Article By Tonya Davis // EEW Magazine // Spiritual

Feelings of depression take you to a dark, fearful place. When you feel overwhelmed, you need to make every effort to fight back as hard as you can. One of the best ways to do that is with positive scriptures.

Here are 6 effective Bible verses that will minister to your needs when depression engulfs you and threatens to drown you in a sea of sadness.

Psalm 3:3: “But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.”

Your head may be hanging low today, but surely God will lift you up from this low, dark, devastating place. In the meantime, when you are surrounded by darkness, know that God is a shield around you, protecting you, leading you, holding you and guiding you, even though you might not feel like it right now.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

You cannot relate to the pain of others if you have not felt that same kind of pain yourself. As bad as this feels at the moment, as a child of God, you can be sure that that no pain is ever wasted. God will use you, and this, for His glory. When you get through your worst times—and you will get through this—you will be able to offer someone else the same inspiration, encouragement and comfort God extended to you in your time of need.

Psalm 34:17: “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.”

When your head is buried beneath the covers, when your screams and sobs are muffled by your pillow and when liquid prayers flow down your cheeks, God hears your desperate pleas. He will swoop in, come to your aid and rescue you from the depths of your despairing. But you must cry out to Him. Call on the name of Jesus every chance you get. As the old song says, “When you call on Jesus, He will answer prayer.”

Psalm 139:8: “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.”

When you have shut out the world, you can never shut God out, for He is there—always and forever. No matter how high or low you go, you can’t escape God’s presence, love, goodness and mercy. He abides with you at your best and worst, and cradles you in His loving arms. When you can’t see or feel God, He yet remains an ever-present help in your time of trouble.

Psalm 120:1: “I call on the LORD in my distress, and he answers me.”

When you are distressed, depressed, discouraged and disillusioned with life, no matter how weak or low you feel, call on the name of the Lord. If all you can manage to muster is a whisper of His name, He will answer that faint cry. It delights the Lord to cater to His children and hold them in His strong, yet gentle, grasp. Let Him hold you.

Psalm 43:5: “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.”

In addition to talking to God, you also need to talk to yourself sometimes. Self-talk is healthy! The psalmist in this verse asked himself, why am I so upset and disturbed? And although the song he wrote in this passage does not give the answer, it does give you the antidote. He told himself, “Put your hope in God” and praise Him. When you praise at midnight in your life, God will show up in big way and give you joy that radiates from within.

Whatever your process is for managing the difficult, emotionally-taxing symptoms of depression, don’t forget to include this batch of scriptures. And feel free to add more of your own.

Place these verses in a place where you can quickly reference them and they will help shift your mindset from the problem to the Problem-Solver, whose name is Jesus.