10 Bible Verses to Combat Seasonal Depression

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

Sometimes we need to talk to ourselves just like the psalmist did. Some days we need to speak to our heart and remind it of the goodness and faithfulness of God. Scripture can also help us talk to God. I use Psalm 42 as a prayer to pray when I’m struggling. 

We have days when we don’t know what to pray—days when our hearts are so heavy that we can’t muster the strength to hope. But God has given us words to pray. We can never go wrong praying scriptures. The Bible, especially the Psalms, is filled with cries of disappointment and discouragement. Depression is not new. The Lord wants us to share all our sorrows and joys with him. 

In Psalm 42:11 the struggling writer pens words of pain and promise. He reminds himself of where his hope must be focused. This is a reminder for us too. He puts his hope in his Yeshua (Savior) and Elohim (God). Take a deep breath and read Psalm 42:11 out loud. Speak to your heart with these words over and over again. They will help lighten the shadows. 

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"Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him."

This verse gives us three tangible things we can do to fight the dark shadows. The first is to cry out to God. The second is to trust him, and the third reminds us of the importance of praise and worship to the one who gave the earth seasons. 

1. We can cry out for mercy in our depression, and he will hear. Crying out doesn’t have to be loud, though it can be! You can scream your prayers (recommended alone). But I find great consolation when I write my painful prayers. I can scream with my pen, and then I can close the journal and give it to God. I always find relief. The depression does not leave completely, but its heaviness lightens. Its oppression loses its control. 
2. Trusting him may not be as easy as crying out in prayer, but it’s essential to our freedom from depression. Add to your prayer for mercy the prayer to trust him, his goodness and faithfulness. The seasons prove his faithfulness. Spring always comes after winter. He can be trusted. 
3. Trusting God and worshiping him go hand in hand. Worshiping the Lord strengthens our faith muscles. It’s like the air in our lungs. Inhale the goodness of God as you intentionally turn on worship music even when you don’t feel like it. It’s so important to worship daily, but don’t forget the power of praising with a group of people. We were never meant to do this faith alone.
   
   

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"Nehemiah said, 'Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.'"

The change of seasons from summer to fall ushers in the holidays. We will be passing around the turkey and decorating our Christmas trees soon. It’s a lonely time for many. It is a time of grief rather than joy for many as well. The people Nehemiah spoke to were grieving as they heard the words of the Law for the first time. Perhaps they mourned their sin or the years they had lived without this knowledge. But Nehemiah commanded them to do two important things that can help us get out of our grief as well. He told them: 

1. Enjoy choice food and sweet drinks. He was commanding them to partake of the pumpkin pie and eggnog. Look at that! (Okay, maybe not those exact festive foods.) Though our life is very different from theirs, perhaps this verse can remind us to focus on the blessing and abundance rather than the loss. May we not miss the good things in front of us mourning what or who is not here anymore. Permission has been granted to celebrate. But he gives another secret to the celebration that can draw us out of our depression.

2. Give to others. Look around you and see who needs to be invited to your home for a meal. Reach out to the elderly living alone or the college students unable to go home for the holidays. Bake pumpkin bread for your neighbors. Ask the Lord who you can bless today. Blessing others blesses God and brings him great joy. When this happens, the joy of the Lord is our strength. 

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"My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass. But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations. You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come."

If you want to read the words of someone else really struggling with depression, read all of Psalm 102. This is a psalm of lament. What I love about this kind of psalm is that the writers of laments don’t stay in the pit. They always write of faith in God’s power and goodness. Their pain is balanced with promise and praise. In these verses the psalmist praises God and writes about the “appointed” time of God’s favor. 

Though he writes specifically about Zion’s appointed time or season, this psalm teaches us about the nature of God. He is God sitting enthroned in heaven, but he is a compassionate God who will not forget or neglect his children. Your appointed time may not have come yet, but we all have appointed times. They will come. In the meantime, continue to journal your pain, praise, and promises. 

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"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Soul darkness is not from God. Oppression is not his way. So, when the shadows oppress our spirits, be aware of the one who wants to keep us depressed. We cannot see the bigger picture—the spiritual one. This is our call to fight the good fight and become a soldier of light clad in armor. Put on:

• Truth—stand on scripture, not your feelings.
• Righteousness—be a person who loves God and the people around you.
• Gospel of Peace—share the reality of Jesus.
• Faith—trust God’s faithfulness, goodness, and power.
• Salvation—rest in salvation by faith and grace. 
• Sword of the Spirit—study and claim the Word of God. Defeat the enemy with scriptures refuting his lies.

Use the Word to fight depression. Remember, you have a purpose that goes beyond this world. In the middle of the dark days, ask God to give you a vision of your purpose as a soldier of light. 

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My beloved spoke and said to me,
 “Arise, my darling,
 my beautiful one, come with me.
See! The winter is past;
 the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
 is heard in our land.

Song of Songs is a love story. It is a metaphor for God’s love for his people—Israel and those adopted into his family through Jesus. Don’t get lost in the metaphor today. Just let these words soak deep: “ . . . the winter is past.” Remember that each season is only for a period of time and the spring will come. Let the change of seasons remind you of this love story between God and his people. Remember his tenderness and compassion. We aren’t stuck in Narnia. It will not be winter forever. Listen for his call in this cold season and the promise of the flowers appearing on the earth again. He loves you. 

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If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you."

Even our dark depression cannot hide us from God. He can see us in the dark. He has night vision. Can you see glimpses of his light? Remember, the darkness has never been able to overpower light. The darkness only comes when the sun sets, but when the time comes for the sun’s return, the sky cannot block the brilliant colors on the horizon announcing the new day. In our depression, we feel alone. God seems lost to us, but he is not. Don’t trust your feelings. Trust the Word. Trust the experience of David who wrote Psalm 139 and knew what it was like to commune with God. God never left David and He will never leave you no matter what season it is. He sees you. 

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"She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: 'You are the God who sees me, for I have seen the One who sees me.'"

This beautiful name for God as the “One who sees” was spoken by a woman who felt very alone. She was stuck in an abusive situation, carrying the baby of a man she did not love, and desperate to get away from the place of her pain. But as she ran away, she ran into God himself. God did not change her circumstances. He even told her to go back. But his presence and his knowledge of her painful situation gave her strength and hope. 

One of the words translated as “see” can mean understand or experience. Hagar (the woman in this story) proclaimed, “I have experienced the one who understands me. Maybe that’s why she was able to go back. Could meeting the God who took the time to manifest himself to her and talk to her change her heart simply because he understood her pain? 

God understands your pain, too. He sees you, and he knows you—he gets it. Don’t try to run away. Trust his blessings to come after this season.  

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"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

Jesus gets us. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be a man of “suffering familiar with pain” (Isaiah 53:15). Jesus understands what it’s like to hurt emotionally. This is why he is our great high priest, able to empathize with us. But Jesus never gave up on the goodness of the Father. He would often go away from the disciples to be with God. This gave him strength. His time with the Father gave him wisdom and knowledge. We, too, can go to the Father when we’re weary and disheartened. 

We’ve been invited to the throne of grace. The ancient word for grace in this scripture is charis. According to Bible scholar and author Spiros Zodhiates, the root of this word represents something that causes joy for the recipient. Joy! Go to the throne of grace when you need joy. 

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"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Lack of hope feeds soul sorrows. But God is a God of hope. He has not left the planet. He’s not left us here to suffer. His plans are good, and his love endures forever, even when our feelings tell us otherwise. This verse gives us the secret to overflowing with hope and experiencing joy and peace. This verse tells us how we can kick seasonal sorrow. Can you see it? Something else must come from our hearts before we can experience this supernatural joy. It’s not just the Holy Spirit. 

Friends, we are only filled with hope when we trust God. Nothing steals the joy of a believer faster than distrust of God’s goodness and faithfulness. I know it’s not always easy, but trusting God is only a prayer away. “Help me trust you, God!” Pray this prayer when depression dominates your heart. His Word never fails. May our trust in Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, and our love for the Father, and the filling of Holy Spirit change our mood in every season. 

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