There are positive outcomes of depression. “Sorrow is better than laughter, for by the sadness of the countenance, the heart is made better.” Ecc. 7:3.
God doesn’t always fix depression, but our sorrow can be a gift to bring us closer to Him. It can cause us to pray and develop a closer relationship with God. It causes us to depend on Him for our strength.
Sorrow also teaches us to have compassion for others. Our heart becomes better, deeper, more tender, more loving.
If you can hold onto God while depressed, it is proof that you can still live for God without peace or joy. That’s an accomplishment and a trait of someone with strong character. You’re not a “fair-weather Christian.”
You have proof that your heart is not stony soil (Matthew 13) where the seed springs up at first but withers and dies when trouble comes. You are an overcomer. Read Revelations 2 and 3 for what God thinks of overcomers.
You have shown that you are like the prophet Habakkuk in the Bible when he said, “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, (“hinds” are deer) and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.”
