Nov. 26, 2025

“TRIED AND TESTED”

“DEALING WITH DEPRESSION”

JOB 3:1-26

And just what is depression? Well, it can be defined as a condition marked by low spirits, gloomy feelings, dejection, sadness, feelings of worthlessness, and accompanying guilt.

Just remember that depression is more than just a case of the blues "depression is embodied emotional suffering.”

In the Book of Job, we are going to see one of the most profound displays of depression ever recorded.

EXPERIENCING DEPRESSION (JOB 3)

And so in the third chapter, Job begins to express his grief. For the first time, he really begins to talk; and it is evident that something has happened to him—he has become full of depression and despair. Job displays his emotions through the form of a question in three different laments.

1.  Why Did I Arrive? (Job 3:1-10)

Job 3:1-10 “After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2And Job spoke, and said: 3“May the day perish on which I was born, And the night in which it was said, ‘A male child is conceived.’ 4May that day be darkness; May God above not seek it, Nor the light shine upon it. 5May darkness and the shadow of death claim it; May a cloud settle on it; May the blackness of the day terrify it. 6As for that night, may darkness seize it; May it not rejoice among the days of the year, May it not come into the number of the months. 7Oh, may that night be barren! May no joyful shout come into it! 8May those curse it who curse the day, Those who are ready to arouse Leviathan. 9May the stars of its morning be dark; May it look for light, but have none, And not see the dawning of the day; 10Because it did not shut up the doors of my mother’s womb, Nor hide sorrow from my eyes.”

Cursing the day of his birth, he declares in verses 3 and 4,

"May the day perish on which I was born, and the night in which it was said, 'A male child is conceived. May that day be darkness.”

The dire circumstances of his life have caused Job to overreact at this point.

2.  Why Did I Survive? (Job 3:11-19)

Job continues his lament with this thought: "Lord, if I had to be born, why couldn't I have just died at birth?" So the second question is not "Why did I arrive?" but "Why did I survive?”

• Job’s Desire for Death (Job 3:11-12)

Job 3:11-12 ““Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb? 12Why did the knees receive me?
Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?”

• Job's Description of Death (Job 3:13-19)

Job 3:13-19 “For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest 14With kings and counselors of the earth, Who built ruins for themselves,
15Or with princes who had gold, Who filled their houses with silver; 16Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, Like infants who never saw light? 17There the wicked cease from troubling,
And there the weary are at rest. 18There the prisoners rest together; They do not hear the voice of the oppressor. 19The small and great are there, And the servant is free from his master.”

In verse 13, Job says, "For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; then I would have been at rest.”

Job sees death as a place of rest and relief from all that he has been suffering. 

This shows the total depth of his depression.

By the end of the book, Job understands much more about life after death. Listen to his words:

Job 19:26-27

What has happened? Job has matured and grown over time and has developed a different understanding about what happens after death.

3.  Why Am I Alive? (Job 3:20-26)

Job 3:20-26 ““Why is light given to him who is in misery, And life to the bitter of soul, 21Who long for death, but it does not come,
And search for it more than hidden treasures; 22Who rejoice exceedingly, And are glad when they can find the grave? 23Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in? 24For my sighing comes before I eat, And my groanings pour out like water. 25For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me. 26I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes.”

Six times in these verses, Job asks "Why?" Be assured that there is nothing wrong with asking "Why?" Even the Lord Jesus on the cross asked the Father in Matthew 27:46, "Why have You forsaken Me?”

But there is one point that needs to be understood with great clarity-Job is not talking about suicide.

And his pain is intense. He has lost his appetite and groans day and night (verse 24). He is filled with fear and dread (verse 25).

He has no ease or quiet, and trouble constantly surrounds him (verse 26).

In the end, Job lived to triumph in his faith. He was able to say,

"Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him" Job 13:15

And in one of the most triumphant statements in all the Bible, Job—a man once racked by depression-is able to say, "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth" Job 19:25

4.  EXAMINING DEPRESSION

If God in His wisdom gave us such a clear portrait of depression in the third chapter of Job, then it behooves us to examine this topic and to look at it carefully.

*The Reality of Depression

Depression is a very real thing.

*The Recognition of Depression

Depression is not just a mood; it has very visible symptoms that can be recognized. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, those exhibiting four of the following symptoms may need to get help now.

• Loss of interest in usual activities
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, hopelessness
• Weight gain or loss
• Sleep disturbances
• Depressed mood
• Hyperactivity
• Lethargy 
• Anxiety
• Crying
• Slow thinking

*The Routine of Depression

Although it doesn't strike everyone in the same way, depression does follow a certain routine and pattern.

*The Response of Depression

There is no way to adequately discuss all the proper responses to depression. But the Book of Job gives us one obvious observation: Face your depression honestly!

*The Result of Depression

Even before his testing was over, Job expressed confidence in the end result: "But He knows the way that I take; when He has tented me, I shall come forth as gold" Job 23:10