DEPRESSION
Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people said to stone him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters… 1 Samuel 30:6
Don’t you wonder at times how David can be described as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22)? He lied, he murdered, he committed adultery, he allowed fear to control him at times, and he was depressed! If you’re under the illusion that God especially loves those who are pure and nearly perfect, then you need to study the life of David. David was a man after God’s own heart because he had a heart for God. Do you have a heart for God? Read the Psalms of David and ask, “Do these words express where my heart is in relation to God?”
After the Amalekites raided David’s camp and took the women and others captive, the followers of David were ready to stone him because they were so upset and bitter. This “distressed” David. The Hebrew verb indicates he was in an ongoing state of feeling the pressure of what had just happened along with the anger of his own followers. But, you may have noticed that I did not include all of 1 Samuel 30:6 above. The rest of the verse reads: “But David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God.” How did he do that? Read the next verses. David seeks God and follows His guidance. Is that what you do when you are depressed?
Some early American Indians had a unique way of training young braves. On the night of a boy’s 13th birthday, after learning hunting, scouting and fishing skills, he was put to one final test. He was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until that time, he had not been away from the security of the family or the tribe. But on this night, he was blindfolded and taken several miles away. When he took off the blindfold, as instructed, he was in the middle of a thick wooded area, and he was terrified! Every time a twig snapped, he visualized an animal ready to pounce on him. After what seemed like an eternity, dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight entered the forest. Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of a path. Then, to his utter astonishment, he beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrows. It was his father. He had been there all night long.
Ike Graham