Bible Verses About Depression

The Bible honestly portrays depression through figures like Elijah, David, and Jonah. Scripture shows that even the strongest believers experience dark valleys, yet God remains near to the brokenhearted.

8 Verses

1. Psalm 42:11

"Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."
The psalmist models healthy self-dialogue in depression. Matthew Henry highlights "The way to forget our miseries, is to remember the God of our mercies," noting David's faith ultimately "came off conqueror" by trusting in God. Barnes emphasizes the self-exhortation: "He exhorts himself... charges his own soul to hope in God," finding comfort in recognizing "the living God as his God." Gill describes the psychological process as confronting despair: "He calls upon himself... to take courage in the hope that a morning will dawn after this night of affliction." The key remedy across commentaries is actively choosing hope in God despite current circumstances - transforming inner despair through deliberate spiritual reorientation (BibleHub Commentaries).

2. 1 Kings 19:4

"while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, Lord," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.""
Elijah's post-victory depression reveals profound human vulnerability. Barnes notes he was "still suffering from the reaction of overstrained feeling... exhausted... alone in the awful solitude and silence of the great white desert." Matthew Henry suggests this shows "when he was bold and strong, it was in the Lord... of himself he was no better than his fathers." The Cambridge Bible explains his despair: "He had probably had some hope that Ahab would disown the idolatrous worship after the scene on Carmel... Now he sees that the influence of Jezebel is as strong as ever, and the result is deep despondency." The Pulpit Commentary provides deeper insight: "Time was when he had thought himself a most special messenger of Heaven... He now thinks his work is fruitless, and he has nothing to live for longer." This portrays even God's mightiest servants experiencing profound spiritual and emotional exhaustion (BibleHub Commentaries).

3. Psalm 34:18

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
God's proximity to the depressed is a central biblical promise. Matthew Henry highlights that in "a contrite heart... every grace will flourish" and only God's "free, rich grace" can truly encourage such a person. Barnes emphasizes the profound "privilege of being permitted to call upon God" for those suffering, noting God is consistently responsive, not capricious. Keil and Delitzsch provide deep insight, describing "the broken in heart" as those whose "self-loving life" has been fundamentally disrupted, noting God is "nigh" to such people, ready to "raise up in them a new life" and "cover or conceal their infinitive deficiency." Jamieson-Fausset-Brown succinctly states "Humble penitents are objects of God's special tender regard." God does not distance himself from human brokenness but draws near with compassion and transformative grace (BibleHub Commentaries).

4. Psalm 40:1-2

"I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand."
David's deliverance from the pit illustrates God's response to patient waiting in depression. Matthew Henry identifies the "horrible pit and miry clay" as representing "doubts and fears about the eternal state" that deeply trouble believers. Barnes notes waiting is "not a single, momentary act of expectation" but "continuous" and "persevering prayer" even when answers seem unlikely. The Treasury of David poetically describes the pit as "horror, darkness, and desolation" where the sufferer feels "forgotten of all mankind" yet ultimately experiences divine rescue. It powerfully states: "Once give a man good foothold, and a burden is greatly lightened, but to be loaded and to be placed on slimy, slippery clay, is to be tried doubly." Jamieson-Fausset-Brown emphasizes "patience and trust manifested in distress" with assurance of eventual "deliverance in answer to prayer" (BibleHub Commentaries).

5. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9

"We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death."
Paul's transparency about despair normalizes spiritual depression. Matthew Henry suggests God uses extreme trials to teach believers to "trust in God, who raises the dead" and find comfort beyond human strength. Barnes observes Paul's near-death experience was "one cause of his fidelity" - constant proximity to death made him preach "as a dying man to dying men." The Expositor's Greek Testament interprets this as potentially a "grievous bodily sickness" bringing him "down to the gates of death," truly "beyond human strength." Gill notes Paul was "at the utmost loss" and "hardly hoped to survive." The Pulpit Commentary captures Paul's mental state: "I fell into such agony of mind that I hardly hoped to survive." Such extreme despair serves a spiritual purpose - stripping away human self-reliance and forcing complete dependence on God's supernatural intervention (BibleHub Commentaries).

6. Psalm 88:1-3

"Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you. May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death."
Psalm 88 is Scripture's darkest psalm, ending without resolution. Matthew Henry notes "The first words of the psalmist are the only words of comfort and support in this psalm," observing how "good men may be afflicted" with "dismal thoughts" and "dark conclusion[s]." The Treasury of David describes it as composed during "Heman's deep distress and dejection of mind almost to despair." Barnes emphasizes persistent prayer despite no relief: The psalmist "had, as yet, obtained no answer, and he now pours out, and records, a more earnest petition to God." Keil and Delitzsch provide profound insight, noting despite overwhelming darkness, the psalm demonstrates "the fundamental characteristic of all true faith" - continuing to turn "towards Jahve with his complaints" even when circumstances seem hopeless. This validates that unresolved spiritual struggle is part of authentic faith (BibleHub Commentaries).

7. Psalm 143:7

"Answer me quickly, Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit."
David's urgent cry reveals depression's spiritual emergency. Matthew Henry highlights the emotional intensity: "David prays that God would be well pleased with him... He pleads the wretchedness of his case, if God withdrew from him." Barnes emphasizes literal desperation: "My strength is declining. I can hold out no longer. I am ready to give up and die." The Treasury of David provides profound reflection: "Communion with God is so dear to a true heart that the withdrawal of it makes the man feel as though he were ready to die and perish utterly." Gill captures the spiritual panic: "Nothing is more desirable to a good man than the 'face' or presence of God... which may be said to be 'hid' when he withdraws his gracious presence." This portrays depression as a raw, urgent cry from someone experiencing spiritual and emotional collapse, desperately seeking God's immediate intervention (BibleHub Commentaries).

8. Jonah 2:2-3

"He said: "In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me.""
Jonah's prayer from the depths demonstrates God hears from anywhere. Matthew Henry highlights "No place is amiss for prayer... though he was perplexed, yet not in despair." Barnes notes the profound struggle: "Death seemed so certain that it was all one as if he were in the womb of hell, not to be reborn to life until the last Day." Gill describes Jonah's psychological condition: "Horror and terror... arising from a sense of his sins, and the apprehensions he had of the wrath of God, which were as a hell in his conscience." The Cambridge Bible shows how "Faith grows, and the prospect brightens at each fresh stage of the hymn." Keil and Delitzsch poetically describe Jonah as being in "the womb of the nether world" - seemingly inescapable danger. Even from the deepest physical and spiritual depths, God hears and responds (BibleHub Commentaries).

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