people can also be depressed due to physical problems such as illness, chemical imbalance and exhaustion, or as a result of spiritual issues such as unconfessed sin in their lives. In other words, not all depression will be overcome solely by singing, listening to music, praising God or other acts of joy. But Jesus is always the answer, and He will always lead us to victory as we resist depression and follow Him.
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BEFORE JESUS, THERE WAS SADNESS...
AFTER JESUS, THERE IS PEACE
Testimony: Evie S., Pell City, AL
I’m a twenty-eight-year-old wife and mother and recently gave my life to Christ. Before that, my life was filled with sadness and tears. I’d taken almost every pill for depression and attempted suicide, and life just kept getting worse. No matter what I did, I wasn’t happy.
I would not go to church or hang around people who did. I believed God had given up on me. I was on so many pills, I thought I was dying. Many times my husband had to call 911 because I was shaking and unresponsive. At one point I even quit breathing and my husband had to do CPR. I was so oppressed by Satan and negativity, but I couldn’t see it.
I started reading your books, Battlefield of the Mind and Peace. My life was totally changed. Then I went to church and got saved! I asked God to please take away all the pills, tears and depression—and He did. I have never felt better.
Reading your books was the first step to my happier life. You’ve been a light out of the darkness of these long, sad years. I have also been watching you on TV. You are an inspiration to me.
I pray I never go back to those painful days of my past when I thought I would never be at peace. Now I see things differently—more positively. I have not taken anymore pills for depression, and I do feel at peace.
I’m living day by day. It’s not always easy, but I’m trying. I just want to tell you how thankful I am for your wonderful books. Thank you and God bless you!
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