"We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed… Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 16-18 - NIV).


When I was asked to preach for this weekend’s services I approached it in the same way that I have every other time I have preached. I consulted the Lectionary to see what the suggested scriptures were for this weekend, chose a scripture and began the process of preparation. Then, as the last six or eight weeks unfolded, I realized that I wanted to preach a sermon on a topic that was of particular interest to me and I hope it is to you also. Therefore, I dropped myself a note in the offering plate; “Dear Steve: I’d like to hear a sermon on anxiety and depression.” So I made an appointment with myself to get together for lunch and talk about what I was going to say and – here we are!
As Don has said in his sermons by request, this is a very complicated and somewhat controversial topic that cannot begin to be thoroughly covered in a series of sermons, much less one message. Let me also offer a disclaimer, I am not a doctor or psychologist or any type of an expert on the subject of anxiety and depression, but I am someone who speaks from experience. But before we get into that, I think it would help us to define, as clearly as we can, what anxiety and depression is what it isn’t.
Formally, depression is defined as a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal; sadness greater and more prolonged than that warranted by any objective reason. Many experts agree that if you are suffering some of the following symptoms and have been for over two weeks then go see a doctor. Some of the symptoms are:
 Poor concentration
 Daily sadness
 Loss of interest in activities previously enjoyed
 Restless, anxious or irritable behavior
 Trouble concentrating, focusing on remembering
 Excessive weariness or lethargy
 Sleeping or eating too much or too little
 Thoughts of suicide
 Crying spells

Keep in mind that nobody ever experiences depression in the same way as anyone else. Depression is as unique as the sufferer. Not everyone is going to have all the symptoms on the list and some people will have symptoms of his or her depression that I haven't put on the list. The point here is that, if you feel depressed (no matter what your other symptoms are) and you've felt the same way for more than a couple of weeks then please consider seeing your family doctor. There is an important point that must be made here and that is, since I am not a doctor, I decided to get in touch with one regarding some of the medical elements of anxiety and depression.
Dr. William Cutrer M.D. is a licensed Christian therapist, and an ordained minister. He serves as the C. Edwin Gheens Professor of Christian Ministry, and Director, Gheens Center for Family Ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
Dr. Cutrer said this about depression: “Because there isn’t a “blood test” for it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist or that it is always a spiritual problem. Certainly sometimes sin is a major factor, and depression always causes spiritual impact. Faith is important in the life of every believer, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that greater faith eliminates depression. There are many complex issues here, I happen to believe strongly that a medical component is present in many folks suffering with depression.”

So, according to the good doctor, there is a medical component to those that suffer from anxiety and depression. Some would have us believe that “good” Christians don’t have depression and surely, don’t take medicine for it. “Well all you have to do is pray and read your Bible and depression will go away.” Now, keep in mind that prayer and reading your Bible are not bad things; in fact, they are good and crucial if we are to grow in our lives of faith, but that is only part of the solution. If you hear nothing else I have said this morning, hear this loud and clear: Anxiety and depression are largely issues of chemical imbalance and not a lack of one’s faith!
Perhaps you’re thinking, “Come on, Steve, depression’s not that big of a deal, is it?”
According to the National Institute of Mental Health
Depression Statistics
Depressive disorders encompass major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is included because people with this illness have depressive episodes as well as manic episodes.
Approximately 18.8 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year, have a depressive disorder.
Nearly twice as many women (12.0 percent) as men (6.6 percent) are affected by a depressive disorder each year. These figures translate to 12.4 million women and 6.4 million men in the U.S.
Depressive disorders often co-occur with anxiety disorders and substance abuse.
These statistics tell me that anxiety and depression are more prevalent in today’s world than I first believed. Odds are that you or someone in your world has or will be affected by anxiety and depression and the Church hasn’t done such a good job of talking about it because there is a stigma connected with any kind of mental disorder. The fact is, anxiety and depression have been around for a long time.
In fact, some of the great heroes of the faith and lived with anxiety and depression: The great preacher of 19th century England Charles Haddon Spurgeon experienced long periods of depression. He struggled against clinical depression for many years and spoke of being moved to tears for apparently, no reason known to him.
One of the greatest Christian writers of the twentieth century, C.S. Lewis was also plagued with depression.
The Father of the protestant Reformation, Martin Luther was another. He described the experience in varied terms: melancholy, heaviness, depression, dejection of spirit; downcast, sad, and downhearted. He suffered in this area for much of his life and often revealed these struggles in his works. Evidently he did not think it a shameful problem to be hidden.
Then there are others outside of the life of faith- honest Abe- Abraham Lincoln; our sixteenth president had a life long tendency to melancholy. Some believe that Lincoln’s anxiety and depression stemmed from a series of childhood losses, including the death of his newborn younger brother (Lincoln was only three years old at the time); the death of his mother, aunt, and uncle when he was only nine years old; and the passing away of his sister in childbirth when he was eighteen years of age. According to some psychologists, bereavement in childhood can be one of the most significant factors in the development of depressive illness in later life.”
Then there are others that have experienced anxiety and depression and aren’t quite as well known. I am one of them.
Anxiety and depression is something I’ve lived with most of my life even though I didn’t know what it was until fairly recently. About five years ago, I had my first panic attack. I won’t go into all of the details, but suffice it to say, it scared me to death and I decided to seek help. For me, the anxiety attacks were more a symptom of my depression. In other words, when I felt stressed or depressed, many times I would internalize those feelings instead of trying to express them and deal with them appropriately. Think of it like trying to put ten pounds of something into a five pound bag. No matter how hard you try to will whatever it is into the bag, it ain’t gonna work! The bag is made to hold only five pounds, not ten.
In the same way, my brain can only handle so many “things” at a time and when it gets to be too much, my brain starts sending these signals, telling my body that we got a problem and next thing you know- anxiety attack.
After consulting with my doctors and with the help of some Christian counseling I was diagnosed with dysthymic depression, which is a less severe form of clinical or major depression. The main difference is that dysthymia is more chronic in nature, though less severe.
I’m leaving out lots of details due to time, but that was five years ago and I wished I could tell you that I am “over” my anxiety and depression but I am not. Now, I am in a much better place with it than I’ve ever been before, but I haven’t got it licked. Along with some good medical care, the proper medication and some lifestyle changes my condition has improved and I am learning to live my life differently. Most important, I have renewed hope and there have been times when I felt hopeless.
I don’t know where you are in life’s journey, but if you are facing what some have defined as the “noonday demon”; anxiety and depression are serious matters that need attention- medical and spiritual.
When I feel depressed, sometimes I feel isolated- from God and from others. I feel as though God is so far away from me that I believe that reaching Him is nearly impossible. In fact, I don’t really want to be around anybody when I’m feeling depressed. I don’t communicate very well and I kind of turn inward and I don’t want to talk about my secret because if I tell you my secret then you may not love me anymore. You see, if I confess to God that I have this problem, God may not love me anymore. But friends I have good news this morning and believe me when I say this: Every single one of us is a precious child of God; created by God, in the image of God, to glorify God. I constantly need to be reminded of this because it gives me hope. When I get down, I mean so far down that I just want the world to go away; all I have to hold onto is hope!
That’s what I want you to leave here with this morning. There is hope! As Paul said in our scripture lesson:
"We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed… Therefore we do not lose heart.”
He goes on to say:
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
(Hebrews 12:2a) tells us to:
To fix their eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of their faith.
This idea of fixing our eyes on Jesus reminds me that when I do that, I have a single-minded, almost tunnel vision, focus and commitment to following Jesus. No matter what else is going on around me- I am focused like a laser beam on Jesus. We are never without hope. In other words, there are times when our lives may seem to be falling apart, a spouse dies, a husband walks out, the diagnosis is terminal; these are realities that cannot be changed. That’s why Paul says in Romans 8:38:
“I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God, that is in Christ Jesus.”
From the book “New Light on Depression” by Drs. Donald Biebel and Harold Koenig I found this quote,
“Depression will permanently etch the words: “I need God” upon one doorpost of your heart. On the other doorpost it will etch, “I need others.”
Many times, those of us that have a tendency toward depression feel as though our lives don’t count for much and we have low, if any, self esteem. Know this- you are a precious child of God. You are loved with an everlasting love. God sent his Son Jesus to die for you! Live with the assurance that God has not and will not abandon us when the darkness surrounds us. For God’s love for us is eternal and unconditional and has been made perfect in Jesus Christ.