Many of us struggle with dark thoughts, thoughts of guilt for past sins, depression and shame.  As followers of Christ, this is not how we are to live (Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…) and God shows us a way to refocus our thoughts and remain out of darkness.  If we read Psalm 143:3-4, we see a great example of David, a man of strong faith who suffered at times, from depression and dark thoughts, “For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he smiteth my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.  Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.”  Even King David, a man after God’s own heart, suffered from depression at times, but he also gave us the answer of how to rise above it through faith.  Psalm 143:5-6 “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the works of thy hands.  I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Se-lah.”

The first thing that David did to combat depression was to meditate on God and His works.  If we are thinking of God, our mind is occupied by light and not darkness.  We are doing what our soul cries out for–communing with our creator, and we are not thinking of ourselves or how bad things are.  And when our spirits sink, we can do as David did: talk to God and ask Him to not hide his face from us. “Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth; hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.  Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust; cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.” Psalm 143:7-8. When we ask, then we also need to listen to what God has to tell us.  In the time of David, there was direct communication from God.  Since the time of Christ, we hear through His Word, the Holy Bible.  As told in Psalm 143:8, David asked to hear God’s loving kindness in the morning.  Since that was when David asked to hear, it would be good to follow his guidance by “hearing” God’s word in the morning. (Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God) Our guidance is to come by the word of God.  Start your day in lightness and not in darkness.  Our enemy within this world is the devil and is of darkness (Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places). David also fled to God to hide from his enemies. Psalm 143:9 “Deliver me O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.“  We can flee to God through Jesus to hide from our enemy, to dwell in the peace of God (Phil 4:7…the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.)

If we continue to follow the pattern that David set for battling depression and darkness of thoughts, then we will ask God to teach us to do His will. Psalm 143:10-12 “Teach me to do thy will for thou art my God; thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.  Quicken me, O Lord for thy name’s sake, for thy righteousness sake, bring my soul out of trouble.  And of they mercy cut off thine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul; for I am thy servant.”

Satan uses feelings of guilt, shame and depression as tools to make us useless as servants of God.  He is very good at using doubts, guilt and other emotions to keep our thoughts centered on ourselves to that we do not focus on God and what He wants us to do.  Satan uses darkness and depression, but through Jesus Christ, the “True Light” (John 1:9) we can conquer the darkness “...let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” Rom 13:12 “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ” Rom13:14.

Sinless Jesus died for our sins, He paid the price for all of them on the cross through His sacrifice and under His blood–when we hold on to the guilt and shame, the dark thoughts and depression, we make little of the tremendous sacrifice that He made for our very souls.

To rebuke the darkness we need to hold close to God’s Word, these simple steps can help:

• Know in your heart and believe (have faith) that God is our Creator and our Heavenly Father.
• Accept that Jesus Christ is His only begotten son, sent for our salvation, to pay the sacrifice for all of our sins.
• Think on God, meditate on His works
• Thank God–He loved you enough to send His only Son
• Turn to God, talk to God, Pray
• Hear God’s word (read His word)
• Receive God’s instruction (read His word)
• Turn all of your guilt, sins, worries, darkness of thoughts over to Christ – He already paid the price – and His light will replace the darkness.