How to Deal With Depression: Lessons from the Man of Sorrows (Part 2)

Read Part 1.

How Should Christians Respond to Depression?

Jesus not only teaches us that depression is not always sinful and that God remains sovereign over our suffering; He also shows us how to respond when sorrow presses heavily upon the soul. His experience in Gethsemane provides a pattern of faithful endurance that remains profoundly relevant for believers today.³

1. Seek the Fellowship of God’s People

As Jesus entered His darkest hour, He did not isolate Himself. Mark records:

He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. (Mark 14:33)

Depression often tempts people to withdraw from others. Christians may skip church, avoid conversation, and retreat into solitude. While there are times when rest and quiet are beneficial, prolonged isolation usually deepens discouragement rather than relieving it.

Scripture consistently points us in another direction. David lamented being separated from the worship of God’s people (Pss. 42–43), and the writer of Hebrews urged suffering believers not to neglect meeting together but to encourage one another as the Day approaches (Heb. 10:25).

God has designed the church to be a means of grace. In seasons of darkness, believers need the encouragement, worship, preaching, and fellowship that Christ provides through His people.

2. Share Your Burden with Trusted Friends

Jesus did more than surround Himself with friends; He opened His heart to them:

My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. (Mark 14:34)

The Son of God was not ashamed to acknowledge the depth of His anguish.

Many Christians mistakenly believe that maturity requires silently carrying every burden alone. Scripture teaches otherwise. Wise, trusted friends are one of God’s gifts to suffering believers. Sometimes the simple act of expressing our fears and grief to someone who loves us brings unexpected relief. At other times, God uses their counsel to strengthen our faith.

As Proverbs reminds us: “Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel” (Prov. 27:9).

Not every struggle should be shared with everyone. But every Christian should have mature believers with whom they can honestly speak about their burdens.

3. Invite Others to Pray

Jesus also asked His disciples to remain awake and watch with Him (Mark 14:34). Although He desired them to guard their own hearts, He also desired their prayers during His hour of trial.

If the sinless Son of God valued the prayers of His closest friends, how much more should we?

One of the great privileges of belonging to Christ’s church is knowing that we do not bear our burdens alone. When depression comes, we should not hesitate to ask fellow believers to pray for us. God often ministers His grace through the prayers of His people.

4. Pray Honestly and Fervently Yourself

While Jesus welcomed the prayers of others, He also poured out His own heart before His Father.

“Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me.” (Mark 14:36)

His prayer reminds us that it is not wrong to ask God for relief. We may pray that He would remove the circumstances contributing to our sorrow, whether illness, grief, financial hardship, loneliness, temptation, or emotional suffering itself.

What matters is that our prayers ultimately rest in God’s wisdom rather than our own desires. Jesus therefore added the words every believer must learn to pray: “Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

God sometimes removes the burden. Sometimes He does not. Some trials last for years; others remain throughout this earthly life. But honest prayer is never wasted. It keeps us looking to our Father rather than turning inward in despair.

5. Rest in God’s Sovereign Will

Jesus’ submission in Gethsemane was not passive resignation. He was not surrendering to Judas, Pilate, or the religious leaders. He knew that behind every human action stood the sovereign purpose of His Father.

That conviction enabled Him to endure the darkest night of His earthly life.

The same confidence strengthens believers today. Our depression may arise through illness, temperament, difficult circumstances, or countless other secondary causes, but none of these lies outside God’s providence. Our Father rules over them all.

Like Job, we may not understand His purposes. Yet we can still say, “Though he slay me, I will hope in him.”

Knowing that God governs our suffering transforms the way we endure it. Our trials are neither accidental nor meaningless. The God who ordains them also limits them, sanctifies them, and promises to work through them for our eternal good.

6. Fix Your Eyes on the Joy Ahead

Finally, Scripture tells us how Jesus persevered through His suffering:

…looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross… (Heb. 12:2)

Jesus did not deny the reality of His sorrow. Nor did He seek a quick escape from it. Instead, He looked beyond the cross to the joy that awaited Him on the other side.

This is the Christian’s hope as well.

Depression often narrows our vision until present darkness seems permanent. The gospel widens our perspective. It reminds us that our suffering is a tunnel, not a cave. Beyond it lies the unshakable joy Christ has secured for His people.

The Psalmist declares, “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Ps. 16:11). Likewise, Revelation promises the day when mourning, crying, pain, and death will be no more. Depression itself will belong to the former things that have passed away.

William Cowper, who battled severe depression for much of his life, captured this hope in one of his most beloved hymns:

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
With blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

Cowper understood that faith does not deny dark providences. Rather, it believes that God’s smile often hides behind them.

The Hope of the Man of Sorrows

Depression is one of the heaviest burdens believers may carry. Yet Christians do not walk this valley alone.

Our Savior has walked it before us. He knows what it is to have a troubled soul. He understands grief, fear, loneliness, and anguish. Because He faithfully endured His suffering, He is now able to sympathize with those who suffer and to provide the grace they need.

If you are battling depression today, remember the example of the Man of Sorrows. Do not isolate yourself from God’s people. Open your heart to trusted friends. Invite others to pray for you and continue praying yourself. Rest in the sovereign wisdom of your heavenly Father, even when His purposes remain hidden. Above all, keep your eyes fixed on the joy that Christ has secured for His people. For those who belong to Christ, depression will not have the final word. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning. And that morning will never end.