One of the Bible’s most descriptive stories of how God deals with depression is evidenced in the life of Elijah. This man, a prophet of God, was not immune to depression. We see his suicidal ideation in the 19th chapter of 1 Kings. This passage explains that Elijah “Came to a broom tree, 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 mood is so low that he has a desire to die.
Sometimes we find ourselves in a bad spot emotionally because of ingrained thinking patterns that are ultimately self-defeating.
After God dealt with Elijah in the physical domain He challenges Elijah’s Thinking Pattern—the Intellectual Domain (Mental). Elijah, like many who suffer from depression, needed a change in his perspective and attitude. The Lord challenges Elijah two times: And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9, NIV) “Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:13, NIV)
The point God is making is seen in the emphasis placed on the word ‘here’. “What are you doing HERE?” Elijah was not where God would have him. He had to ‘reframe’ his thinking. Elijah was absorbed in self-pity and making poor choices.
When struggling with mood-related problems it is easy to become involved in ‘Stinking Thinking’ or ANTS (Automatic Negative Thoughts)! Elijah, like many prophets of the Old Testament, had strong tendencies toward bouts of melancholy. Being negative in our self-talk is certain to exacerbate an already problematic mood. It is difficult to determine, as a professional counselor, whether a person’s self-talk aggravates the depression or if the depression is fueling the negative self-talk. What we do know for certain is that negative self-talk and depression tend to have a parasitic relationship.
Anything that can help us see a dark situation from a different vantage point can be beneficial. Here are a few strategies that can help a person step outside their otherwise melancholy default perspective.
- Imagine that you are an observer of the same situation. If these same circumstances were being encountered by someone else in your position, how would they view it differently?
- Ask a wise friend in what ways they might see the same circumstances differently. The idea is not to get them to agree or disagree with your perspective on the difficulty you are facing. What you want to accomplish is to identify a different perspective on the same situation.
- Imagine looking back on the same events and situations from the vantage point of a future time. In what way will the same situation look differently several months from now or even a year from now?
Why not assume that you have an area of life where you experience ‘ANTS (automatic negative thoughts) in your brain. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by assuming there is an area of your thinking that needs to ‘recalculate’.