Depression Doesn’t Mean God Has Left You

When the daylight fades and winter sets in, many feel a subtle shift in their spirit. But for others, the change is far more profound. It’s not just a case of “winter blues.” It’s a clinical condition seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and for Christians, it often arrives with a second, heavier burden: the fear that God has gone silent.

SAD is a form of depression that affects up to 5% of Americans annually, with symptoms typically peaking during the winter months. For those already vulnerable to depression, that risk increases significantly 10 to 20 times more likely, according to Dr. Michelle Bengtson, a neuropsychologist who specializes in faith and mental health.

But SAD doesn’t only affect emotions and energy. It often distorts the very core of spiritual experience. What once came naturally prayer, worship, reading Scripture can suddenly feel impossible. In this place, believers often ask: Has God withdrawn from me? Or have I failed Him somehow?

When the Fog Rolls In

The symptoms of seasonal depression are physical and real chronic fatigue, deep sadness, changes in sleep and appetite, and isolation. But alongside those symptoms is something harder to describe the creeping silence where God once felt close.

“Seasonal affective disorder can impact our ability to hear God’s voice,” Bengtson says. “Not because He has stopped speaking, but because depression fogs everything.” The emotional and neurological changes disrupt not just how we feel, but how we perceive God's nearness.

This is not just a psychological battle. It’s spiritual disorientation. Church might feel like a place you no longer belong. Scripture doesn’t comfort. Prayers feel hollow. And when faith communities misunderstand depression, the silence becomes shame.

It’s Not a Faith Failure

In many churches, struggles with depression are quietly labeled as spiritual weakness. “If you were really trusting God,” the thinking goes, “you wouldn’t feel this way.”

But Scripture tells another story.

“If we applied today’s clinical standards to biblical figures, several would be diagnosed with depression,” Bengtson notes. Think of David, whose psalms often cry out from the depths of despair. Or Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. Even Job, whose suffering led him to question everything he knew about God. These weren’t weak believers. They were honest, broken, and deeply loved by God.

Judah Smith, lead pastor of Churchome, pushes back against simplistic theology. “Jesus never told anxious people to just try harder,” he says. “He invited them to sit with Him.”

When Martha was overwhelmed, Jesus didn’t rebuke her busy spirit with commands to get it together. He said, “You are worried and upset about many things. Come, sit with me.” (Luke 10:41–42, paraphrased)

That invitation still stands. Even in depression.

Winter Isn’t Death It’s Dormancy

One powerful reframe Bengtson offers is this: “Winter isn’t death. It’s wintering.”

Beneath the frozen soil, life rests. Trees look dead, but they’re not. They’re conserving energy, rebuilding strength. In the same way, your spiritual life in a season of depression may not look vibrant, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. God isn’t done. You’re not disconnected. You’re in a season of hidden restoration.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:16, “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” Sometimes that renewal is invisible. Sometimes, it feels like silence. But it’s still happening.

Even when it feels like darkness has overcome you, remember John 1:5: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” That light still shines whether you feel it or not.

How the Church Can Help and Hurt

Many Christians suffering from SAD aren’t just battling internal struggles. They’re facing communities that don’t know what to do with their pain. Well-meaning platitudes can feel dismissive. Unspoken expectations to “fake it until you make it” only deepen the isolation.

Churches must move beyond shallow spiritual advice and start acknowledging the whole person mind, body, and soul. Jesus ministered to broken people, not just by preaching, but by seeing them, touching them, and sitting with them.

“If pastors aren’t willing to talk about their own struggles, how can we expect others to?” Smith asks.

He shares openly about his own mental health about intrusive thoughts, temptation, therapy, and accountability. His transparency doesn’t weaken his message. It makes it real. And it gives others permission to be honest too.

Practical Help Is Spiritual Too

Faith and treatment are not in conflict. They are partners. Bengtson recommends practical tools for those suffering in the dark months:

• Light therapy lamps to supplement low sunlight exposure.

• Vitamin D supplements to address seasonal deficiencies.

• Daily walks, even in overcast weather, to regulate mood and rhythm.

• Small joys: plan “Saturday fun days” or any simple habit that brings delight.

• Gentle movement: Just five minutes of stretching or light exercise can shift emotional gears.

These tools don’t replace prayer but they make prayer possible again. They’re not substitutes for faith they’re signs of stewardship, caring for the body and mind God gave you.

Holding on When You Can’t Feel God

The hardest part of depression may not be the pain it’s the numbness. The inability to feel anything, especially God's nearness. But here’s the truth: God is still with you, even when you can’t feel Him.

The Psalms are full of cries like “Why have You hidden Your face from me?” (Psalm 88:14) and “How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1). These aren’t signs of weak faith. They’re signs of real faith—faith that cries out even when the heavens feel empty.

Your inability to feel God’s presence doesn’t disprove His presence. Faith isn’t a constant emotional high. Sometimes, it’s simply a decision to stay, to whisper a prayer you don’t even feel, and to trust that God is still holding on.

The Hope Beyond the Fog

Seasonal depression is not a detour from your faith journey it’s a part of it. You are not less loved. You are not spiritually broken. You are in a season. And like every season, it will pass.

Until it does, you are not alone. God is still here. And His people should be too not with judgment, but with presence.

If you’re walking through a season of darkness, let this be your reminder: The light still shines. The darkness has not overcome it.

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