Bible Verses about Depression
Introduction
Depression is one of the most isolating experiences a person can face. It is not simply sadness. It is a heaviness that can make ordinary life feel impossible, prayer feel hollow, and God feel unreachable. The Bible does not pretend this experience is foreign to faith. Some of Scripture's most towering figures — Elijah, David, Jeremiah, Job — descend into what can only be described as profound darkness. Their stories are preserved not as cautionary tales but as honest testimony that depression and faith can occupy the same life at the same time.
These verses do not offer quick fixes. They offer something better: the witness of others who have been in the dark, the language to pray when words are hard to find, and the steady insistence of a God who does not abandon the brokenhearted.
What the Bible Means When It Talks About Depression
The Bible does not use the clinical term depression, but it describes the experience with remarkable precision. The Hebrew and Greek texts speak of a crushed spirit, a soul cast down, bones wasting away, a heart that has lost hope, and a darkness that will not lift. These are not metaphors for mild discouragement. They describe something deep, persistent, and disorienting.
Scripture also makes clear that depression can have multiple sources — grief, exhaustion, isolation, spiritual attack, unconfessed sin, or circumstances beyond a person's control. It does not assign a single cause or a single cure. What it does consistently offer is the presence of a God who draws near rather than pulling back when his people are at their lowest.
Bible Verses About the Cry from the Darkness
Psalm 22:1–2 — ("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.") This is not a verse about doubt. It is a verse about suffering so deep that God feels absent. The psalmist keeps praying anyway — which is itself an act of faith.
Psalm 88:3–4 — ("I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like one without strength.") Psalm 88 is the darkest psalm in Scripture. It ends without resolution. God preserved it in the Bible, which means this kind of prayer belongs in the life of faith.
Psalm 13:1–2 — ("How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?") The repeated "how long" captures something depression does to time — it makes suffering feel permanent and relief feel impossible.
Lamentations 3:1–3 — ("I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the LORD's wrath. He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again.") Jeremiah speaks from inside communal and personal devastation. The darkness he describes is not self-pity. It is an honest account of what prolonged suffering feels like.
Job 3:11 — ("Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?") Job's words are startling in their rawness. Scripture does not edit them out. The wish that one had never been born is given space here — held within the story without being endorsed or condemned.
Bible Verses About God's Nearness in the Darkness
Psalm 34:18 — ("The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.") This is one of Scripture's most direct promises to those in depression. Not distant. Not disappointed. Close.
Psalm 23:4 — ("Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.") The valley does not disappear. The promise is presence inside it, not removal from it.
Isaiah 41:10 — ("Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.") The verb "uphold" suggests being held up when a person cannot stand on their own. This is not a call to try harder. It is a promise to be carried.
Psalm 46:1 — ("God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.") Ever-present — not occasionally present, not present when things improve. The promise is continuous.
Romans 8:26 — ("The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.") When depression makes prayer impossible, Scripture says the Spirit prays on behalf of the person who has no words. The inability to pray is not spiritual failure. It is a place where the Spirit steps in.
Bible Verses About Real People in the Darkness
1 Kings 19:3–5 — ("Elijah was afraid and ran for his life… He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. 'I have had enough, LORD,' he said. 'Take my life.'") Elijah's collapse comes immediately after one of his greatest victories. Depression does not follow a logical script. God's response is not rebuke — it is rest, food, and gentle re-engagement.
Jonah 4:3 — ("Now, LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.") Jonah expresses the same wish as Elijah. Scripture preserves both without shame. The desire to escape suffering is named honestly.
Jeremiah 20:14 — ("Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!") Jeremiah, called the weeping prophet, gives voice to despair that sounds modern in its intensity. His laments are among the most honest in all of Scripture.
Psalm 42:5 — ("Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.") The psalmist speaks to himself — a remarkable picture of the inner conversation that depression often forces. The hope expressed is not cheerful. It is determined.
Bible Verses About Holding On
Isaiah 43:2 — ("When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.") The passage assumes hard passage, not the absence of it. The promise is not that the waters will be shallow. It is that they will not overwhelm.
Psalm 40:1–2 — ("I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock.") The pit language is visceral and specific. Depression can feel exactly like this — stuck, unable to move, unable to get traction. The psalm testifies that God lifts people out of it.
2 Corinthians 4:8–9 — ("We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.") Paul's language acknowledges real suffering while insisting it does not have the final word. The tension he describes — pressed but not crushed — is what many people in depression experience.
Romans 8:38–39 — ("Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God.") Depression can lie and say that God has withdrawn his love. This verse is the direct answer to that lie.
Bible Verses About Restoration and Hope
Psalm 30:5 — ("Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.") This verse does not minimize the night. It insists the night is not permanent. Morning is coming — even when it cannot yet be seen.
Isaiah 40:31 — ("But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.") The progression is worth noting — soaring, then running, then simply walking. Sometimes hope begins with just being able to walk again.
Psalm 147:3 — ("He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.") Healing is presented as hands-on, attentive care. The binding of wounds suggests a process — not instant, but real and ongoing.
Joel 2:25 — ("I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten.") Depression can steal years. This passage speaks directly to that kind of loss and holds out the possibility of restoration that goes beyond what was taken.
Revelation 21:4 — ("He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.") The final horizon Scripture offers is the complete end of suffering. This is not escapism. It is the destination that makes the present journey bearable.
A Simple Way to Pray These Verses
When depression makes prayer feel impossible, one line is enough.
Psalm 34:18 — ("The LORD is close to the brokenhearted.") Response: "I am brokenhearted. Be close."
Psalm 40:2 — ("He lifted me out of the slimy pit.") Response: "I am in the pit. Lift me when you are ready."
Romans 8:26 — ("The Spirit intercedes for us through wordless groans.") Response: "I have no words. Let that be enough."
A Note on Getting Help
Scripture honors the full humanity of those who suffer, and that includes the body and mind. Depression is often not simply a spiritual condition — it can have physical, neurological, and circumstantial dimensions. Seeking help from a counselor, therapist, or doctor is not a failure of faith. It is wisdom. God heals through many means, and the people around you are often part of that.
If you are in crisis, please reach out to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Bible say about depression? The Bible does not use the word depression but describes the experience throughout — in the psalms of lament, the confessions of Jeremiah, the collapse of Elijah, and the suffering of Job. Scripture treats depression as a real and serious human experience, not a sign of weak faith, and consistently points toward God's nearness to those who are suffering.
Is it a sin to be depressed? No. The Bible's most faithful people experienced profound darkness, and Scripture preserves their cries without condemning them. Depression is a human experience, not a moral failure. What matters is not the presence of darkness but what a person does with it — and even turning toward God in the middle of it, however weakly, is faith.
Did anyone in the Bible experience depression? Yes. David expressed deep anguish throughout the Psalms. Elijah asked God to take his life. Jeremiah cursed the day he was born. Job wished he had never existed. These are not peripheral figures — they are among the Bible's most significant voices.
How can Scripture help someone with depression? The Psalms in particular offer language for the inner experience of depression — honest, raw, and directed toward God. They model the practice of bringing darkness into prayer rather than pretending it does not exist. They also offer repeated testimony that God draws near to the suffering, which can become an anchor when feelings say otherwise.
Should a Christian see a therapist or doctor for depression? Yes. Seeking professional help is wise and consistent with a biblical view of human beings as physical, emotional, and spiritual. God heals through many means, including medicine and therapy. Faith and professional care are not in competition.
