Book Review: Depression by Welch
A RESPONSE TO “DEPRESSION: A STUBBORN DARKNESS” BY ED WELCH
The first three chapters of this book were extremely eye-opening for me. I have never known someone who was depressed and so have never interacted with the way that they feel and think. Depression, to me, seemed as simple as the sin of not trusting God. I thought that everyone who was depressed was going through the same thing. Welch sheds much light on the subject and explains that this is just not the case. He says that there is both a severe and a less severe form of depression. He also says that often people will generalize and stereotype the two different forms when seeking for a cause (p. 30). He says that we must be careful not to come to conclusions too quickly as to how to deal with the depression. There may be serious issues of the heart that the depression is pointing to, and these things must be resolved (p. 32). This was enlightening. If some people are more depressed than others, then it would seem to me that the more serious cases would involve more serious issues of the heart. I agree with Welch when he says that the problem often lies in the heart.
I agree with Welch when he talks in chapter 5 about the fact that we live as if there is no God, but we universally affirm His presence when we are in trouble. We all know there is a God. We all know that we are responsible to Him. We suppress this knowledge in order that we might be able to live our lives free of responsibility to that God. This, however, produces a kind of guilt in our hearts that often leads to depression. It is part of the suffering that Welch talked about in chapter 4. Welch explains the role that Christ had in being our advocate by showing that His suffering was more extreme than ours in every way. Welch is right on when he says that. Christ understands our suffering more than we could know. I agree with Welch when he says that the knowledge that Christ understands our suffering can bring hope to those who are suffering deeply.
Welch explains that spiritual warfare is ongoing. In the midst of our depression, we are at war. He says that when we realize that this is the case, even if we don’t feel like it is true, we are on the right track (p. 71). I do not think I agree entirely true. Though it is true that knowing that a battle is raging is important, if we do not engage ourselves in that battle, we will still lose. I can see how knowing that the battle is fierce is helpful in planning a strategy, but I think that the knowledge alone does not put us on the right track. We have to act on that knowledge.
Welch’s chapter on remembering was, to me, the most influential chapter in the book. I think he hits the nail right on the head on this one. He explains that remembering what God has done for us in forgiving our sins is essential to overcoming depression. We have to see our sin in order to understand what forgiveness really did for us. He spends time in this chapter explaining how important it is to see the sin in our lives. When we recognize how egregiously we have offended the holy God, we begin to see the extent of the forgiveness that He has so graciously extended to us. This recognition helps us to see the goodness of God. When we understand that we are forgiven for all of those sins, the sense of guilt and shame is decreased substantially. This is the beginning of hope.
Chapter 14 was also one of the best chapters. Welch addresses the human heart. He tries to expose our heart and its longings in a way that shows us what we worship. I agree with him completely that unveiling the heart is an essential part of the process of change (p. 135). He goes through the wilderness experiences of many in the Bible to show that these are the times that God uses in our lives to reveal our heart. We suffer to expose our true allegiances. He then discusses how we can have joy in the midst of the wilderness experiences. He begins to explain that many authors in Scripture point to the need for joy in the midst of our trials. Welch makes a connection here that I do not completely understand or fully agree with. He says that joy is deeper than depression (p. 140). He says that we can have joy amidst our depression. I think he misapplies Scripture here. He sees depression as a wilderness experience that will cause us to grow. While I agree that depression certainly reveals the heart and in that way parallels the wilderness experience, I do not agree that they are the same. Depression is not something that God leads us into so that we can grow. Depression is something that we walk ourselves into by wrong thinking patterns and sin. He spends the first half of the book explaining this concept to us and then leaves the concept to say that depression is thrust upon us by God in order that we might change. I disagree.
This book was extremely helpful in shaping my understanding of those who are in the midst of depression. It also helped me to understand what the possible causes and treatments are. God used this book in my own heart to reveal patterns of thinking that are sinful and often a characteristic of those in depression.
Tags: Biblical Counseling, depression, Discipleship, Growth