When we despair and can’t see God, our identity in Christ—and God’s love for us—remains untarnished. The gospel promises not freedom from pain but an abundantly more precious gift: the assurance of God’s love, which prevails over sin and buoys us through the tempests.

Sarah, a faithful Sunday school teacher who enthralls kids with stories about God’s goodness, misses several weeks of church. When friends reach out, she admits she’s tired, but she offers little other explanation and excuses herself from conversations. Loved ones observe that she seems withdrawn, as if a light within her has gone out.
Then Sarah suddenly resigns from teaching Sunday school. Though at first she’s reticent to admit her struggles, she eventually confides she’s overwhelmed with despair, can’t concentrate, and no longer finds joy in the things she loves. She fears that her inability to overcome her depression with prayer and Bible study disqualifies her from teaching children Scripture. “How can I teach about God’s love when I can’t feel it myself?” she says through tears. “I know the gospel, yet I can’t pull myself out of my sadness. I’m a hypocrite.”
Sarah’s doctor has prescribed an antidepressant, but she feels deep-seated shame that she needs medication for a spiritual matter. The longer Sarah talks, the more her thoughts turn toward her doubts about whether God hears her prayers for relief, whether he loves her, and whether she can be a Christian if she’s wrestling through the darkness of depression.
What does depression have to do with Sarah’s faith? How might we help Sarah understand her depression biblically?
False Impressions About Depression
Sarah’s initial reluctance to divulge her depression stemmed in part from a perceived stigma against mental illness in her church. She recalled one occasion when a church leader said, “Depression isn’t an issue for Christians.” On another occasion, a member of her small group questioned how anyone who knew the gospel could struggle with grief and sadness.
Unfortunately, Sarah’s experience isn’t unique. On top of the burdens of despondency, hopelessness, and guilt that sufferers of depression already shoulder, too often interactions with those in the church cement their fears about inadequate faith.
Pastor Zack Eswine writes about this tendency: “In the eyes of many people, including Christian people, depression signifies cowardice, faithlessness, or a bad attitude. Such people tell God in prayer and their friends in person that the sufferer of depression is soft or unspiritual.”
Such misconceptions about suffering’s role in the Christian life can dissuade those with depression from seeking help. In some cases, theological misunderstandings or unrepentant sin may indeed contribute to depression, as was true in my case. Cultivating a deeper and more robust understanding of God’s attributes offered an anchor that was crucial to my recovery. But spiritual factors don’t mean depression and faith are mutually exclusive.
More Biblical Perspective
On the contrary, Scripture teaches us that discipleship is costly; that sin still ravages the world; that deep, penetrating pain exists (even for believers); and that God works through such pain for good.
Understanding these truths can guide sufferers back to their hope in Christ when they need it most. In Sarah’s case, a gradual and careful walk through Scripture with compassionate church leaders was life-giving. As she wrestled to see the realities of her depression through a biblical lens, Sarah learned to trust God’s sovereignty and mercy, to express her despair through lament, and to lean on the church for support.
Here are some themes from Scripture that may offer solace, understanding, and hope to those who suffer from depression. A biblical understanding of suffering—and the truth that even those with strong faith can flail in the darkness—can alleviate false guilt, encourage counseling, and ease a sufferer back toward the light.
1. Trials will come.
Christ triumphed over death (1 Cor. 15:55; 2 Tim. 1:10), and when he returns, all its wretched manifestations will wash away (Isa. 25:7–8; Rev. 21:4–5). But for now, we live in the wake of the fall, in a world where sin corrupts every molecule, cell, and wayward breeze (Rom. 8:19–22). Jesus warned us that tribulation and persecution would follow his disciples into the world (Matt. 16:24–25; John 1:10–11; 15:20; 16:33), but in the good news of salvation he provides, he also gives us living hope (1 Pet. 1:3–5), a sturdy limb to which we can cling when storms assail us.
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Christ suffered hatred, abuse, and shame so that you might have the gift of being included in God’s family, so that you could be encircled by God’s love and care. You could know the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the faithfulness of your heavenly Father, the love of your elder brother, Jesus. In Christ, you have God as your shepherd, provider, and friend. You have the ear and heart of the King of the universe. God came down from his exalted place in Heaven to be the outcast for you—the Savior that you needed—so that you might be included in his heart.

We often get caught up with how we appear to others—our image is important to us. The desire for approval can creep into even the simplest tasks that we do, or preoccupy our thoughts. Whether it is the reason behind why we dress or act a certain way, the filters we use on our Instagram or Facebook posts, or the people we choose to hang out with in public, creating a persona or protecting the one we already have can be a sinister motivator. As Christians, how do we break with this self-centered behavior and the idolatrous search for approval by others?
Christians may find themselves to be outcasts because of their faith.
The apostle Peter has some very helpful words in the beginning of his second letter as he writes to Christians who would have been on the outside of society, those who would have been the outcasts. Because of their faith in Christ, they no longer would have fit in with their neighbors or former friends. The urge to slide back into society and feel the old sense of belonging would likely have been a temptation for them as no one likes to be the odd one out. Peter writes in his introduction,

Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. (2 Pet. 1:1-3)

All Christians are in the same “inside circle” as children of God.
Peter tells his Christian brothers and sisters that they have received the same faith that the apostles have. The apostles don’t have a special Christianity because they are apostles. All Christians have the same beautiful and wonderful faith. All Christians by God’s power have the Holy Spirit indwelling them, helping them to face life challenges and grow in godliness. The Christianity that the apostles held is the same as the Christianity of the other followers of Christ (2 Pet. 1:1).
Have you ever felt left out? You look on while the popular girls or guys do their thing. You wish you were on the inside circle. You wish you had something special about you to make people notice. So, maybe you try to make yourself look different by your dress, make-up, lifestyle, activities. You try to play the part so somebody, anybody, will take notice and include you, make you feel special and sought after. With Jesus you don’t need to do any of that.
The most wonderful gift, Jesus himself, has been given to you along with all Christians over the centuries. Along with famous Christians, renowned missionaries, pastors, and evangelists who have done great works for Christ’s church, and even the apostles, you have the same faith. You are not second class. The Holy Spirit dwells in you like he dwelt in the apostles. Jesus is your Savior just like he was the apostle Peter’s. And you didn’t do anything to deserve this “faith of equal standing.”
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Written by C.R. Carmichael |
Monday, April 24, 2023
For the glory of God, let us blaze out from our obscurity and once more bring the Light of Christ to the world so they, too, can see with the “spiritual glasses” of faith, “to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18).

The current downgrade of the visible church of Christ on the world stage is heartrending to watch with the naked eye. Surely everyone, including unbelievers, can see its conspicuous tumble from the heights of religious and moral influence, especially in the West where our current truncated Christian “message” is nothing more than an annoying gnat that our willful society can easily swat away.
The mainstream culture, in fact, hardly seems to bat an eye these days when Christians are persecuted or killed, instead focusing their sympathies on the poor perpetrators who are so offended by Christianity that they had no choice but to commit violence against these “obnoxious Bible thumpers.”
But is Christianity really fading away into obscurity? The Bible certainly speaks of the disappearance of the true Church into a hidden, inconspicuous wilderness (Revelation 12:6). According to John Gill, a major reason for this kind of vanishing act is because professing Christians become “vain, proud, ambitious, and careless” from riches and honors; and thus they obtain “false doctrine and superstition” which “obscures the true Church, makes it invisible, hidden in the cleft of the rock, like a person in a wood or wilderness, not to be seen, desolate and uncomfortable.”
So what exactly are we seeing (or not seeing) with Christianity these days?
The View from the Cheap Seats
It is not a pretty sight. Recently, the largest protestant group in Britain, the Church of England, became the latest institution to kowtow to the world with their decision to officially bless same-sex couples, but not officiate at same-sex weddings. This clumsy theological sleight-of-hand was no doubt performed to maintain some dubious appearance of Anglican virtue even though, as one wise critic observed, such a position still clearly rejects the “Biblical understanding of sex and marriage by departing from the apostolic faith we are called to uphold.”
Alas, this desperate attempt to “make nice” with the world by tossing aside the “mean ol’ Bible” has lately become the standard. Many of our most popular Christian leaders, while dressed in the fashion of “orthodox” sheep, seem more inclined to scratch the world’s itching ear with their wolfish claws. No wonder the world so easily shrugs off our message of salvation when some within our ranks have joined with unbelievers to downplay the sinfulness of sin. How does the Cross hold any significance for the sinner if their rebellion against God is considered but a trifle?
Sadly, it seems, the world may never again see the likes of a Peter, Paul or John, or any other great servant of God from the early Church who joyfully abandoned all prestige and creature comforts to proclaim the Gospel to the poor, the brokenhearted, and the captives of their day. These selfless disciples were without purse, scrip or shoes, and yet they lacked for nothing! (Luke 22:35).
Oh sure, many of today’s Christian pop stars would argue that they lack for nothing as well. With their mansions, private jets and social media influence, they can proudly say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,” yet they do not see that they are actually “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17). Considering their spiritual blindness, we should not be surprised when these false professors are unable to guide the lost towards God or show them the Way to eternal life. Most assuredly, they are the blind leading the blind! (Matthew 15:14).
Wiping the Tears from Our Eyes to See
So where, pray tell, can the world still clearly see the men and women of God who stand firm in His revealed truth for the sake of Christ and His righteousness? Where can they observe the staunch defenders of the faith and the fearless trumpeters of the Gospel in the public square? Perhaps, if we wipe the tears from our eyes, step back a bit and squint intently into the distance, we might make out the faint outline of a multitude of witnesses to which we can point.
Undoubtedly, throughout history, we’ve been blessed beyond measure to behold notable preachers, missionaries and theologians that have held to the Biblical standard of truth and driven the Gospel further into the world. And even now, if we have ears to hear, there are strong voices in this present spiritual wasteland that rightly handle the word of truth and implore sinners on behalf of Christ to be reconciled with God (2 Corinthians 5:20).
The Holy Spirit, too, is ever present and moving like the wind to wherever He wishes (John 3:8). Trusting this sovereign Power, the Christian doesn’t need to hear about a “revival” being reported on CNN to know the Spirit is still at work convicting sinners and drawing them to Christ. Such newsworthy events can certainly be a boon to our faith when they advance the Gospel and bring forth fruit (Galatians 5:22), but the Spirit’s involvement may be absent if the unbelieving world can celebrate some of these “feel good” church stories without conviction or offense (John 16:8; 1 Peter 2:8).
Above all, we should pray that Christ’s name be exalted in these various unhindered moments of Christian spectacle (Mark 9:39) and hope that the watching eyes of the world might witness a true Spirit-led wave of believers who will go forth from the meeting house to spread the Gospel, saying like Peter, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation… Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38-40).
Spiritually Viewing the Things Not Seen
When looking to appraise the wellness of the Church, our eyes of faith need not be dependent upon witnessing a modern-day revival making the news. The happy fact is, there are many inspired men and women of God already out there, if we would only put on our spiritual glasses to see them. Peering through the demoralizing darkness and past the false professors that add to the shadows, we can clearly spy out the millions of unnoticed, yet hardworking disciples of the Church who are helping to expand His spiritual Kingdom as humble slaves to Christ.
As Charles John Ellicott reminds us, “There will be many folds, in many nations, in many ages, in many climes. But for all Christians there will be one true Shepherd who layeth down His life for the sheep, and all these differing folds shall, through living unity with Him, make one vast flock.”
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