June 25, 2025
For those who have ever battled anxiety and depression, you know how debilitating it can be. For those who haven’t battled such darkness, it can be difficult to understand, and perhaps difficult to even have sympathy for those who do. Scripture attests to many individuals – servants of God – who battled periods of depression in their lives. Church history reveals that some of God’s most influential saints had the same struggle. If you find yourself battling anxiety and depression, you are not alone. While there is no easy answer when it comes to depression, if we search for it, we will find hope in God’s Word.
Today, I read John Piper’s book, When the Darkness Will Not Lift. In the book, he discusses depression from various angles. His hope is to help believers fight for joy – the joy that comes from knowing Jesus. One of the foundational statements Piper makes is that joy comes from understanding that justification is by faith alone. In other words, we have been declared righteous and made right with God solely on the merit of Jesus’ perfect life, substitutionary death, and subsequent resurrection from the dead. Our standing with God is not based on our performance, but on Jesus who was perfect in every way.
No matter the darkness that pervades our lives, we can find joy because of God’s gracious work of salvation. It follows, then, that in the face of depression and anxiety, we focus our attention on what God has done for us. Such intentionality will aid us as we battle for joy.
Pastor Nate