The restless narrator of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick confessed to feeling “a damp, drizzly November in my soul.” It was never just a month, but a state of thought. And he assumed going to sea could cure him, only to discover that it takes far more to restore an inner peace.
Had he told his story today, he’d find countless therapies all over the world, reflecting the constantly evolving theories on depression. But in the midst of these, the Bible remains a timeless resource for comprehensive health care, including mental health. There is no grief we face, no discouragement we endure, that hasn’t been experienced before. And God’s boundless ability to comfort shines through it all.
In Psalms, we find those profound moments when mourning turns into dancing and sorrow is replaced with gladness (see Psalm 30). Again and again, we see how “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
