10 Points to Consider During Times of Spiritual Depression

How do you respond to hardships, trials, and persecution, isolation, and times of spiritual struggle? Do you ever feel as though God has abandoned you due to things not going as you think they should? You may find a commiserate in Psalms 42 and 43. A believer writes this Psalm in a time of tremendous spiritual turmoil. He is alone, surrounded by unbelievers, and in a time of great spiritual pain. He is in deep sadness, crying night and day, and doubting God. He is open and honest, speaking about feeling like God has abandoned and rejected him. Yet he also rebukes himself and reaffirms who he is as a believer. His spiritual dilemma is tangible and is summoned up and repeated three times:

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God. (Psalm 42:5, 11; 43:5)

Comment: After many expressions of his pain and sorrow throughout Psalms 42 and 43, he ends once again with an expression of pain, an evaluation of the pain, and a reminder to himself of who God is and how he is to rightly respond to God even while he is struggling. 

Please read both Psalms and not just the refrain included in this article to better understand his pain and hope.

Here are 10 points for you to consider when you are facing a time of spiritual depression taken from this Psalm:

1. We do not have to be in denial of pain and can be open and honest with God about what we are going through.

2. However, during such times, remember to keep your hope in God and to rightly remember the Lord, who is the Living God, your Rock, your Refuge, and your Salvation.

3. Oppression from unbelievers is the normal experience of believers.

4. Trust in God even though you may not understand the reason for your hardship.

5. God is still sovereign, even though you may feel as though He is not.

6. Continue to love God, praise God, and pray to God even though you may feel as though you have been rejected. 

7. Recall previous times of spiritual strength, as it can help bring strength to the present.

8. When you feel as though God has rejected and forgotten you, correct your feelings with sound doctrine.

9. You are not the only believer struggling; many Christians have deep spiritual struggles.

10. Continue to seek after God for strength instead of looking to the world for false remedies.