The Depression Of Jonah
Pastor Walker
Part of Mental Health Awareness Month—A Biblical Look At Mental Health
May 3, 2023

Why?

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. —2 Corinthians 1:4

Depression

  • Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease your ability to function at work and at home.

Symptoms of Depression

  • Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
  • Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
  • Changes in appetite — weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting
  • Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
  • Loss of energy or increased fatigue
  • Increase in purposeless physical activity (e.g., inability to sit still, pacing, handwringing) or slowed movements or speech (these actions must be severe enough to be observable by others)
  • Feeling worthless or guilty
  • Difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions
  • Thoughts of death or suicide

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Anger From Unfulfilled Selfish Desires

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the LORD, and said, “Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. —Jonah 4:1-2 NKJV

A. Feeling sad or having a depressed mood

B. Difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions.


C. Have you felt like this in your life?

D. How does our unfulfilled desires affect our mind?

Depression Can Lead To Drastic Decisions

Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!” —Jonah 4:3 NKJV

A. Jonah would rather lose his life than deal with the fact that their enemy received God’s grace.

God Recognizes This Is Not Where You Belong

Then the LORD said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” —Jonah 4:4 NKJV

A. If we find ourselves in this position, we need someone to help us determine if this is where we should be.

Depression Can Take You To Isolation

So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. And the LORD God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” —Jonah 4:5-8 NKJV

A. Effects of Jonah’s Depression

  • His depression leads him to a place to be alone with his feelings and hope for the demise of someone else.

  • Jonah finds comfort in something else rather than dealing with the issues in his life.

  • Once his coping mechanism is gone, he finds himself wanting to die because of ill-placed unfulfilled desires.

Is There Something Else Going On?

Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!”
But the LORD said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?” —Jonah 4:9-11 NKJV

A. Think About This

  • God asks Jonah the same question again. Do you have a reason to be angry about this?

  • Jonah’s depression is so deep that the only way he sees to stop the anger is death.

  • God tries to let him know that he had more pity for the coping mechanism of his desires than the salvation of a people.

  • The book of Jonah has an unclear ending as do some bouts of depression. There is work that has to happen to change the outcome of the situation.

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