A favourite Bible verse for depression or two or more...

in two categories...

First we'd like to share a Bible verse for depression recording how others called out to God for help. (Learning about David's songs to God, helped me to express my own need for His help during my depression.)

Second, we'll share a Bible verse offering hope! (Good news for you!) :)

But first...

Why a Bible Verse for Depression?

If you suffer from depression, one of the best things you can do is read God’s Word.

Why is that?

Because it fills our minds with the promises of God – promises and blessings He so desperately wants us to experience! You will most often not feel like reading His Word but we cannot rely on our feelings. Emotions can lead us the wrong way, but God's Word stands firm and unchanging. A Bible verse for depression can get you on the right track.

Okay, let's take a look into a few golden nuggets of the Word...

Bible Verse For Depression – Part 1 – Calling out to God

David’s Cry out to God:

Bible Verse For Depression - Psa 6:6-9

“I'm tired of all this--so tired. My bed has been floating forty days and nights on the flood of my tears. My mattress is soaked, soggy with tears.
The sockets of my eyes are black holes; nearly blind, I squint and grope.
Get out of here, you Devil's crew: at last GOD has heard my sobs.
My requests have all been granted, my prayers are answered.”
-The Message

This Bible verse for depression is powerful. Why? God once said David was a man after his own heart. Wow! If God loved David so much - it shows you that depression doesn't make you some unwanted creature. FAR FROM IT! He loved David and he loves us! (Remember John 3:16? - come on haven't you read this? - it's been on banners at ball games! So, why don't you get the message? GOD LOVES YOU! Read it for yourself. It goes like this - another fabulous Bible verse for depression: " For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."TLB)


Job’s cry out to God:

Bible Verse For Depression - Job 7:1-20

7:1 "How mankind must struggle. A man's life is long and hard, like that of a slave. 2 How he longs for the day to end. How he grinds on to the end of the week and his wages. 3 And so to me also have been allotted months of frustration, these long and weary nights. 4 When I go to bed I think, 'Oh, that it were morning,' and then I toss till dawn.

5 "My skin is filled with worms and blackness. My flesh breaks open, full of pus. 6 My life drags by-day after hopeless day. 7 My life is but a breath, and nothing good is left. 8 You see me now, but not for long. Soon you'll look upon me dead. 9 As a cloud disperses and vanishes, so those who die shall go away forever- 10 gone forever from their family and their home-never to be seen again. 11 Ah, let me express my anguish. Let me be free to speak out of the bitterness of my soul.

12 "O God, am I some monster that you never let me alone? 13 Even when I try to forget my misery in sleep, you terrify with nightmares. 15 I would rather die of strangulation than go on and on like this. 16 I hate my life. Oh, let me alone for these few remaining days. 17 What is mere man that you should spend your time persecuting him? 18 Must you be his inquisitor every morning and test him every moment of the day? 19 Why won't you let me alone-even long enough to spit?

20 "Has my sin harmed you, O God, Watcher of mankind? Why have you made me your target, and made my life so heavy a burden to me? 21 Why not just pardon my sin and take it all away? For all too soon I'll lie down in the dust and die, and when you look for me, I shall be gone."

TLB

After reading this Bible verse for depression and what happened to Job, my own personal depression seemed less daunting. Read the book of Job to gain understanding into how he overcame this despair.

Bible Verse For Depression – Part 2 – Hope!

But, first…

What/Who do we turn to?

We must maintain strong faith in God, and hold even tighter to Him when we experience trials and temptations. God promises that He will never allow temptations into our lives that are too much for us to handle…

Bible Verse For Depression - 1 Corinthians 10:13

“But remember this-the wrong desires that come into your life aren't anything new and different. Many others have faced exactly the same problems before you. And no temptation is irresistible. You can trust God to keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it, for he has promised this and will do what he says. He will show you how to escape temptation's power so that you can bear up patiently against it.”

TLB

The key is to yield to God’s leading. Although being depressed is not a sin, you are still responsible for how you respond to your depression, including getting the professional help you need.

Bible Verse For Depression - Hebrews 13:15-16

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

NIV

This Bible verse for depression in Hebrews is an extremely key verse. It highlights two major things to focus on:

- 1 is praising God. God deserves our praise even if we don't feel like it. During my depression I realized this and chose to sing praises to His name. After this major turning point, I found my heart lighten.

- 2 is focusing on serving and helping others. After I began to get focus on the health and happiness of those around me, I found my mood change drastically. When I did loving things for others, I often felt the joy in my heart burst through my chest.

(For me, reaching out to others was a very hard thing because my depression was brought on by abuse from others. Offering love again to others was a huge fear. I bit the bullet and found hope in the stories of Joseph in the Old Testament who was abused by his brothers and in the story of Christ's betrayal. I realized that I was allowing the abuse to control me and my health. I chose to rise above it.)

Bible Verse For Depression - Eph 2:1-10

2:1 Once you were under God's curse, doomed forever for your sins. 2 You went along with the crowd and were just like all the others, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air, who is at work right now in the hearts of those who are against the Lord. 3 All of us used to be just as they are, our lives expressing the evil within us, doing every wicked thing that our passions or our evil thoughts might lead us into. We started out bad, being born with evil natures, and were under God's anger just like everyone else.

4 But God is so rich in mercy; he loved us so much 5 that even though we were spiritually dead and doomed by our sins, he gave us back our lives again when he raised Christ from the dead-only by his undeserved favor have we ever been saved- 6 and lifted us up from the grave into glory along with Christ, where we sit with him in the heavenly realms-all because of what Christ Jesus did. 7 And now God can always point to us as examples of how very, very rich his kindness is, as shown in all he has done for us through Jesus Christ.

8 Because of his kindness, you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves; it too is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done, so none of us can take any credit for it. 10 It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.

TLB

Bible Verse For Depression - 2 Cor 5:17

17 When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!

TLB

Know this – you may find yourself doubting it or not wanting to believe it. But, I’m going to say it! Depression can often be cured when we take the focus OFF of ourselves and put it on Christ. There I said it. It’s a simple statement that we hate to hear and we would rather spend thousands of dollars on medication to avoid its truth. We simply hate admitting a loss of control. We would rather live our lives in darkness by our own hand than in light by the hand of God - it's an age old story. We are just stubborn and selfish beings often contributing to our own depression.

But, when we fill our minds with the words of God and accept his promises, our lives take on a whole new meaning.

Now it's your turn! Share with us your favourite Bible Verse For Depression by contacting us. We'd love to hear from you! You'll find the 'contact us' link at the bottom of this page.

A must read...

Have you read the following book on depression written from a Christian perspective?

If not, you’ll want to get yourself a copy. It’s a classic best-seller for a reason! It doesn't just offer a Bible verse for depression, it offers a solution based on Biblical principles!

If you or a loved one struggle with depression, whether mild or severe, Dr. Tim LaHaye shares with you a way to overcome those dark, hopeless feelings - even if previous counseling hasn't helped.

Dr. LaHaye examines the causes and treatments of depression, including physical imbalances and the therapeutic use of anti-depressants.

BUT, in simple language, he describes his own approach - one that's proved successful time and again for over twenty years. Digging beyond the physical and emotional components of depression, Dr. LaHaye takes you to its spiritual root and provides a means for eradicating it from your life.

So whether it's just a case of the blues or a serious overwhelming sense of despair, depression doesn’t have to master you. Dr. LaHaye shares how you can master it in his book, ‘How to Win Over Depression’.

Dr. Tim LaHaye has written over 40 books and in the past 20 years, I think he once said that this book has been the top-seller – due to how common depression is and how common it is for depression to be improperly treated.

With over one million copies sold since its first printing in 1974, ‘How to Win Over Depression’ has changed millions of lives all over the world.

The new revised edition includes the latest research. This book outlines principles from the Bible that can help you put depression behind you and keep it there, regardless of your circumstances.

Give it a read. You’ll enjoy it!

More info:

How to Win Over Depression, Revised Edition
Dr. Tim LaHaye
ISBN 0-310-20326-0
Zondervan Publishing House

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