Depression is a topic nobody wants to discuss, but the Church certainly needs to start discussing it. Despite how common it is in the world, it’s not very well understood by most people, and some within the Church even have the audacity to deny its existence.
Depression refers to a number of mental conditions that cause a “low” mental state to the extent that one is unable to function normally. This can be distinguished from feeling depressed. Feeling depressed is usually tied to specific circumstances, and dissipates with either time or resolution, whereas sufferers of depression usually have a persistently crippling emotional state even in times of relative prosperity. Unfortunately, this often leads to statements like “you have nothing to be depressed about”, which is quite high on the list of worst possible things you could say to someone who has depression.
Depression, in the medical sense, is not a response to difficult circumstances (though these can certainly be a contributing factor), but by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Therefore, it can be just as easily classified as a physical illness as heart disease. The brain, like the heart, is a vital organ. Problems with either may not manifest themselves in noticeable symptoms. You can’t usually tell who suffers from them just by looking at them. Nevertheless, they are legitimate illnesses.
Sadly, depression can actually lead to other physical symptoms, such as loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, insomnia, and even various inexplicable aches. Solomon, who himself seems to have struggled with a form of depression (Ecclesiastes 2:17) wrote two proverbs concerning the effects of mental health on physical health. Both Proverbs 17:22 and 18:14 talk about how the spirit of a man can sustain him even in sickness, with joy even being like medicine. He then contrasts this with a broken spirit, which is unbearable, and “dries the bones”.
To some in the Church, depression is a sign of weak, or absent faith. This is an unacceptable viewpoint, as it is both false, and very damaging. It is damaging because it dissuades unbelievers from considering the faith, and worse, makes believers who suffer with depression feel even more worthless. It is false because the Bible nowhere promises Christians will be immune from mental illnesses, and actually promises trials and tribulations will come in this life.
There is a saying that you don’t see faith healers working in hospitals for the same reason you don’t see psychics winning the lottery. This is because faith healing is a con. While God is capable of healing anyone of any illness, that by no means guarantees He will. Sometimes, He allows suffering to continue, even to death. A particularly sad example of the latter would be the death of Nabeel Qureshi in September 2017. A number of Christians around the world prayed that he would be healed of his stomach cancer. But all the faith in the world did not change the fact that God wanted to call Nabeel home. Today, he lives with Jesus.
Examples such as Nabeel’s are due to one very important factor: the sovereignty of God. When a Christian prays, they are not praying as one with authority over God in order to command Him, but as one lower than God, appealing to Him for something which He does have the authority to withhold. In the Bible, we are repeatedly told to pray according to His will (1 John 5:14, for example). James tells us that if we ask for something with the wrong motives, our request will be denied (James 4:3). Even Jesus, during His Earthly ministry, submitted Himself to the will of God, knowing full well that He would die (Luke 22:42). Peter, who was forewarned of how He would die (John 21:19) also spoke about how sometimes it is in God’s will that we suffer (1 Peter 4:19).
Consider Paul’s testimony in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, in which he describes a “thorn in my flesh” and a “messenger from Satan”. We are never told exactly what this thorn is, and it is hotly debated to this day, but I believe that's the point. It has been left deliberately ambiguous, because whatever it was Paul suffered from, we all have our different thorns. Depression is a thorn in our flesh and a messenger from Satan. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t pray for depression to go away. But it does mean that we should be willing to accept “no” as an answer. Why? Because sometimes, even if you pray three times as Paul did (v8), that’s the answer God gives. Sometimes, our weaknesses keep us humble (v7) and glorify God (2 Corinthians 1:8-11; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
As with all things, depression necessitates a reliance on and reverence of God. Paul’s response to his persistent thorn, rather than crying about it, was to boast in his weakness, glorifying God. He even says he takes pleasure in his infirmities, in needs, in persecutions and distresses, not for his own sake, but for Christ’s. Thus, we as Christians need to respond correctly to depression. It is wrong to deny its existence. It is wrong to chalk it up to an absent, weak, or false faith. It is wrong to suggest it's all about being ungrateful. Depression should be treated with the same compassion as any other weakness or infirmity.