I would like to read these two chapters in the book of Psalm. If the Lord will, we have a series, at least I am preparing at least three to four messages on this subject right now. Chapter 42, I mean 42, 43, in our Bibles, I hope you're doing fine. And through this extended time of social distancing, and I don't know, we don't know when we would be able to hold services again, but we continue to read the Word of God, preach the Word of God. In Psalm 42, ask the heart, the dear, panted after the water brooks, so panted my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsted for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night." Can you imagine? He keeps on crying and he says, my tears have been my meat day and night. While they continually said to me, where is thy God? Where is your God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me. For I had gone with the multitude. I went with them to the house of God. with a voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holidays. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? He was talking to his soul. And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God, for I shall praise him for the health of his continents. Oh my God, my soul is cast down within me. Therefore, will I remember thee from the land of Jordan unto the Hermonites from the hill of Mesire. Deep call it unto deep as the noise of thy water spouts. All my waves and thy willows are gone over me. Yet the Lord will command his loving kindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto God of my life. I will say unto God, my rock, thou hast thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with the sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me while they say day to me." Again, he says, where is your God? Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my continents and my God. Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against the ungodly nation. O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. For Thou art the God of my strength. Why dost Thou cast me off? Why I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? O send out Thy light and Thy truth Let them lead me, let them bring me unto thy holy hill and to thy tabernacles. Then I will go unto the altar of God, and to God my exceeding joy, yea, and upon the harp will I praise thee, O my God, O God my God. Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me, hope in God, for I shall yet praise who is the health and continence and my God. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the word of God. Today, as we study from Psalm chapter 42 and 43, we, Lord, want to beg for your guidance upon us and send warning to us, Lord, how we can Be strong spiritually in this time of pandemic. We commit everything to the Lord. We praise you for your word. In Jesus name we pray, amen. And amen. I am speaking a subject dealing with the sad effects of depression. I mean, depression during this time of pandemic. Dealing with the sad effects of depression during this time of pandemic. Have you been saddened by what is happening and what has happened? And maybe you still feel sad today. I don't know about you. But we can deal with the sad effects of depression, listen to this, during this time of pandemic. Coronavirus is harming the mental health of millions of people in the whole world. Let me say that again. This pandemic has been harming the mental health, not only physical, but the mental health of people, many people, millions of people around the world. and it has caused stress, turmoil, fear, and devastation. According to the Washington Post, it's an American news outlet, nearly half of the people in the United States feel that the coronavirus crisis is harming their mental health. According to the survey, a survey published a few days ago, just last week, COVID-19 pandemic has escalated into nationwide psychological trauma. And the tracking poll of the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted March 25 to March 30 last week found that 45% of the adults say the pandemic has affected their mental health. 25%, 45% of adults say that pandemic has affected their mental health. And 19% say it had had a major impact on them, major. impact on them. Now, the rates are slightly higher among women. There are some that are affected with anxiety, fear, depression. COVID-19 has caused depression in every nation of the world. I mean, totally the world, including the Philippines. and our concern is what is happening around us in our own country. Lack of food supply among the poorest of the poor has caused mental problems. Social distancing. You have relatives from a nearby place but you cannot visit them. Some of them, you just hear them died but you cannot visit them. Somebody was telling his experience, his own father was cremated, and it was brought to the hospital today, and by and by, they were informed he died, and they were in the process of cremating the body. They could not even visit. And how terrible it was on the part of the family to feel like that, social distancing. Lack of resources. Many have suffered deaths. Some still are fighting the virus between life and death situation. They're still fighting for it, which is a very scary experience. And just watch the news, the experiences of people related on TV, and you will see how trembling, how scary the situation are. Thousands of OFW, overseas Filipino workers. They have lost their employment. In fact, thousands are coming. There's a group of 120,000 coming at once and they have lost employment. They are totally broke. Many are coming home totally broke financially. not only emotionally but financially. And I was told the other day that somebody was crying and telling him, the friend that had told me close to him, that we're coming home, but the problem is we have no house. We've been dreaming that house. We've been working for years here abroad, but we have lost our job. We have lost our savings. And some are coming home inside a container or a jar. What does it mean? They are coming home, but they are now inside a jar, meaning they have been cremated. Many of them are coming home. And some of these are medical professionals that have been affected, frontliners. See, this pandemic has brought sad stories in many homes. It has brought sad stories in many homes. But in the midst of all this, listen to this, Christians. In the midst of all this, Jesus says in John 14 verse one, let not your heart be troubled. Let not your heart be troubled. And when he said that he was He was referring to Christians, Christian workers, his own disciples. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. What is depression? What is depression? Well, feeling down from time to time is normal. It's a normal thing in life. We get discouraged once in a while. So feeling down from time to time is normal part of life. All of us, we do. But when emotions such as hopelessness and despair take hold and just won't go away, if it does not stop anymore, you may have depression. When you continually sorrow and it seems there is no stopping to it, that is what we call depression. Depression. You already have, you may have already depression. And now, more than just sadness in response to life struggles, setbacks, depression, changes, how you think, how you feel and function in daily activities. And I say, that's it. That's it. It can interfere with your ability to work, your ability to study, to eat, to sleep, and enjoy life. You see, just trying to get through the day can be overwhelming. What does it mean? Just to get through the day is a real battle. You do not know if you can survive the day. And everything is dark. Everything is, it looks gloomy. Well, some people describe depression as living in a black hole, they said. When you have depression, you feel that you are living in a black hole. or having a feeling of impending doom. You don't see anything, you feel that something bad is going to happen. You wake up in the morning, all you can think is about something bad, something bad, something bad. And others feel lifeless. They feel empty, meaning showing no feeling or interest or concern at all. You used to love having vacation. Somebody would tell you early in the morning, you get up and say, you, I'll, you know, I'll give you money. You can go to, you can have a vacation. You can have, I can buy you a ticket with allowance. You used to jump and, you know, and cry because of the good news. But when you have depression, you just say, huh? You're on vacation in Hong Kong, you don't have a pre-ticket, you don't have a hotel, you don't have an allowance, huh? Huh? You're on vacation, you don't have anything, you don't have money, you don't have a house. Does your son have anything? Your son's salary, huh? Huh? Does he have anything? Huh? You don't have anything, huh? And then, you don't mind. Wala ka-interest. But then, tawdaja, asa sikuan, di ba muhabot? Di madayon. Depression. It's a very serious problem. Let me share to you 10 common symptoms of depression. And these are symptoms, I say. Number one, feeling of helplessness. A bleak outlook. You don't see anything good. Nothing will ever get better and there's nothing you can do to improve your situation. You give up. Number two, loss of interest in daily activities. You don't care anymore about doing the things you used to enjoy doing. You used to enjoy many, many things. But today, wala na. Number three, appetite, weight changes. And significant weight loss or weight gain. Duhare padulngan. Either you gain weight or you lose weight. And the change of more than 5%, remember this, more than 5% of body weight in a month. So number four, sleep changes. Very common, either insomnia, especially walking in the early hours of the morning, or oversleeping. Either you can't sleep, or you just can't sleep. And either you don't want to eat or you just want to eat. And then number five sign of symptom is anger and irritability, feeling agitated, restless, or even violent. Now notice, just a few days ago, that's the reaction to the results of the pandemic. Somebody who was a gun, he kept a gun. Ang ilang problema lang, septic tank lang. Just a small thing about septic tank. So he took his gun, he sprayed his gun sa young neighbor. Instantly he killed three people and then wounded three more people. after spreading his guns in the neighborhood, in Maybuhangin. And he was, while on his way home, at Banglangabalay, he met his only son, who happened to be an army. He shot him here. And then he died. Only son, he died. Why? People today are violent because of the You notice, I watched it last night, what is happening in Minnesota, and then it spreads all over. There are now more than 20 major demonstrations happening now, so 20 major cities. I remember in Minnesota, that was my first time eating in America, when we landed in Minnesota. And we missed our flight, just seconds, And somebody approached us, the manager of the area, and said, I noticed you're from the Philippines. I said, yes. And so let me give you this ticket. We're going to bring you to Minnesota. It will take you hours to get to the airport. It's about times 10. It's a long ride. You have to ride a golf cart just to get there. It's a long ride. It's about seconds. Now, because of a death of somebody, now there's demonstration and the problem is looting. And I said last night, it was so disgusting for me to see it. Stores in the nighttime, they would open it. I thought they were protesting the death of somebody. And so, it is so disgusting to see. You know what? This is the result of the lockdown. They came out, the police cars, they were driving up. Women. They were laughing. The police cars were driving up. What is happening in the world? If you have problems, a stress problem, please, I advise you, do not watch any of those demonstrations happening today. It's so disgusting. And so my Kagayan area, Kagayan New York City area, somewhere in Barangay, 72-year-old grandmother, In the middle of the night, he killed his wife, killed his children, killed his grandchildren. Why? Because of the fear brought about by this pandemic. This coronavirus has created more fear, anxiety. And what's the difference between anxiety and depression? It's like they're fighting. Let not your heart be troubled. And the word trouble means anxiety. Anger, number five. Irritability, feeling agitated, restless, or even violent. Your tolerance level is low. Your temper is short. Depression. Loss of energy, number six. Feeling fatigued. sluggish, and physically drained. What does it mean? Your whole body may feel heavy. And even small tasks are hard for you to perform. They're exhausting. And it takes long to complete the job. Something that you could have done in an hour, just an hour, it takes the whole day. Why? Because you are having problem with depression. Number seven, self-loathing. Strong feelings of worthlessness or guilt. You feel, and you are guilty of so many things. You harshly criticize yourself and perceive faults and mistakes. And because of this, because of this, I feel myself, you know, helpless. Number eight, reckless behavior. And, uh, the driver will be charged of reckless driving. Reckless behavior means, you know, uh, as a result, they engage in escapist behavior. What does it mean? Because they cannot contain themselves, they cannot... And so drugs, that's the reason. They engage in the drugs. And so that's the problem. And reckless driving. So if you have that problem, do not drive. Stay at home. And number nine, concentration problems. trouble in focusing, making decisions, or remembering things. You have that problem. And then, number 10, because time will not permit us, unexpected aches and pains, an increase of physical complaints, such as headaches, back pain, aching muscles, and stomach pain. Now, let me say this to you. In the Bible, there are five major, five major figures who struggled with depression. And you don't blame yourself because you have this problem. All of us are candidates of this. There are five figures, biblical figures who struggle with depression. And I'm saying this to tell you that Christians are not immune to depression. It can happen to you. Maybe all of us, remember this, all of us, and because sometimes you're expecting too much. If you ask a man or a woman, I will be leaving in heaven in a week. And so, maybe you are expecting a morning trabajo para sa kua. Pagkawaman, three months palang gusto na maghigot siyang liob. And so, you have to be careful. You have to be ready. In Proverbs 12, 25, remember Christians are not immune to depression. Proverbs 12, 25, the Bible says, Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop. S-T-O-O-P. I look at the right words in the Old Testament and to give, you know, proper interpretation of the verse, but a good word make it glad. The word heaviness there is the same word translated anxiety. Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression. but a good word make it glad. Those who suffer from depression can experience intense feeling of sadness. You cannot help yourself. You may participate, but deep inside, anger, hopelessness, fatigue, and a variety of other symptoms. Depression is often triggered by life circumstances and can really pull you into the pit. There are numerous biblical references to depression. Scripture describes the struggle of people who suffered with depression, even though they were faithful servants of God. even though they served the Lord faithfully. These men did not suffer, listen to this, they did not suffer primarily because they were sinners, they suffered because they were human, like you and me, and were susceptible to severe pressure. So there are five biblical figures who struggled with depression. And number one is King David. King David, he suffered depression. Look at his Psalms. Even kings get depressed. Amen. Kings get depressed. King David, a man after God's own heart. Suffered depression. Moses, number two. Moses was worn out. He was weary. He had a lot on him. He suffered depression. If the Lord permits me, I would like to look into the lives of these individuals and find not only the causes, but we can find victory. Job, did he suffer depression? Job, he became depressed after suffering many personal losses. And first his material possession, then all his children, then he was devastated by a grievous physical affliction. It lasted one year, daily struggle of Jonah. And then there was Jonah. When God repented of the evil he said he would do to the Ninevites, he said, Jonah, you know, it displeased Jonah. Revival took place. Among the people he hated, he was hoping God would somehow send the punishment to them. Jonah was hungry. Chapter 4, verse number 3 of Jonah. And then number 5, Elijah. Elijah. I plan to preach on Elijah this coming Sunday morning. Elijah ran away from his life. And then for his life, I mean, from his enemies, for his life. And after a great revival, he suffered spiritual depression. You know what he says? He requested himself that he might die. Lord, it is enough, take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers. Now we can learn a lot from these five biblical figures who struggled with depression. What do we learn? Though they suffered, these men suffered, but they recovered and went on with their life serving God. So those who are depressed, remember they spent a lot of time sleeping and in the darkness rather than the light. And God's word encourages us to come out of the darkness and concentrate on Him. When we do this, we can find peace, true peace and joy. Psalm 42 and 43, these two chapters, we cannot say for sure, we cannot tell for sure who wrote this psalm. Personally, I believe it's David. And many scholars think that David was the author, in which case the title of the sons of Korah, you will find there, The Psalms of Korah indicates a group of Levites in charge of the temple worship to whom he presented the psalm. But it was really the experience of King David. We feel it's David who wrote it for the author found himself exiled from Israel, that's what you learned there, and from the worship festivals of God's people. He was being taunted by enemies who said, where is your God? Where is thy God? In chapter 42 verse 9, chapter 43 verse number 2, where is your God? And they continue to ask him. And their oppression, look at chapter 42 verse number 9. Let me read that. 42 verse 9. I will send to God my wrath. And why has thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression? He says, Dave, he was oppressed by the enemy. And so those oppression had pushed David, the Psalmist David, into deep depression. You do everything. Honestly, you do something. It can cause depression. But David did not stay there. He doesn't stay depressed. He, you know, learned from David, he faces problems. He confronts his depression and seeks God's help. And that is what we want to learn tonight. We can seek the help of the Lord. The main thought here is this. The main thought we want to learn is this. If you are, when you are experiencing depression, push yourself to seek God as your hope and help. Do not stay, do not be totally defeated. Always push yourself. Talk to yourself. And then push yourself. And no matter how depressing your circumstances are, In dealing with depression, there are a few things we can learn from Psalm 42 and Psalm 43. Remember that is the turmoil going on worldwide today. Mga tao nagawild na all over the world today. They are so depressed. Number one, there are three thoughts. Number one, recognize you're having a problem. You can never You know, you can never be helped unless and until you have a problem. Recognize you're having a problem and begin by the grace of God to identify the causes of your despair. Identify them. The first step to overcoming depression is to admit it. Admit it. Psalmist readily admitted both to himself and to God that he is in despair. Notice, please, in chapter 42, verse number 5, why art thou cast down? That is depression. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God. Talk to yourself. Talk to God. Push yourself. Find God. Seek Him. Look at verse number 6. Chapter 42 and verse number 6. Oh my God, my soul is what? Cast down. First He admitted it Himself and then He admitted it before God. He admitted it before God. Look at verse 11. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God. Chapter 43, look at verse number 5. Verse 5, why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted within me? And that's the secret. David, first of all, admitted it. He has something that he is battling against. He was facing some problems, so he admitted it himself. Nobody can fix it but you, with the help of God. You don't go to certain people and say, please try to help me, try to fix this. No, it must be you seeking the help of God, amen? And so the psalmist sees the symptoms are manifesting in himself. So nakitanya manifestation naasaya. So look at verse 11, chapter 42, verse 11. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my continence and my God. My God, he says. So he finds that happening within himself. Verse five. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou for I shall yet praise him who is the help of my continence. Notice his continence. And you can tell their sadness. Continence means among pamayhun. And the people can always tell. And then, he experiences loss of appetite and frequent crying. Look at chapter 2, 42 verse number 3. My tears have been my meat. Then, instead nga magkaw si si sa gilak. God know gabi mas daghan pa yung luha kisa yung sabaw. Imbis ka mahigut sa sabaw. day and night. What do you call that? Depression. He describes his anguish as pouring out his soul. Chapter 42, verse number 4. Verse 4, when I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me. He felt emotionally drained. He felt as if he were In the deep, overwhelmed by waves. Just imagine yourself at the bottom of the sea. You're covered in mud. And then trying to escape. In chapter 42, look at verse number 7. He says, Deep, call it unto deep. At the noise of thy waterspouts, all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Can you imagine? That is the same. That is what you feel. There is no way out. The enemy's taunts felt like a shattering of the summer's bones. Look at verse number 10, chapter 42. He says there, Now try to imagine, That is what you feel when you are depressed. So depressed people feel overwhelmed by circumstances. That is what you feel when you see no hope at all. Now I have my business, I have worked for this business all my life. And now, all of a sudden, it's gone. I have this. I have this plan. And all of a sudden, I work hard for my loved ones. And you can be depressed, depressed. Plus, people are making fun of you. They're making fun of you. And so, another thing, remember this, recognize you have problems. Secondly, seek God's help. Number two, recognize that we cannot control our circumstances. This is something that we cannot control. If somebody dies in your family that is far away, don't turn your back on your There is nothing you can do, accept it. Recognize that you cannot control our circumstances, but God can. He's always ready to work on our circumstances. Jeremiah 29 verse 11, For I know the thoughts I think toward you, Thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you unexpected end. God is our refuge and strength, the very present help in time of need. When you are facing circumstances in life beyond what you can solve yourself, beyond what you can control, learn to give everything so you know. Maybe there are present sins, number one. or sins in the past that are bringing remorse in your life. You know what? You live, you have done so many mistakes, you have sins that you are now suffering because they bring remorse. And sometimes Satan can say, well, what? Naka simba simba. How can I regain the past? The simple answer is 1 John 1.9. Bow before God. Confess the past sins that you have committed, the mistakes you have committed, the failures you have committed to God, and God will replace it with peace. That's the answer. By faith, pray to God that he will change your circumstances. You cannot change circumstances. God knows while you are waiting for the right time, for God's answer, I said, Lord, I've been praying and it's troubling me. I've been hoping that, you know, things will happen. I give it to you, Lord, but while I'm waiting, please grant me your grace and patience to wait. I waited patiently upon the Lord. In chapter 40, look at verse number one and verse number two. He said, I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto me and heard my cry. He brought me up, also out of the horrible feet, out of the miry clay. Remember that. There are things that I cannot control. It's beyond my control, Lord, but I know you can. I know you are a great God. Lord, grant me, please, the patience to wait. Grant me the grace to wait, the ability to wait. And while I am waiting for the right time for your answer, Lord God, give me the grace, extend the grace. Remember always, God is sovereign. God is sovereign, he's working always for our good. He allows things for our good, Romans 8, 28, for all things work together for good to them that love God. He has always good purpose about why he allows things to happen in your life. And then, try to evaluate things. In everything that happened in your life, God has looked back. You try to look back at the circumstances that has caused you grief and caused you sorrow before. Now you try to look back and imagine, I'm sure that you will say, thank God it happened. And the same thing with what is happening to you right now. God has a divine purpose behind it, why he allowed it. You can think of many, many failures, many heartaches before, and when you question God about it, you murmured, in fact, you murmured against God about those things, but now you try to look back. Those were hurting experiences, but if I sum it up all, God is good. And all of God's people say amen. Number three, I have no more time. When you're depressed, try to deepen your relationship with God. God himself. Now, please take note of this. When you are depressed, you're not just seeking for relief, for ease from your trouble, relief from your pain. Say, Lord, please take away this pain troubling me. And when the Lord takes away the pain, you say, Lord, thank you. Thank you, Lord. You are more concerned about the relief. The secret is you ought to deepen your personal knowledge of God. Understand his ways. The most important thing is, and have a deep, how deep you know you have known God through your experiences in life. He doesn't say, well, I am free from pain. No. How did you know God? Through the experience. How deep have you known God? So you must seek more on deepening your relationship with God, your experience with God, rather than seeking for relief. Lord, it's hurting. It's hurting me. Yes, he can take away the pain. Like the Apostle Paul who prayed, Lord, take away the pain, the thorn in the flesh. Later on, he realized that it is more important, you know what he says, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection. Know God. Just the time I feel that I've been caught in the mire of self. Just the time I feel my mind's been bought by worldly wealth. That's when the breeze begins to blow, I know the Spirit's call. And all of my, and all my worldly wonderings just melt into His love. Oh, I want to know you more. Deep within my soul, I want to know you. Oh, I want to know you. To feel your heart and know your mind. Looking in your eyes, tears up within me. Eyes that say I want to know. Oh, I want to know. you more. When my daily deeds ordinarily lose life and soul, my heart begins to bleed. Sensitivity to him is gone. I've run the race, but set my own face, and face a shattered soul. The gentle arms of Jesus worn my anger so to behold. Oh, I want to know you more. Deep within my soul, I want to know you. Oh, I want to know you. To feel your heart and know your mind. Looking in your eyes, tears up within me. Christ that says, I want to know you. Oh, I want to know you more. And I would give my final breath to know you in your death and resurrection. Oh, I want to know you more. Oh, I want to know. Oh, I want to know you. Oh, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection. You know what, Job? Job had suffered the whole year of pain and suffering. At the end of that year, Job was released from the pain. You know what he says in Job 42, verses 1 to 6? He said, I used to hear, I used to know you by what I heard from other people telling me about you. He said, now I have experienced it deeper. Job had learned who God is. The Psalmist knew God personally before this trial hit, but note how he calls God My God in chapter 42, verse 10, verse 11, chapter 43, verse 3 and verse 5. The God of my life, chapter 42, verse number 8. My rock, 42, verse number 9. The God of my strength, chapter 43, verse number 3. God, my exceeding joy, chapter 43, verse 4. Trials will allow you to know deeper God's love to know deeper God's power, to know deeper God's care. When you have trials, remember this. When things happen and you don't understand why they're happening, God, remember this, God allows them to your life and take the opportunity to know God deeper instead of seeking relief from pain and sorrow. Deepen your relationship with God. So I want to know you. I want to know you. I hope that those three thoughts help us in facing the pandemic today. I hope that you will not be depressed. That I hope you will not be one of the victims of depression, of stress. We can have, we can experience, we can experience pain and sorrow. But remember this, but like what happened, like what we have learned from this man, we cannot stay from being depressed. We can get up by the grace of God and find help, find strength. God is our present help in time of need. Heavenly Father, thank you for the word of God. I pray for those who are struggling with depression and stress, those who are troubled worldwide, There are people all over the world. May the gospel find their hearts, their lives. We continue to pray for salvation of souls. We continue to pray for the strengthening of your people. Protect us from this pandemic, the sad effects of this. In Jesus' name, we praise you and allow us, Lord, through the circumstances, through this pandemic, to know you deeper. In Jesus' name I pray, amen and amen.