‘Some say that you’re a Christian, so you shouldn’t feel depressed. But I guess, they haven’t read the Psalms in depth’
“The LORD heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds” (Psalm 147:3, NLT)
Nizam is a friend of mine. He has a firm and deep Christian faith, and is an inspirational spoken word artist. I have shared one of his modern poetry performances before on here.
Nizam also suffers from depression.
This week is Mental Health Awareness week (see the UK’s Mind Charity). Suicide remains the leading cause of death in men under fifty.
Nizam has bravely decided to share a video which expresses how he felt in the middle of a significant period of clinical depression.
This video is raw. It is emotional. It will help you understand how depression feels.
It will also highlight some of the misconceptions many Christians have, and the way a depressed person can feel about well meaning but ultimately unhelpful comments.
Make no mistake, a Christian can get depressed.
I hope that Nizam’s video will stir your compassion and if you are depressed yourself help you feel that you are NOT alone.
Nizam assures me that he is in a much better place now, but his piece deliberately does not offer an overly simplistic solution. Like many other chronic illnesses, depression can be with someone for a very long time.
Friends and family are often much better at offering support to people with acute illness than we are helping someone who has been struggling for years or even decades. There may be someone in your circle this week who needs you to ask “How are you really?”
If you are unfamiliar with the spoken word it is a form of modern poetry that doesn’t have to rhyme but does use word plays and pithy lines such as,
’I get refereed to get some medication from a psychiatrist. But then I get odd looks from the congregation like “why am I even trying this? Cause all you’ve got to do is just pray and read your Bible, Niz”. But I wonder, would they same thing too if I had cancer? And tell me not to go to Chemo cause Jesus is the answer.’
This latest poem is reflective of Psalm 42, where the psalmist is crying out to God in distress (‘my tears have been my food day and night’) but ends with Nizam acknowledging that God is his only hope (‘Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God’).
You can watch Nizam’s video here:
Dark Days by Nizam Speaks
Oliver Cromwell used to say to his troops before battle “Trust in God, but keep your gunpowder dry!” And so we come to Jesus and pray believing for his help, and yet also pursue medical help and counselling if required knowing that God heals in many different ways. One day he will indeed wipe away every tear and all sorrow and pain will cease. Until that day we live in an imperfect, fallen world, and God’s promises to us are for now but also not yet.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Rev 21:4, ESV)
You can find Nizam on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
More articles on depression and chronic illnesses
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Can a Christian get depressed?
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Examples of mental anguish and depression in the Bible
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God’s word to the depressed: Bible verses on Depression
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We grieve, but not in the same way as those who have no hope
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Will a Christian who commits suicide go to heaven?
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Professionalism vs. Compassion
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Jesus Wept with Compassion
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A surprising answer to the Why Me? question
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John MacArthur and John Piper on their very different experiences of depression
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Remembering Spurgeon: not just his success but also his depression
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More articles on Suffering as a Christian
More articles on Mental Health
Coming soon: the rest of the series “Jesus Commands”
Jesus said that if you obey him your life will be established on a firm foundation when the storms come.
Adrian hopes God willing to be able to return to blogging more regularly soon.
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