For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn —conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever. 2 Corinthians 7:5-7
Throughout history, many of the greatest pastors have faced depression. Often we think they have all reached such high spiritual planes of enlightenment, that they were always content. It's not true because they're just humans!
On a notable Sunday morning in 1866, the famous Victorian preacher C. H. Spurgeon shocked his five thousand listeners when from the pulpit of London’s Metropolitan Tabernacle he announced, “I am the subject of depressions of spirit so fearful that I hope none of you ever gets to such extremes of wretchedness as I go to.” For some of his audience it was incomprehensible that the world’s greatest preacher could know the valley of despair. Yet it was a regular part of his life because twenty-one years later in 1887 he said from the same pulpit, “Personally I have often passed through this dark valley.” 2 Corinthians 7:2
John Henry Jowett, the renowned pastor of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian in New York City, and later Westminster Chapel in London, wrote to a friend in 1920, “You seem to imagine I have no ups and downs but just a level and lofty stretch of spiritual attainment with unbroken joy and equanimity. By no means! I am often perfectly wretched and everything appears most murky.” 2 Corinthians 7:2
The reality is that godly believers sometimes get depressed. Those who have set their minds on “the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1) have not been exempted from down times. Those who have gone for it all, who have scaled heights we may never attain, sometimes were subject to depression and despair — the “damp of hell” as John Donne called it. Depression has been called the common cold of the soul, for sooner or later most people catch it. And God’s servants are not immune. 2 Corinthians 7:2
Even the apostle Paul got down or depressed. In verse six, he writes, "But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus". Thankfully, he was lifted out of his despair by the Corinthians who "comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me." The result was that his "joy was greater than ever".
Join me in reading 2 Corinthians 7 and be encouraged!
For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn —conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever. 2 Corinthians 7:5-7
Throughout history, many of the greatest pastors have faced depression. Often we think they have all reached such high spiritual planes of enlightenment, that they were always content. It's not true because they're just humans!
On a notable Sunday morning in 1866, the famous Victorian preacher C. H. Spurgeon shocked his five thousand listeners when from the pulpit of London’s Metropolitan Tabernacle he announced, “I am the subject of depressions of spirit so fearful that I hope none of you ever gets to such extremes of wretchedness as I go to.” For some of his audience it was incomprehensible that the world’s greatest preacher could know the valley of despair. Yet it was a regular part of his life because twenty-one years later in 1887 he said from the same pulpit, “Personally I have often passed through this dark valley.” 2 Corinthians 7:2
John Henry Jowett, the renowned pastor of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian in New York City, and later Westminster Chapel in London, wrote to a friend in 1920, “You seem to imagine I have no ups and downs but just a level and lofty stretch of spiritual attainment with unbroken joy and equanimity. By no means! I am often perfectly wretched and everything appears most murky.” 2 Corinthians 7:2
The reality is that godly believers sometimes get depressed. Those who have set their minds on “the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1) have not been exempted from down times. Those who have gone for it all, who have scaled heights we may never attain, sometimes were subject to depression and despair — the “damp of hell” as John Donne called it. Depression has been called the common cold of the soul, for sooner or later most people catch it. And God’s servants are not immune. 2 Corinthians 7:2
Even the apostle Paul got down or depressed. In verse six, he writes, "But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus". Thankfully, he was lifted out of his despair by the Corinthians who "comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me." The result was that his "joy was greater than ever".
Join me in reading 2 Corinthians 7 and be encouraged!