Father, we do thank You that there's coming a time when tears and grief will be passed. We long for a new heaven and a new earth where there will be no more sorrow and no more tears. But, Father, until then, we pray that You would teach us what it is to be still in You. And we pray, Father, even tonight, that You would minister to us that You would strengthen us, that You would teach us from Your Word. Father, we thank You for Your goodness to us and we pray that You would draw near and meet with us tonight for Your glory and for our good. In Jesus' name, Amen. When we started this, I had originally intended to do about four messages on a biblical understanding of our emotions. I don't know what number we're on, but I don't much care, actually. We started out by looking at a biblical foundation for understanding our emotions. And in that, we looked at the character of God. We looked at the character of our Lord Jesus Christ, the character of Scripture. From there, we moved to what we would call theologically a biblical anthropology. We considered man in his pre-fall state. We considered man in his fallen state. And the conclusion is that man in his fallen state is wholly impacted and completely corrupted by sin in every faculty of his being. Mind, will and emotions have been ravaged by sin. This radical depravity ends up disrupting the proper functioning of each faculty, namely mind, will and emotions. which means that certain short circuits occur and bring about tremendous turmoil in the person. Now we are actually subject to a vast array of fallen emotions and their sinful displays. Then we look at the fact that in redemption, when God regenerates the sinner, not only do the emotions play an important role in conversion, but also there's a renewing process in redemption which begins to reclaim and to realign the emotions. And we all know, at least by experience, that this does not happen all at once. What is started in germ or seed form must be worked out in the process of sanctification, which takes no less than a lifetime. Then we begin to look at biblical sanctification and our emotions. Our emotions are a part of us that need to be sanctified and brought under the authority of the Word of God. By the way, at this point, let me just make a side comment. I have been referring to the self-confrontation manual a number of times throughout these messages and there is, I noticed, it was brought to my attention previously in the teacher's manual and then I saw it this week in the regular manual where Basically, the writers of the manual say that God doesn't expect you to change your emotions. And that God doesn't call you to do that. And that really is not true. The Bible authoritatively commands how we are to feel. The Bible authoritatively commands us to exercise self-control. The Bible authoritatively commands us to be people who are sober-minded. And so, the how of that? Well, it's built on the foundation of truth. Truth always comes first, not experience, not the emotions, but truth. The emotions need to be impacted, shaped, and directed by the mind as truth comes to the mind into the heart. We also looked at a sound theology of Christian experience, understanding the relationship between truth and experience and the emotions, and then we looked at a number of biblical examples of how the emotions should be controlled through truth. Then we began to look at how to put to death ungodly emotions. We started with anger and then we went to fear, anxiety and worry. I suppose that we could preach on the fear, anxiety and worry 52 Sundays a year and we would always find relevance and application. It is one of those things that end up impacting us in a huge way. Tonight we get to depression. Now, you might have picked up from the hymns that we sang that we might be talking about depression. All of those hymns that we sang, of course, were directed to the sorrowful, grieving heart. And so let's begin tonight, if you look at your notes, at understanding depression. First, let me just give credit where credit is due. Ed Welch, blame it on the brain. That does not say blame it on Brian. It says blame it on the brain. Has been of inestimable help. And I would heartily recommend Ed Welch's book, Blame It on the Brain, where he deals with issues like depression and chemical imbalance and a number of other head injuries, a number of things. We live in a day and age where people want to blame everything on body chemistry or mental dysfunction. And Ed Welch helps us navigate through some of the silliness and helps us to see a good picture of what the Bible says. Now, first of all, as we define depression, I'd like to do two things. First, I'd like to tell you that depression is described in the Bible. And let's just look at these passages quickly without much comment. We begin in Deuteronomy, chapter 28. Deuteronomy, chapter 28. This, by the way, is in the Covenant Curse section of Deuteronomy. And I want you to notice each one of the elements of this curse. And I promise you, if you have ever experienced depression, these elements will be resonating in your own heart and mind. Verse 65, Among those nations you shall find no rest. There will be no resting place for the sole of your foot. So, restlessness. But the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, despair of soul. The heart trembling. The inability to perceive, to see clearly. Despair that reaches the soul. So, your life shall hang in doubt before you. And you will be in dread night and day and have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, would that it were evening. And at the evening you shall say, would that it were morning because of the dread of your heart which you dread." Is that descriptive? The dread You will wish it is evening in the morning and morning in the evening because of the dread of your dread. And for the sight of your eyes, which you will see. Psalm 42. I believe that probably the majority of the Psalms are written from a depressed state. You can't help but read them and realize that there is a tremendous amount of depression that goes on in the Psalms. Psalm 42 ends up being a big one. There's a lot of joy in the psalms, obviously, but there's a lot of grief and sorrow in the psalms as well. Notice the way the psalmist talks to himself in 42.5. Why are you in despair, O my soul? Literally, why are you sunk down? Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, and I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence. The psalmist goes on to say the very same thing in verse 11 and then in 43 verse 5. Turn over to Psalm 77. Psalm 77. Verse 7. Will the Lord reject forever Will He never be favorable again? Has His lovingkindness ceased forever? Has His promise come to an end forever? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Or has He in His anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah. Does God ever reject His people? Does God ever turn His back upon His people? What you have in this psalm and in other psalms is simply the accurate feeling of a person who is under a dark cloud. Now, let's move on. Proverbs 13. Proverbs 13. So, do you think the Scripture is doing a fairly good job so far at painting the picture? Proverbs 13 and verse 12. Hope deferred. makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life." What do you think Solomon means by hope deferred makes the heart sick? What do you think it means to be heart sick? Proverbs 17. Proverbs 17 and verse 22. A joyful heart is good medicine. But a broken spirit dries up the bones. A broken spirit dries up the bones. One last passage, Proverbs 18, verse 14. And notice the contrast here. 18-14, the spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but as for a broken spirit, who can bear it? What we have in these passages really is a description of depression in its many different facets. But yet, we not only have these descriptions of depression in the Scriptures, we also have depressed people in the Scriptures. Read the book of Job. Read the book of Job and what you will see is a man who is absolutely filled with bewildering grief and sorrow and his heart is deeply disturbed within him. And he wants to die. Go to Job. You could go to Elijah. Elijah comes to a place in his life where he's tired, he's fatigued, and he thinks that the whole world is against him, and he wants to die. What about Jonah? Those rotten Ninevites repented. My life is ruined. God, just kill me. What about the Apostle Paul? You ever think of the Apostle Paul as being a person who was depressed? Turn over to 2 Corinthians 1. Notice Paul's words. Verse 8. We do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia. Notice that we were burdened excessively beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life. That's the inspired apostle talking. And he's saying that the afflictions that came to them in Asia were excessive burdens that were beyond their strength. Does that sound very apostolic? Does that sound very spiritual? We had burdens that were beyond our strength. Well, I thought God doesn't give us anything that we can't bear. Well, that's true, but you know what? It doesn't always seem like you can bear what God thinks you can bear. That last line, so we despaired even of life. The Bible describes depression for us and it describes it in its vivid terms. What do we mean when we say depression? And I don't mean to imply that when a person is depressed that they experience all of these things, but they may experience a number of these things. It's a complex thing and this is just a list. There's an emotional feeling of despair and hopelessness. There can be emotional pain or Emotional numbness or both. No energy. No desire for anything. Even the pleasures of life. Insomnia. Weight loss. Fatigue. A paralyzing dread of the future. For instance, the holidays. An inability to maintain consistent thoughts or to concentrate. Restlessness. Or thoughts of death. Even of suicide. And even the planning of it. My friends, I tell you that depression should not be taken lightly. It is a destroyer. It is a destroyer. and it won't look the same in every person, and it won't be in the same degree, but depression is an awful, terrible, affliction and emotional state. What are the sources of depression? Well, we really have to look at it in two ways, physical sources and spiritual sources. The first thing that we need to do under physical sources is to distinguish body and soul. First of all, there is a very clear, even biblically speaking, a very clear plane, interpenetration and interdependence between the body and the soul. Therefore, it should be no surprise to us that physical problems can lead to depression, which can lead to spiritual problems, and spiritual problems can lead to depression, which can lead to physical problems. Both of those angles, both of those sides are true. The physical can lead to depression that can lead to spiritual problems. The spiritual can lead to depression which can lead to physical problems. Such physical things as an illness can bring about depression. Such a thing as childbirth. In fact, this is such a common problem that in England, There have been a number of cases where mothers have murdered their newborn babies and have been exonerated because of what's called postpartum syndrome. And we're certainly not saying that that's an acceptable thing or a justifiable thing. All I'm pointing out is that it is an observable fact that after childbirth, many times, women will go through a period of depression. After a major surgery, hormonal changes, chemical imbalances, changes in diet, even fatigue. I would say that was Elijah's primary problem, was simply fatigue. There are a number of physical sources of depression, but there are also a number of spiritual sources of depression. And it's not always just really easy to tell where the depression is coming from. The spiritual sources would be, first of all, sin. Sin of omission, sin of commission, guilty consciences. We know that depression can be the result of sin because we have in our Bible Psalm 32 and Psalm 38. In both cases, the psalmist is depressed and he's depressed because of his sin. A guilty conscience can haunt the soul in such a way that it leads to an incredible depression. Other spiritual sources would be such things as grief. Loss of a loved one. Loss of a job. Stress. Stress over children. Stress over marriage. Stress over finances. Also, God's discipline may bring about a state of depression. Psalm 32, David kept quiet about his sin. What was the result? Divine discipline. Day and night, your hand was heavy upon me. What was the result? My vitality was sapped away as with the fever heat of summer. Satan himself can attack the believer in such a way through such things as false guilt or capitalize on the depression, putting thoughts into the believer's head, doubting God's goodness and God's love. My friends, the devil countless times has put into the minds of a believer, if God loved you and if God were your Father, why would He let you suffer like this? Many sources, physical and spiritual. There are also certain liabilities of depression. When a person enters into a state of depression, there are certain liabilities, there are certain potential dangers. The first is this, it's very easy to move into a state of self-pity. Depression can move A person in depression can very easily move into a state of self-pity where they all of a sudden become so absorbed with themselves that all of a sudden nobody and nothing else matters. Also, another liability of depression is that it can become patterned. Certain reoccurring things in life can begin to precipitate the depression on an annual basis. The holidays are an excellent example. For many people, the holidays are a wonderful time of celebration and family and joy. And for other people, they absolutely dread them and go into a state of depression and don't get out of that depression until the holidays are long past. PMS, menopause, other things like that that can bring about, well I guess menopause only happens once. So PMS, there's a pattern there and you start to feel a certain way and then you enter into a certain state and it becomes patterned. Another liability of depression is this. There can become a downward spiral of chain sinning. You know what chain sinning is? It's the same thing as chain smoking. Instead of smoking, you're sinning though, and you're lighting up one sin on top of the other. It is very easy for a person in a state of depression to start spiraling downward in such a way that they begin to have sinful responses to the sources. And once those sinful responses begin, then the sinful response goes into the response to the sinful response, which responds to the sinful response. And so, for instance, a person can enter into a stage of depression and overeating, drugs, alcohol, overwork, neglecting of duties, both spiritual and domestic. Stop and think about that one for a moment. A person enters into a stage of depression. They begin to feel down. They begin to feel heavy hearted. And then all of a sudden they start to neglect their duties. Let's say they start to leave off spiritual duties or even their domestic duties. Leaving off those duties then produces guilt. And then that guilt feeds the cycle even more. And there is a downward spiral that takes place. Another liability of depression is this. Depression can become a torturous companion. Depression can become a torturous companion. In fact, for the depressed person, it can become hard or even frightening to think of living without the depression. As strange as that may sound, there are people who end up thinking that they wouldn't know how to live if they weren't depressed. Sometimes the cause of that is simply this. They think that getting over the depression will mean that they will end up forgetting something that they don't want to forget. Whether it's a sense of grief or a sense of guilt. Take, for instance, the woman who suffers from the guilt of an abortion. And she has that guilt and many times it leads to depression. And that depression just ravages her soul and her emotions. And yet, the idea of getting over it might mean that I don't feel like I should towards that sin. And the very thought of that can become frightening. Or getting over grief. If I get over this grief that leads me into this depression, then will that mean I don't love my loved one who's departed as much as I used to? Depression can become a torturous companion that it almost seems impossible to live without. Well, how do we deal with depression biblically? I just give these counsels. They're practical. These do not just simply come off the top of my head. I sought medical consultation on some of these to make sure I was right. And my medical consultant assured me with some nuanced refining that we were on the right track. But let's begin with what we just simply might call some prevention. Take care of the temple. Take care of your physical being. One of the things that we need to realize is that God designed us that we are to eat and to sleep and even to exercise because it is good for us physically. Paul tells us, you have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God. within your body, do you not know that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God dwells in you? This body of ours, which has this incredible interpenetration and interdependence with the soul, is absolutely vital that we make sure that we take care of it. When people start to get depressed, one of the things that they can simply begin to think about is, am I getting enough sleep? A lot of people actually become atheists who are Christians because they don't get enough sleep. When I start to feel doubts concerning God enter into my soul, do you know the first thing that comes to my mind? I need more rest. I need more rest. You need to take care of the temple. The Apostle Paul says that exercise is of little profit. But notice he didn't say it was of no profit. Godliness is great profit. Exercise, bodily exercise, is of little profit. But that little profit might be the thing that keeps you from losing your sanity. Exercise. It is a medical fact that physical exercise helps to maintain physical equilibrium that may prevent us from going into a depression. Watch your sleep. Watch your diet. Some people shouldn't drink caffeine. Some people shouldn't eat certain foods. The ingesting of certain things can actually bring about a spiritual, physiological response of depression. My friends, there's really nothing more practical than that. Watch what you eat, make sure you sleep, take care of the body that God gave you. Now, it won't cure everything, but it might go a long way in curing some things. Second, See a good doctor. What I mean by a good doctor is, I mean, don't go to your local drug dealer who's an MD. You need to be careful when you go to a doctor. If you're suffering from depression, you should go to a doctor. But you should not go to a doctor whose first impulse is simply going to be to medicate you. In the self-confrontation manual, it says it is important that a medical diagnosis be made by a primary care physician and medical supervision be maintained with some of these conditions. At the same time, however, you must make biblical changes in your life so that you learn to live biblically in the midst of physical need and medical treatment. Remember, God is sovereign and will never allow a physical problem to come into your life that would make it impossible for you to be obedient to his word. If you start to enter into a period of depression, go see a doctor. Go see a good doctor. A good doctor, first of all, can run a blood panel and check your blood chemistry. Examining a blood panel may end up determining the physiological cause of the depression. It does not always, but there are times where a doctor can identify certain deficiencies just by a simple blood panel. A good doctor can ask a lot of the right questions, physiological questions that may lead to some insight and to some help. Of course, the question comes up, well, what about medication? It seems that such things as Prozac are as common today as, I was going to say, as receiving the mail, but Prozac and the mail, I guess, don't go together very well today. But the fact is, is that we have to deal with medication. Is it okay for a Christian to go and be put on medication? Well, first of all, let me say this. There is no medical evidence whatsoever that antidepressants or anti-anxieties actually restore body chemistry. Alright? There is no evidence that something like Prozac or anything else restores body chemistry. They can change the depressive symptoms but they do not treat the cause. Antidepressants and anti-anxieties simply treat the symptoms. Second, some doctors are far too quick to medicate today, often without any kind of physical examination, blood work or examination. Third, medication, and please hear me carefully, medication may be useful in extreme cases and might be used to get a person back to some kind of level state where he or she can begin to think clearly and take appropriate action. Anti-anxieties and anti-depressants can become addictive. I understand that the anti-anxieties can become physically addictive, but a person can become psychologically dependent. upon these things. And once an addiction is formed, then there's a chemical dependence and hence idolatry. Our trust always must be in the Lord. But if you start to feel depressed, go and see a doctor. Ernie, can you open the back doors, please? It's sort of warm in here. Third, deal with any known sin. How did David overcome the depression that he talks about in Psalm 32? He confessed his sin. He dealt with his sin. One of the things that we need to realize is that we need to deal with our sins and sometimes that depression can come as a result of sin and if we're ever to overcome the depression, we have to deal with the cause, which is the sin. Ed Welch says, compassion cannot ignore unbelief or sin. Listen carefully to this counsel. Too often, family and friends think the depressed person is very fragile and cannot handle any frank discussion about sin or hard-heartedness. But to ignore these issues when they are obvious in someone's life is to treat that person without love and compassion. We often react negatively to this idea. Isn't this a case of beating people when they're down? Won't this crush their self-worth even more? If we find ourselves thinking this way, we are probably hearing the culture more than the Bible. The Bible always portrays our sin problem as being deeper than any pain we experience. To ignore sin, especially when it is obvious, is to offer only a very superficial kind of love and compassion, and to withhold help that is needed at the deepest level. My friends, not all depression comes from sin, but much of it does, and we need to deal with any known sin if we are to overcome it. Next, we need to practice biblical thinking. One of the things that is very, very dangerous about the depressed state is that the thinking becomes haywire. The thinking becomes convoluted. The thinking becomes very unbiblical. And yet the Bible continually tells us that we need to think in a biblical manner so that we are not sorrowful, so that we do not grieve excessively and so forth. In fact, just if you have your Bible still open to 2 Corinthians 1, this is a wonderful example In 2 Corinthians 1. Remember verse 8. We do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life. And notice, indeed, we have the sentence of death within ourselves. But God had a purpose in it. so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a peril of death and will deliver us, He on whom we've set our hope, He will yet deliver us. There is woven into the Scriptures this constant reminder that we need to think biblically. So what does Paul do? Here he is excessively burdened, beyond strength, despairing even of life. And then it comes to him. God is doing this. God is using this to teach us not to trust in ourselves, but to trust in Him who raises the dead. To put our hope in Him. Because he promises to deliver his people. The practice of biblical thinking is absolutely critical to overcome depression many, many times. If there is guilt, if the depression is caused from guilt, then the person needs to be well informed of the biblical teaching of forgiveness. Stop and consider once again, and I use the example of abortion because it is so common, Many times, the guilt that comes from abortion is a long-lasting guilt. And even people who become Christians, even women who come to embrace Christ as their Savior, there are times where they will carry around for years this sense of depression because of the abortion. And the idea is, really, even though they're not even close to being a Roman Catholic, they're a Roman Catholic of heart. The depression is a form of penance. It's demonstrating to God that I'm really, really sorry for what I did. It's unbiblical. And they need to be told it's unbiblical. And they need to be told that there is a fountain open for sin and uncleanness. And that the foulest offender can be pardoned and cleansed of all of their sins. We need to approach depression with the principles of suffering, realizing that God can be teaching us during this time. And we need to be listening. Next, we need to follow the pattern of changing how we feel. Now, what is the biblical pattern of changing how we feel? There are two fascinating passages to me. The first is Genesis, chapter four. By the way, the first example, the person did not take God's advice. Genesis, chapter four. We're going to be reading about Cain. Cain was depressed. His countenance had fallen, which is what we're talking about. Why has his countenance fallen? Because of his anger. His uncontrolled anger. His countenance had fallen. Then notice what God says. Isn't this fascinating? Verse 7. If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? Notice the pattern. If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? In other words, Cain, do right, do what is right, and this fallen countenance of yours will be changed. Many, many times we neglect the fact that the depression that a person feels can indeed be overcome if they can just find it In the strength of the Lord to start doing what is right. And many times in the change in the behavior will come then a change in the emotional state. Of course, we know Cain did not follow God's counsel and killed his brother. Isaiah chapter 58. Isaiah chapter 58. When we were going through this passage a number of months ago, this passage absolutely just jumped out at me. I would commend you, if this is an issue for you, I would commend you to get the tape and to listen to the exposition, starting in verse 10. Notice what God says. If you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then Your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your desire in scorched places and give strength to your bones. And you will be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail." Now, notice the language. There is, first of all, darkness and gloom. And you can read that up in the previous section as well. Darkness and gloom. Do you want to know how to escape the darkness and gloom? Give yourself to the hungry. Satisfy the desire of the afflicted. Then, as you are serving others, as you are getting outside of yourself and focusing on others, then your light will rise and darkness, your gloom will become like midday and God then will do all kinds of wonderful things in your life. One of the very simple practical realities is that the Bible says that certain action and even serving others can bring us out of a state of a fallen countenance or of gloom and darkness. Next, get help from a pastor or a close friend. A close friend, by the way, is just as effective, if not more effective, than a pastor. There is no such thing as the professional. What we need in times like this is we need somebody who loves us and who can counsel us with the wisdom of God's Word and who can help us. And so, what do the Scriptures teach us? Well, Proverbs chapter 17 verse 17. This counsel, by the way, is both to those who are depressed and also to those who can help those who are depressed. Proverbs 17 and verse 17, a friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity. One of the things in talking to depressed people over the years is they fear that if they let people get close, that people will begin to see their depression and then will withdraw from them. And the reason they feel like that is because it's happened to them. But we are Christians. And a friend loves at all times. Proverbs 18 and verse 24 This is the verse for teenagers. The first part, at least. A man of too many friends comes to ruin. But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. If you are a Christian, you are in the body of Christ and you are surrounded by people who love you and people who can help you. And so, help those who need help. And be willing to open yourself up and ask for prayer. Ask for help. Ed Welch has a fascinating observation. He says, talking to those who help, he says, how can you help? How can you present Jesus in a way that is not condescending or oblivious to a person's pain? By the way, don't ever tell a depressed person just to go home and to memorize Proverbs 3, 5 and 6 or John 3, 16 as if that's going to fix everything. Overly simplistic approaches to depression can cause more trouble than more good. be sensitive. So how can we present Jesus in a way that's not condescending or oblivious to a person's pain? Well, he says, consider simply asking depressed people how you can help them see Jesus. Then he says, I have known depressed people who have actually had the following ideas. Just to be physically present with me. Just to pray with me. Just to come over and clean house with me. just to sit down and read Psalms together with me, or go through some of the old hymns from a hymn book, or simply go for a walk together, or exercise together. You do not need to be a mental health professional to help a person who is depressed. All you need to be is a good friend who will stick closer than a brother. Finally, Be alert and look for warning signs. Proverbs chapter 4 and verse 23 is a passage that is applicable in many, many areas of life and certainly applicable here. Proverbs chapter 4 and verse 23, Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. When we talk about being alert and looking for warning signs, Those of you who are prone to depression, you simply need to be sensitive to the workings of your own heart. You need to be alert to the warning signs. You need to be aware when things begin to happen, whether it's the approaching of the holidays or the approaching of of a certain time of the month or an approaching of knowing that you're going to need to be visiting somebody or a job situation or whatever the case may be. You need to simply be alert and be looking for the warning signs. Watch over your own heart and then try to get help before things get too bad. My friend's depression can be a life controlling emotional state that's absolutely destructive. We've seen it in this very body. But I will also tell you, not only have we seen the destructive power of depression, but we could also give testimony to a number of people whose lives have been changed through the truth of God's Word. I'll close with one anecdote. A couple of years ago, I was teaching the theology class up in Reno. After about the third or fourth class, a young man called me on the phone from the class and asked me if he could come and talk to me. I thought he wanted to come and talk to me about a book report or about his exam or something like that. And come to find out, here was a young man in his early twenties who was in a deep state of depression with frequent thoughts of taking his own life. And we talked. And come to find out, he was on the verge of getting married. He was engaged. And although he had suffered with depression on and off, the anxiety of getting married, the doubt of him being able to be a good enough husband to his new wife, wondering whether or not this was the right thing, so on and so forth. And he was in the throes of depression in a way that was absolutely terrible. We talked about these things. He was open to listening to the Word of God. He was open to praying with me. And then while we were praying, I had an idea. For his book report, because we make all the students do a book report, I would have him read Martin Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression. And so he said he'd be glad to read it. And so he read the book. Martin Lloyd-Jones in that book with the skill of a physician, of a surgeon, takes the truth of God and applies it to the heart, unlike very, very few books in this world. And by the time this young man was done, God had lifted his countenance. By the end of the year, he was a different man than at the beginning of that semester. God worked in his life through the truth. God changed his heart through the truth. God delivered him from the darkness and the gloom of depression through the truth. I have kept up with this young man, talking to him every few months or so, and he is doing wonderfully. Does that mean he will be absolutely free from depression the rest of his life? Not necessarily. But do you know what? He's learned a huge lesson. He's learned a lot of truth that can help him. And now he knows what it is. to have His darkness give way to the shining of God's noonday sun. My friends, God's desire for His people is not to live in a depressed and dark state, but to know the light of His countenance and the hope of the deliverance that He promises. So may God help us in these things. Let's pray. Our blessed God and Father, we thank You for the wonderful and matchless truth of Your Word. And we thank You that You care for the downcast and the downtrodden and the afflicted and the sorrowful and the grieving. Father, You care for the depressed. And Lord, we pray that even tonight You would take these feeble words and apply them to our hearts in such a way as to breathe hope into our hearts and our souls. Father, we pray that these things might be applied in such a way that they would be help to your people. We thank you for your mercy to us. Father, may we glorify you in our hearts, in our emotions, in the way that we feel. In Jesus' name, Amen.