From the company you keep to past mistakes to loneliness and low self esteem, there are so many things that could make a person depressed. Normally, depression is not something a person would want to find himself in but what happens when you find yourself getting depressed. Sure, it has a lot to say but let’s compare it with what Jesus, our savior and by whom we were created, has to say.

1. DEPRESSION TELLS YOU, YOU ARE GUILTY.

Depression as a result of constant feeling of guilt is common. Probably you feel bad for something you said or did in the past that eventually resulted into a serious issue and ever since it has been eating you up and the more you think about it the faster your life begins to spiral. Suddenly you feel withdrawn from everyone and you constantly have nightmares and then there’s that little voice in your head telling you “You are guilty, you deserve to be tortured this way” and so now you are depressed. But, have you ever examined what Jesus Christ has to say to those who are His?

JESUS SAYS, I HAVE REDEEMED YOU FROM SIN’S GUILT.

The bible in 1 John 1:9 ESV says “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We are forgiven our sins the moment we confess and ask for forgiveness…God no longer holds our sins against us. Romans 5:1 tells us we have peace with God because we have been justified by faith. That is, by our faith in Jesus Christ we have been set free from the guilt of sin. So next time depression tries to hold you down, telling you how guilty you should feel and how condemned you are, tell it what Jesus says in Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit”.

2. “WHY AM I ALIVE? WHY DID GOD CREATE ME?”

These are questions often asked by people either getting depressed or already depressed and even worse, those who are beginning to get suicidal. These are questions raised by depression just to trigger people into getting deeper into the darkness caused by depression…especially when those questions are not properly answered using the Word of God. But really, why were you created? This is what Jesus has to say…

JESUS SAYS…

You were created for a purpose. No man born was born without a purpose. Discovering the purpose just happens to be the biggest hurdle. The first and foremost purpose of mankind…your first and foremost purpose here on earth was stated in Mark 16:15 “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation“”. Jesus needs you to be His representative, to tell people about Him…who says your being on earth is useless?! Exodus 9:16 says “But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” There is a reason why you are alive, a reason you were created…do not let depression deceive you into thinking you are useless on earth. Remember, Joseph was oblivious of what his purpose was (this would be discussed in an upcoming post) for a long time but he eventually discovered it. You too will, in your walk with God.

3. “NOBODY LOVES YOU”

Depression happens to be a very crafty spirit. It knows just how much humans need love or at least that little sense of approval to keep going and so it plays on the mind and paints a picture where the person is unloved. It tells its victims and makes them believe no one loves them and no one cares for them and quickly they fall deeper and deeper into its trap. But that show is over now because Jesus Christ says:

“I LOVE YOU”

Actions they say, speak louder than words. So, how much better could our Savior have shown His love for us than coming to earth as a man to suffer and eventually die for our own sins? “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that He lay down His life for His friends” John 15:12-13. There is absolutely no one on earth who could ever love us more than Jesus Christ. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life”. For God so loved you, He gave you Jesus. God is telling you today that you are His friend and if human beings don’t love you, He, the creator of the universe loves you. So come out of that depression today because you’ve been freed from it on the cross since over 2000 years ago and The Lord of Hosts is saying YOU ARE LOVED!

4. “I’M SO LONELY” ” EVERYONE KEEPS LEAVING ME.”

If depression fails in making you feel unloved it starts again by saying things like “look, a lot of people love to be be around you but you are still very lonely“…”you are still no one’s favorite person“…”they’re just gonna leave like the rest, they may like you now but they’d soon leave you”. Yes, sometimes those things are true, people do come and go but you do not have to let depression hold you down because…

JESUS SAYS, I WOULD NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU.

Hebrews 13:5…that is where Jesus tells us that He’d never leave us. Friends and family may leave you but Jesus says He’d be there, always. Jesus Himself is someone who faced loneliness and abandonment at His “lowest” times. His own disciple had betrayed Him and His closest friends were nowhere to be found…one had even gone as far as to deny Him thrice…the third time, placing a curse on himself. So Jesus knows exactly how you feel and so He’s reminding you that through your struggle, through your ease, in good times, in bad times, He would be there for you. Tell depression today, what Jesus says…tell it you are not lonely…tell it Jesus says He’d never leave you comfortless!

5. DEPRESSION SAYS, YOUR PROBLEMS ARE TOO MANY AND THINGS KEEP GOING FROM BAD TO WORSE.

When things do not go right and problems keep arising, as humans, we tend to feel low and by so doing, depression has crept into the hearts of many. It has a funny way of making a person feel like there are no solutions to the problem he or she is facing. And even the not so big problems, it magnifies and keeps the person under its enchantment, that things cannot ever get better.

BUT JESUS SAYS, CAST ALL YOUR CARES UPON ME AND I WILL SUSTAIN YOU AND YOU WILL NOT BE SHAKEN…PSALM 55:22.

He says, be it health problems; I’d heal you (Psalms 103:1-3), be it financial problems; I’d provide for you (2 Corinthians 9:8, Philippians 4:19), be it academic difficulties; I’d grant to you all you need to excel (the life of Daniel is a good example). He says you don’t have to let problems weigh you down, because He is mightier than those problems. He is saying to you today that what problem exactly do you think is too complex or too big for Him to solve…what exactly is impossible with Him? Perhaps you feel it is all at the wrong timing Romans 8:28 let’s us know that all things (including the bad) work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. So things may be a mess right now but Jesus is telling you that these present sufferings are incomparable to the glories ahead (Romans 8:18).

6. DEPRESSION SAYS YOU’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

Depression as a result of not feeling good enough, once started as low self esteem. When you struggle with a low self esteem you tend to take comfort and find your grounds in the wrong things and subsequently, the end result is depression. And just like any other vicious cycle, the more you get depressed, the more you think you’re not good enough and the greater the depression… the cycle goes on and on. So are you really not good enough? Are you really “not there”? Let us examine what Jesus has to say about this.

JESUS SAYS YOU ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH.

1 Peter 2:9 says “but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” You have been deliberately chosen out to be God’s special possession…why should you feel inferior? Of all the organisms God created…among the winged and sharp eyed and fastest and wonderful organisms God created on earth, He singled us out…He singled you out to dominate them all (Genesis 1 :26-28). If The Creator of the universe has by Himself exalted you why are you putting yourself down and getting yourself into a greater level of sadness. The bible calls you a child of the Most High do not let the devil through depression make you feel any less of that.

7. “YOU ARE SO FLAWED”

Because of how we have let the pictures we see on social media and the kind of models we see in magazines overwhelm us so much, we easily pick out flaws in our own body. In so doing, we entertain depression’s suggestions that we are flawed or there is something wrong with a part of our body…gradually and eventually we get hooked up with its lies just like a fished hooked by a bait. Then we find ourselves falling into what seems like a never ending tunnel of sadness.

HOWEVER, JESUS SAYS YOU ARE BEAUTIFULLY MADE…

The Bible tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalms 139:14). Again Genesis 1: 27 says “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them”. You were made in God’s own image and so you cannot be flawed. Feeling uncomfortable in your own skin puts you at risk of being even further depressed as a result of other things stated above. Jesus does not want you in such a mess because you are already flawless in His eyes. P.S: where God’s opinion is, that of others should not matter.

8. “I HAVE EVERYTHING I NEED I’M WHERE I WANT TO BE BUT WHY DO I KEEP FEELING EMPTY?”

This usually is not depression speaking to you but a feeling like this does bring depression. You’re the girl with the “perfect life” and really you also feel that way because you really have no secret or problem, yet you find yourself crying yourself to sleep for no reason. You get suicidal thoughts from time to time and you don’t even even eat anymore. You know you are depressed but don’t know what the reason is exactly and you feel empty. Jesus is telling you today that…

YOU NEED TO COME TO ME.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest”, Matthew 11:28. Jesus is saying that He is the solution to your weariness and feeling of emptiness. He is telling you to come to Him. It is very possible for a person to have all good things of life but still feel empty; because he lacks the first and foremost good thing of life, salvation. When you lack Jesus you lack something important and so you feel unrest but when you have Jesus you have everything. Jesus is beckoning unto you today to come to Him to experience true peace, not as the world gives, John 14:27. Depression has no say or place in a heart where Jesus lives.

So whose report would you believe? As for me, I choose to believe the report of the Lord. Jesus says you can be free from every form of depression!