The Medicine of Joy

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

~Proverbs 17.22

Antidepressant medications are being prescribed at alarmingly high rates. Approximately 1 in 8 American adults over the age of 18 were on antidepressants in 2018. Of those, more than twice as many women than men were taking them. Twenty-three percent of women in their forties and fifties take antidepressants, a higher percentage than any other group (by age or sex). Since 2020 and all the events surrounding COVID, those numbers have increased. Whether people are dealing with genuine medical conditions or trying to eliminate the occasional blues, it is evident that we are looking for answers to deal with depression, whether mild or severe.

Depression has no singular cause and no one cure. It may stem from a traumatic event such as a debilitating illness, a hormonal imbalance, or being an overly sensitive snowflake who can’t handle someone disagreeing with you. Cures will vary with the causes. You may need to work through the grief process with good biblical counseling, gaining and submitting to a proper perspective. Medical help may be needed to deal with thyroid, adrenal, reproductive organ imbalances, or other organ deficiencies. You may need to learn how to have thicker skin. There are many sources and ways to address depression, depending on the person and his situation.

Depression can be debilitating. We all get down sometimes, experiencing the blues or sorrow because of losing someone or something dear to us. That is a normal part of the human experience. Nothing will eliminate these experiences and our proper reactions of sorrow to them. The Psalms are filled with prayers expressing these common experiences. Whether we receive prescriptions or self-medicate through alcohol and drugs, we are not eliminating the problems. We may only be dulling our senses, leaving the heart of the issue untouched. If we don’t deal with the real issues that cause depression, our bones will “dry out” (Pr 17.22). Dry bones are a sign of a lack of health and even death. Think of the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37. Depression is a state of death that, if left untreated, will spiral into greater death until it takes your life completely.

What is needed is joy. Joy is a medicine or a cure, Solomon says in Proverbs 17.22. Joy is good for the body. When expressed through laughter, many organs are stimulated, enhancing your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulating your heart, lungs, and muscles while increasing endorphins released in your brain. Laughter helps with stress, soothes tension, and improves your mood. Joy is medicine.

We may not always be laughing, but we can always be joyful. Joy is delighted contentment, a deep sense of satisfaction that brings a happy calm to the spirit. This contentment can be experienced in good and bad times (Phil 4.10). To have this joy, you must have something or someone utterly immovable to anchor your heart. God cannot change. His word cannot fail. His promises always come to pass. Joy is anchored in his immutable character, so I can find delighted contentment that no matter what happens, I am safe and my future is secure. Because joy is anchored in God himself, it does not change with the circumstances of life. Whether I am grieving or laughing, joy is present. Where joy is present, it is a salve to the soul.

We are called to guard and cultivate our hearts. We must be developing hearts of joy. There is no step-by-step plan or paint-by-numbers technique. There are only life-long disciplines.

You must learn to rest in God’s sovereignty. God rules over everything for the sake of his people, directing every atom in the universe for our salvation. If everything doesn’t depend on me, then I can rest. I don’t have to be anxious all the time. I am safe.

Related to this, you must also stop taking yourself so seriously. Stop thinking that you have to meet some unrealistic expectations of perfection that you have set up in your own mind. You are a creature with limitations, and God knows that (Psa 103.13-14). He made you with those limitations and doesn’t expect more from you than he created you to be.

Let things go. Anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness eat your soul by stealing your joy. “But I was done wrong. I want justice.” God will judge. In the meantime, your bitterness, anger, and expectations of the other person are only killing you.

Learn contentment. Cultivate contentment by being thankful for what you have instead of focusing on all you don’t have.

Hang out with joyful people and learn from them. If you are an Eeyore, get around joyful people and keep your mouth shut about all your problems for a while. Learn to laugh. Those people have problems too. The difference is that they are not focused on them all the time. Don’t isolate yourself physically or emotionally.

Work on your diet and exercise. Sometimes Christians are functional Gnostics, not connecting our mental well-being with the condition of our bodies. We want to do whatever we want with our bodies and then think that all we need to do is pray to have joy. You are created from a plot of dirt and are meant to be a fruitful garden (Gen 2). While this deals with your character (Gal 5.22-23), it also speaks about your physical body. You need proper nutrition and physical exertion. Physical exertion is better than drugs to help with depression. God gave you ways to produce endorphins that will help eliminate pain and produce a sense of well-being, so do it.

Discover and pursue purpose. You were made for a purpose. If you don’t know or refuse to accept that purpose, your untethered aimlessness will lead to anxiety and depression. Find your mission within God’s grand mission, pursue it, and be content with it.

God is eternally joyful. He wants you to enter into that joy with him. Cultivate a joyful heart.