Sad Case of the Mulligrubs

Bible Book: Psalms 77 : 1-13

Subject: Depression; Anxiety; Worry

Introduction

Max Blaska has been struggling. Ever since the coronavirus pandemic hit, the 43-year-old Madison, Wisconsin resident has been furloughed from his retail job at Macy's, and because he lives alone, the quarantine has isolated him from interaction with others. Blaska has been living with anxiety and depression since he was a child, but now the COVID-19 crisis has flooded him with paralyzing thoughts.

"It's a beast, I mean it wraps you in tangles in your brain, and the depression and anxiety are just magnified. I like to say it discolors your past; it makes your present miserable, and it tries to rob you of your future," Blaska said.

Blaska is not the only one who's struggling. From mid-March to mid-April, just under 19,000 calls were made to the 211 help line operated by the private nonprofit IMPACT, Inc., which helps people in crisis in Milwaukee County and 9 surrounding counties. More than a quarter of those calls were for health care or mental health services. It was the busiest period in the history of their call line.

To put it plainly, people are struggling with depression. And, that is the subject I want to deal with this morning: A Sad Case Of The Mulligrubs.

Lead In:

In this passage of Scripture, right away we hear the despair of a man in a pit of desperation. Asaph draws pictures with words to describe the situation. He felt like he was in a dark tunnel, only there is no light at the end. He stretched out his hand like a man who was drowning, longing to be saved, and no one came to his aid. He has tried to shake it, but he is drowning in depression.

Now, what do we mean by depression? The word “depression” can be misleading. Depression is much more than feeling sad or feeling bad about certain things. Everyone has felt upset, or has been unhappy or discouraged about challenging situations like losing a job, or we’ve had a fender bender, or even the ending of an important relationship. But, but depression is more serious. Depression occurs when helplessness and hopelessness meet creating a deep despondency and overwhelming sadness. The Bible has a word to describe it: heaviness. Listen to these Isaiah 61: 3, “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness..."

Proverbs 12: 25, “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.”

Our hearts can be down cast. Now, discouragement will come over us like a dark cloud of a passing storm. And, if you give it a little time, it moves on. But, depression is like a thick, heavy fog. It doesn’t go away quickly, and it surrounds you trying to steal your vision and your faith.

Isaiah 61: 3, “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness...”

Proverbs 12: 25, “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.”

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 17 million adults and an additional 3 million adolescents had a major depressive episode in the past year. Since the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn, nearly half (47%) of adults in the U.S. have reported being negatively impacted with stress over the virus.

So, what do you do when your giddy-up-and-go has got up and went? How do you deal with a sad case of the mulligrubs? As you look into this passage, you find a servant of God who both experienced it, and then conquered it. Pay close attention to the details he shares as to how he dealt with depression.

I. The Causes Of Depression (vs. 2)

Asaph is writing in what appears to be a mentally and spiritually dark season of life. It is written with very intense personal language, and him finding himself fluctuating back and forth between faith and despair. He is suffering from what we would call today, depression.

Depression strikes about 10 million Americans within any six-month period. A person who is depressed has problems -- real or imagined – and they have lost the ability to get a handle on them. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that depression is a billion dollar a year business that affects more than 40 million American adults. And, it’s a matter that is so serious that it often puts people in the hospital or it causes them to drop out of society. Now, the Psalmist asked a great question

Psalm 42: 5a, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me?...”

Now, there could be a lot of things that set off depression, but I want us to look at some of the most frequent things that are found in this passage of Scripture.

A. Feeling Trapped In Life (vs. 2a)

The word “trouble” describes a feeling of being confined, of the walls closing in. Have you ever felt trapped in life? Maybe you have been trapped in a job, and there’s nothing else you can do and nowhere else you can go. Maybe you feel trapped in a relationship. Have you ever wondered why some people stay in an abusive relationship when they’re dating? They believe that no one else would have them, and they stay because they are trapped.

ill: The Chicago Tribune told the story of Ed Greer. He had a good white-collar job with Hughes Aircraft in El Segundo, CA. Nevertheless, he felt miserable. He hated his work and he was feeling pressure from his wife and father. He vanished without telling anyone his plans. He assumed another name and moved to Houston getting a regular job with a small oil exploration firm. Meanwhile, his wife divorced him in absentia. Finally, 7 years after Greer abandoned his family and career, the FBI caught up to him. In an interview, the 40 year old Greer tried to explain his actions: "I felt trapped. I didn’t like my life." Many people can identify with him. Many feel trapped, under too much pressure, in circumstances they just don’t like. Many wonder how to escape.

B. Disappointed With God (vs. 3a)

The word “troubled” here means “to murmur, to growl, to rage.” Now, we are not told what happened, but maybe he prayed for an open door, but God closed it. Maybe he prayed for a family member to be healed, but they got sicker. How easy it is to make demands of God only to have our expectations unfulfilled.

You remember the story of Jonah. God sent him to Nineveh to preach, but he tries to flee to avoid the call. Now, here’s the truth: Jonah knew God was a God of mercy, and they were a wicked people. He didn’t want them to have mercy; he wanted God to kill ‘em. So, God forces him to preach, and guess what happens; revival breaks out! Now, listen to Jonah in

Jonah 4: 1, 3, “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.” [He says, “God I knew you’d show them mercy” Then listen to (vs. 3)] “Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.”
Jonah was suffering from depression because he didn’t like how God was running the universe! There are a lot of bitter and angry people who are in deep depression because God didn’t do something the way they thought it should be done.

C. Overwhelming Circumstances (vs. 3b)

The word “overwhelmed” here means “to be clothed, shrouded, or enveloped in darkness.” Asaph feels like he’s just being covered over by circumstances. He is surrounded with troubles and problems galore, and he doesn’t know where to turn. He has overwhelming circumstances.

Sometimes, you can find your life drowning in a deep sea of troubling circumstances.

D. Feeling Shame And Failure (vs. 5, 10)

He looked back on better days. He looked back on days when he had joy and peace, and when he was successful. And, it was so real to him, and now it’s only a memory that haunts him. So, he thinks, “It never can be this way again,” and that just makes the sadness of the present all the worse.

And, all of that is now just a memory. There’s a feeling that he’s let God down, that he has somehow disgraced God. He has a feeling that he’s such a miserable example of a Christian. He feels so ashamed. What a sense of guilt he has over that! He feels those good times that he once had are now lost forever.

To quote someone who struggled after a failure in life, “It was really hard to get out of bed in the morning. I just wanted to hide under the covers and not talk to anyone. I didn’t feel much like eating and I lost a lot of weight. Nothing seemed fun anymore. I was tired all the time, and I wasn’t sleeping well at night. But, I knew I had to keep going because I’ve got kids and a job. It just felt so impossible, like nothing was going to change or get better. I just wanted the world to stop and let me off.”

II. The Crisis Of Depression (vs. 4)

Now, the word “troubled” in this verse means “to agitate, to beat, to tap persistently.” Depression is like Chinese water torture; it’s like a continual dripping on your mind until it begins to feel like a pounding. It’s like moving from a summer shower, to a heavy rain, to a thunderstorm mentally.

Some of you who are listening to me right now might be really in a state of depression. You seem to have lost all initiative. There is an overwhelming sadness. You can’t be enthusiastic about anything. Nothing is worth feeling good about. Some of you know the private battle of a weary sadness that can take on many forms and show itself in many ways. Notice with me the effects of depression.

A. Depression Has Emotional Effects (vs. 2)

His sore ran in the night; that is, he can’t get it out of his mind. When he says his soul refuses to be comforted, he means he tried to shake this off by the normal means we all resort to, but it wasn't working. He’s trying to think his way through his problems but his emotions sabotage reasoning.

Now, we all have blue moments; we all have times of sadness, but not continual weeping. That’s the mark of depression. When you are alone, you have crying spells. Ever so often, you just heave with a deep sigh. You get neutralized. You can’t make decisions. You don’t trust your own judgments or wisdom.

It’s a state of hopelessness. The idea that, “I don’t care, and no one else cares. No one understands me. No one accepts me.” And, so you’re just filled with emotional despair.

B. Depression Has Physical Effects (vs. 4)

The escape of sleep had eluded him. At this point, you wake up in the morning after a night’s sleep, and you’re still tired. You feel as if you’ve run a marathon. And, you kind of ache all over - not specifically anywhere, but mostly just all over. You find yourself irritable and grouchy. And here is the danger point of depression.

As the pandemic wears on, it is likely there will be substantial increases in anxiety and depression which leads to substance use and abuse. Families, who must navigate unusual amounts of time together in confined spaces, are beginning to experience more conflict. Divorce rates and domestic violence are spiking right now.
And, with schools closed, there is a growing epidemic of child abuse. And, all of it will be birthed out of depression.

C. Depression Has Spiritual Effects (vs. 7-9)

What he is saying is this, “God, where are You? God, have You forgotten me?” People who get depressed feel that God is not real to them. Everybody else comes and rejoices in the music and in the preaching, but not them. Asaph felt that God had forgotten him.
Now, there may be some who think that depression is a mystery that only weird people experience. Not so. Depression affects people from all walks of life, and even God’s people are not immune from depression. What adds to the burden of the depressed is the misguided notion that good Christians don't get depressed.

Any hint of depression around the church, and clichés start to surface. "You just need to have more faith" or "Remember: rejoice in the Lord always!" Or, sometimes it comes off as a pep talk: "Come on, get up and get moving! Stop the pity party and pull yourself together! What will people think of God if they see you like this?"

When you review the great names and personalities of the Scriptures, you become aware very quickly that almost all of them had bouts of deep depression. Moses, Elijah, and Jonah, all asked God to take away their life. Jeremiah said, “I wish I had died in my mother’s womb.” The Apostle Paul talked of himself as being so depressed that he despaired even of life. John the Baptist got down in a dungeon, not only a literal dungeon, but a dungeon of despair so great that he even doubted that Jesus was the Messiah.

Psalm 143: 7, “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.”

The company of the depressed is a very noble company. And, whether we will admit it or not, all of us have been numbered among them. One writer calls depression "the common cold of emotional disorders." When this cloud is hanging over us, it is like a plague that tries to steal our love, wants to make us feel alone, and it tries to steal our relationship with God.

III. The Cure For Depression (vs. 6)

Thank God you don’t have to stay depressed. God has made provision for you, for me, for our friends, and all those who are depressed. I want you to notice particularly now as the Psalmist begins to talk to himself. “And I said...” And, in this moment of despair, he begins putting on the garment of praise (Isaiah 61:3) to climb out of the pit of depression.

A. Worship Is To Be Concentrated On Him (vs. 11)

He begins to ponder God and the wonder of His works. That’s when worship begins to get real. And, this is what worship truly is: worship is all that I am responding to all that He is. And, just what is it we discover about Him that we respond to? God is love!
Ephesians 3: 18-19, “May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge...”

He’s saying, “We can’t get our arms around this kind of love. We don’t know how to measure it.” We cannot plumb its depths, nor scale its heights, nor measure its length, nor encompass its breadth. No matter how long you search, there is no way you will reach its limits! Oh, He cares for you, and His heart is broken when your heart is broken, and therefore it ought to be easy to talk with Him because you talk to him as Father.

B. Worship Is To Be Captivated With Him (vs. 12)

When worship is real, He is the focal point, and He becomes so precious to us. Colossians 3: 1-2, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Literally means “keep on thinking about” The idea is something we are smitten with and love. Just can’t get Him off your mind! So, how do we love Him and how do we worship Him? I want you to put this verse in your margin:

Mark 12: 30, Jesus said, “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”
And, when you have your mind filled with Him, something special happens.
Isaiah 26: 3, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

C. Worship Is To Be Culminated In Him (vs. 13)

Why worship? First of all, worship exposes us to His love. No matter where, the darkest night, the most lonely road, and even death can't separate me from His love. He never stops loving you. Second, worship fills us with His peace that passes all human understanding. But, then...

Psalm 22: 3, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”

Worship brings God! Now, God is always near, but God is oh so especially near when we praise Him. As you worship God, the more He reveals Himself to you, and you become more and more like Him. If you spend time with God, you’re going to be like Him.

Psalm 30: 5b, “...Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

He’s saying that his presence is like the sunrise, joy comes in the morning. And, just what is that joy?

Psalm 16: 11, “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

You want to have victory? You need to learn the power of perpetual praise. Praise God when you feel like it. Praise Him when you don’t feel like it. Learn to praise God. Make it a holy habit. Pull some of the groans out of your prayers and shove in some hallelujahs and see what happens.

Psalm 34:1, David wrote, “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

Oh, God is such a great God! Let’s just praise the Lord!

Closing:

We often think that a person who is drowning will thrash about in the water and yell, “HELP HELP! I'm drowning!” In reality, they become almost paralyzed by fear and incapable of calling for help.

In a video used to train lifeguards on how to recognize when someone is drowning, it showed a young girl of about ten sitting on an inner tube float in the deep end of a wave pool, surrounded by children and a few adults. When the girl adjusted herself on the tube, she fell off and slipped to the bottom of the pool where the water was right at the top of her head.

There was no thrashing about and she couldn't yell for help. Instead, subtly, her hands came just above the surface as if she were reaching for something. Thankfully, a lifeguard spotted her and within a few seconds had a flotation device under her. The most remarkable thing was that the people around her were oblivious to the fact that she was drowning!

Are you oblivious to the fact that there are people all around you who are drowning in depression? They may not be trashing about or yelling for your help, but these desperate people are quietly calling out. Don't be oblivious to the drowning soul right next to you!