I have waited so long for this book to come out. I first heard about this book by Joey Tomlinson’s father, my boss. Me and Joey Sr. regularly have talked about this book leading up to it’s release in sheer excitement on what this book could contain.
‘The Day of Trouble: Depression, Scripture, and the God Who Is Near’ shocked me at how good it was!
I loved this book and will definitely use it as a resource on this topic. Joey hit every base conceivable when it comes to the topic of fighting depression.
Specifically early on Joey talks about some of the reasons people may struggle with depression. In that list he includes one of the traits I personally have struggled with and I know others who have struggled with, which is that of a person cultivating an environment that feeds their depression. That inclusion made me so happy because it is a very real struggle. You may have something chemically off, or maybe life circumstances have placed you in a depressive state, but another reason you may continue in that state is the environment you place yourself in regularly. Which is why Joey’s chapter about the importance of regularly gathering with the saints and worshipping is so essential in fighting depression. The act of purposefully, lets just say once a week, putting focus on someone else, in this case King Jesus and singing praises to Him can radically help you by shifting the focus off of you which is something depression does. Depression can be the result of self absorption. So the act of regularly being in community, focusing on serving God and others can be one act to fight depression.
Another aspect that I loved about Joey’s book was his excellent work on addressing the body. Early on he has a line saying:
We should counsel with the whole person in mind. We do not want to approach our care of people as gnostics seeing the body as a prison the soul is just waiting to escape. We also, shouldn’t be materialists, seeing the body as some Darwinian experiment for all sorts of drugs-a sort of chemistry playground if you will. Rather we are to see the person entrusted to us as someone created body and soul in the image of God and respond accordingly.
For years I personally battled with depression, and the Bible simply did not wipe away all my problems. Praying did not magically make my situation better. Rather it was when I started having a higher view of the body because of the doctrine of the Imago-Dei that I found progress being made. Another point Joey makes later in the book is the importance of watching what you’re eating and what you are physically doing with your body. Exercise for me was vitally important and has changed my life. It is one of the greatest disciplines I have learned to instill in my life over the years. Along with that, in my worst state I was drinking NAS energy drinks, sometimes multiple a day, and eating fast food constantly but never enough food that my body actually needed to thrive. All of these working together I believe truly affected me with my struggle with depression so tackling my diet and excericse as well as taking some supplemnets(another thing Joey mentions in the book) have become impriotant pillars for me staying healthy in my life.
In one of Joey’s later chapters he addresses the need for repentance. His walk through of Thomas Watson’s six ingredients for repentance were so refreshing that I used his walk through as a devotional this morning actually. Over the course of this journey we are all on with God, repentance can be a word we grow numb to, so Thomas Watson’s breakdown of the six ingredients that make godly repentance was exactly what I needed to be reminded and refreshed on in my own life.
And to not allow myself to keep going, the last thing I will mention that I was truly surprised by in this book was Joey’s willingness to engage and just lay out different arguments by doctors for and against different medications. I am no doctor or pharmacist and I have yet to find a book that truly helped me get my mind around some of the pros and cons from an experts point of view on trying medications. So just as a lay person, I truly am thankful for Joey’s work in this area.
The Day of Trouble is such a blessing and needed resource. If you or someone you know struggles with depression, this book is such a needed resource to get in your hands. It’s short but it’s full!
Buy the book in the link below
http://The Day of Trouble: Depression, Scripture, and the God Who Is Near https://a.co/d/7pirPBi
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