Depression in the Life of a Believer

Every person is familiar with heartache, sorrow, and difficulties. For some, struggling with anxiety and depression is customary. Yet, how should we as Christian’s respond to the angst that we face? Do we merely heed the voice of the charismatic who says, “Oh, just have faith” or do we simply go and get a prescription for meds?

First, it should be pointed out that some of the godliest men and women in church history have been gripped by depression. We should be comforted that David, a man after God’s own heart, when he was undergoing major depression (eventually) responded in an ideal biblical manner. May this be an encouragement (and a warning) to all the saints in Christ Jesus our Lord!

King David was at an extreme high point in his life where he appeared to be very secure. The enemies of the people of God had been decisively defeated and the kingdom of Israel had extended from the Red Sea to the Euphrates River (1 Chron. 18:3, 14). It was a political golden age for Israel, in which they were becoming a very prosperous nation. But, oh how quickly the trials of life came upon David…as they do you and I.

The Snowballing Effect of Our Sin

Yet, in just a short amount of time David’s firstborn son Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar (2 Sam. 13:14); and Absalom, Tamar’s full-brother, responded by having Amnon murdered (2 Sam. 13:28-29). David, no doubt, knew that God brought this tragedy into his life because of his own sin. David had sought to gratify his flesh and defiled another man’s wife (the wife of Uriah) and even shed innocent blood to cover it up (2 Sam. 11). Now the word of the Lord was coming to pass (as it always does).

But in 2 Samuel 3:3 there is a valuable piece of data that also brings light to David’s present darkness. Absalom’s mother was, “Maacah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur.” Yes, it was a custom back then to marry the daughter of a king for alliance reasons. But David violated the word of God in marrying a woman of the Geshurites. She was a pagan. The Lord was clear that the people of God were not to mix with idolatrous nations of the Gentiles (Deut. 7:3). Yoking with unbelievers results in trouble!

The snowballing effect of sin brought David to a place of tremendous heart wrenching depression. His own flesh and blood, his son whom he loved dearly had wickedly conspired against him, winning the hearts of the people. Absalom was now pursuing David with the intent to murder him. The anxiety and fear caused David to flee Jerusalem to preserve his life, even stopping to weep at the Mount of Olives (2 Sam. 15:30).

In addition, when we look at the character of Absalom we can see that he was influenced by paganism. Though it would be nice to think the mighty King stayed home and read him the Torah every day, it is more likely, in looking at Absalom’s character, that he stayed with his pagan mom and learned the stories of Ashtaroth and Baal.

The Character of Absalom

Though Absalom’s name means “Father of Peace”, he was the furthest thing from that. He was a violent, deceitful, and arrogant man. Thus, it seems certain that he was, at the very least, mildly influenced by paganism given that after he murdered his half brother Amnon (who raped his full sister Tamar) he fled to grandpa’s house in Geshur, where he would stay for three years (2 Sam. 13:37-38).

He was a very handsome feller (2 Sam. 14:25), who, when he came back to Jerusalem was praised and loved by the people. This was not due to his character but because of his appearance (my how things don’t change).

Absalom’s Glory was in Himself

He had to cut his hair annually “because it was heavy on him,” weighing close to five pounds (2 Sam. 14:26). The word heavy (kaved in Hebrew) can mean heavy, rich, severe, or important. It is also related to the word honor and glory. This is very interesting for we know that Absalom’s hair was, no doubt, his glory and was held in high esteem by him. This popularity from his good looks helped propel his ego causing him to become a self-idolater.

Human nature has not changed. People love themselves more than they love God. Absalom demonstrated this when he built and named a pillar after himself (2 Sam. 18:18). King Saul did the same thing (1 Sam. 15:12). What significance does this have? Besides the obvious loving of himself more than Yahweh, Absalom was participating in a pagan practice that believed one could receive eternal life when a monument was built for him.

He dishonored his father by undermining him through false repentance (2 Sam. 14:33), by wickedly forming a conspiracy against him (2 Sam. 15:10-12), attempting to take over the throne publically by going to his fathers concubines (2 Sam. 16:21-22), and pursuing his father with the intent of murder.

The Response of David to the Flower of His Sin

Over twenty years later David’s sin in marrying a non-believer would have devastating effects as he fled from Jerusalem weeping at the Mount of Olives (2 Sam. 15:30). The hurt he experienced from the life of his son Absalom along with the sin that resulted from the seeds of lust on that haunting night on the roof of his palace (2 Sam. 11) brought him to one of the lowest points in his life. David’s response is recorded in the third Psalm.

1 O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me;

2 many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah

From David’s perspective (the human perspective) the conspiracy was growing stronger and there were more and more people aligning with Absalom (2 Sam. 15:12). Even Ahithophel, one of his trusted advisor’s turned against him (2 Sam. 15:31). David quotes the wicked who cursed him, possibly reminiscing about Shimeah, who came out cursing and throwing stones at him (2 Sam. 16:5-8). Given the dreadful circumstances David could have easily believed that God abandoned him during his time of need.

Yet, he calls on Yahweh and points out that Yahweh is a shield, his glory, and the lifter of his head. These three specific things Yahweh is to every believer who is in crisis, not just David. The prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon, commented on this passage saying,

“What a divine trio of mercies is contained in this verse!–defence for the defenceless, glory for the despised, and joy for the comfortless. Verily we may well say, ‘there is none like the God of Jeshurun.’”

3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

4 I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

Yahweh is a shield whose protection surrounds the entire person. As Spurgeon wrote, “He wards off the fiery darts of Satan from beneath, and the storms of trials from above, while, at the same instant, he speaks peace to the tempest within the breast.” It is God himself, and only God, by his grace who does this. What a great shield our God is for us in giving complete protection!

Yahweh is our glory (kaved). He is our honor, and glory. It wasn’t the riches and power that David longed for. Maybe prior to these awful circumstances David was setting his heart upon riches and success? Now with these temporary things aside he recognized that the eternal God was his glory. Whatever occupied David’s mind prior to these conditions, God Himself had now overshadowed them. What an interesting contrast between David’s glory - Yahweh, who would spare David’s life; and Absalom’s glory - himself, which ironically would be the cause of his death (2 Sam. 18:9).

Yahweh is the lifter of our head. David, no doubt, was in a state of anguish, probably weeping and yet he recognizes this wonderful truth. The only person who can truly lift us up out of the mire of depression and bring us joy is the Sovereign Lord. This is why David calls on the Lord in prayer.

5 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.

6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.

The greater the loss, the greater the depression; and David, no doubt, was in deep despair. However, despite his sorrow; despite the fact that he is quite possibly laying down in an open field under heaven with his enemies drawing near, he is able to sleep. The peace of God that transcends all understanding is what enables him to sleep in the midst of such trouble. Peace is the result of David going to God in prayer. He “slept happily beneath the wing of Providence in sweet security, and then awoke in safety,” as Spurgeon declares. Regardless of the innumerable amount of people who seem to be coming against him, he is sure that the sustaining hand of Yahweh will care for him.

7 Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.

8 Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people! Selah

The mighty King David’s only hope is in Yahweh. Salvation, he says, is only in the hands of his God. Here we see the doctrine of salvation by grace alone. Sola gratia was one of the pillars of the Reformation. From first to last, beginning to end, salvation belongs to God. As Spurgeon openly declared, and synergists must note,

This verse contains the sub and substance of Calvinist doctrine. Search Scripture through, and you must, if you read with a candid mind, be persuaded that the doctrine of salvation by grace alone is the great doctrine of the word of God… This is a point concerning which we are daily fighting. Our opponents say, “Salvation belongeth to the free will of man; if not to man’s merit, yet at least to man’s will;” but we hold and teach that salvation from first to last, in every iota of it, belongs to the Most High God. It is God that chooses his people. He calls them by his grace; he quickens them by his Spirit, and keeps them by his power. It is not of man, neither by man; “not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.

This experience David went through is extremely instructive for every child of God. In light of the difficult circumstances we will go through we must ask ourselves whether our anxiety, fear, and depression can compare with that of David’s? Can we recognize the Lord as our shield, our glory, and the one who lifts our head? In the thick of the battle do we set aside quality time in prayer before venturing in? Though the irony of David’s sin had fully blossomed before him, he was a man after God’s own heart by the grace given to him by the Father. Praise God that regardless of our circumstances, by His amazing grace, He is the Divine warrior who stands in our corner!

Mike Sarkissian

Soli Deo Gloria