Hope in the Valley of Depression (Depression -Pastors’ nightmare) – By Ike Idegbema

1 Kings 19:1-15

I have been there. Perhaps, you’ve been there, too – the wilderness of depression.

When I talk about depression, I’m acknowledging there are several kinds of depression. Depression can have biological and chemical causes. When this is the case, it’s extremely important to avoid spiritualizing depression as a lack of faith or prayer. Someone said, “Do not think it unspiritual to remember that you have a body. . . . The physician is often as needful as the minister.”

Depression isn’t a sin. It’s a state. It’s a condition – mental health condition. So many people who have walked close with God struggle with depression.

Depression can also be the result of unusually hard circumstances or trauma. In either case, it’s not a sin. It’s a struggle.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) who was England’s best-known preacher for most of second half of Nineteenth centur, said, “The troubled man experiences a good deal, not because he is a Christian, but because he is a man, a sickly man, a man inclined to melancholy.”

C. H. Spurgeon was one of the charismatic and eloquent preachers of England Victorian age. He was well loved and celebrated by the Church and the society at large;

he was popularly known as “Prince of Preachers” because his uncommon preaching grace. C. H. Spurgeon struggled with depression most of his ministry age. An artist once tried to paint a portrait of Charles Spurgeon; but after much frustration he said, “I can’t paint you. Your face is different every day. You are never the same.” Spurgeon was not alone in the struggle against depression; most popular preacher in the Victoria era – the era he lived in were most burdened just as many preachers of today are. I feel the pressure is worse in our day because we live a competitive, anti-authoritarian, and a gradually slipping to non-god age.

Spurgeon owned more than thirty books on mental health. He read about depression, wrote about depression, and suffered from depression. Spurgeon’s letters contain numerous references to his sinking spirits. He often called himself a “prisoner” and wept without knowing why. He once said, “I pity a dog who has to suffer what I have.”

Among the several reasons given for Spurgeon’s depression, three stand out for me: Fame, failure, and criticism. While, many of us preachers seeks for fame, Spurgeon said, “When I first became a pastor in London, my success appalled me; and the thought of the career which it seemed to open up, so far from elating me, cast me into the lowest depth, out of which I uttered my misery, and found no room for a Gloria in excelsis.” The fear of failing has driven many preachers to depression; we fear what the very flock under our shepherding would do to our ministry and testimony. Spurgeon said, “How often have some of us tossed to and from upon our couch half the night because of conscious shortcomings in our testimony! How frequently have we longed to rush back to the pulpit again to say over again more vehemently, what we have uttered in so cold a manner?” We are often criticize by those we burn our lantern in prayer and fasting to rescue, build and give direction in life – they watch us preach our hearts only to judge, criticize, and condemn us.

Elijah, one of God’s great heroes of the Bible, suffered from depression and his story is one of the most powerful in history for guiding us through the long, dark alleys of life that we must walk.

The background story on Elijah:

1. Chosen to be THE leading prophet of Israel.
2. Was hidden in the cave and fed by God through ravens at Cherith.
3. Had a major victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.

It’s worth noting that sometimes depression hits us hardest right after a season of great victory.

We Sometimes Make Our Depression Worse

1. By amplifying our problems (1 Kings 19:1-2)
2. By making little deals become big deals when we are depressed.
3. By focusing on our feelings instead of God (1 Kings 19:3)
4. By isolating ourselves from others (1 Kings 19:4aa)
5. By comparing ourselves to others (1 Kings 19:4)
6. By taking the blame for everything (1 Kings 19:10)

God’s Direction and Options in depression

1. Take care of your physical needs. (1 Kings 19:5-9) Addressing the physical need means addressing possible chemical issues in our brain. Talk to your doctor and/or a good therapist.
2. Talk to God about your problems (1 Kings 19:9b): Prayer is the only entry way into genuine self-knowledge. It is also the main way we experience deep change—the reordering of our loves. Prayer is how God gives us so many of the unimaginable things he has for us.
3. Seek a fresh word from God (1 Kings 19:11-13): STOP waiting for the sensational experience and start listening to the gentle whisper of God.
4. Get back to God’s purposes (1 Kings 19: 15): God’s final instruction was for Elijah to get up and get back to his purpose.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Depression doesn’t have to be the end of us. God wants to walk through depression with us and to bring us to a place of renewal and fresh new growth.

Spurgeon’s depression didn’t hinder his ministry – in fact, it helped it. Spurgeon’s many faces might have frustrated the artist trying to paint his portrait, but they also gave the pastor a multi-faceted understanding for the problems facing his flock. That’s one reason Spurgeon was “the people’s preacher.”

Spurgeon called his depression “a prophet in rough clothing.” His weakness reminded him that, as humans, we are all designed from dust.

As with Spurgeon and Elijah, may God’s strength be spotlighted in the shadow of struggles in our health, family and ministry in Jesus name!

Ike Idegbema

Africa Discipleship Bible Institute, SA