~Psalm 42:6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.

Are you there? Is your soul cast down within you? The signs of depression may be slow in creeping into your life and, sometimes unrecognizable. In fact, at no time in recordable history for our Country has depression been so great! There are pills to take care of everything but pills only mask depression. Nothing can control the heart of man except the Word of God. Notice today’s text – what did the Psalmist acknowledge that he must do? The verse says “therefore” I will remember thee - the Psalmist remembered God’s blessings. Meditating on God’s Word is a great place to start in dealing with depression. It prepares the heart for the next step.

The next step is dealing with depression. Once the heart has been permeated and prepared by meditating in God’s Holy Word, prayer is the natural byproduct. Notice what Hannah did when her soul was cast down.

~1 Samuel 1:10 And she [was] in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.

Who better than God Himself to cry out to when our soul is this distraught? He is the one that formed us and knows all things! (Psalm 94:9-10) Hannah turned to the Lord and wept before Him in prayer. Her humble spirit caught His attention and He blessed her greatly.

Another way to deal with depression is to count our blessings, amen? Notice what happens when one does:

~Psalm 107:8-9 Oh that [men] would praise the LORD [for] his goodness, and [for] his wonderful works to the children of men! 9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

When we are thankful and praise God for the things which He has provided us, He fills and satisfies us. The cast down and hungry soul now begins to experience God’s goodness because he took his eyes off his depressed state and placed them on the Lord. Praising Him for those countless blessings builds the foundation of one’s ‘outlook’ in life and the depression begins to lift.

Psalm 33:1-3 shows us that music can play an important part in lifting depression. When we are singing praises to God through hymns, our heart is not focused on the depressed matters at hand but on the Lord! Each day we can sing a “new song” because each day brings with it something unique. Our problems are different but the cure is the same

As we meditate on God’s Word, pray, count our blessings and praise Him, we can be assured that this state and condition of the heart will pass.

~Ps 30:5 … weeping may endure for a night, but joy [cometh] in the morning.

The sun always rises in the morning – the state of our heart is but for a moment – joy follows with each sunrise if we do our part in dealing with depression. Granted, some people have a chemical imbalance in their brain which produces depression – these people need medication to control this imbalance. But on the most part, depression is a state of the heart and can be “cured” with God’s Word