Finding healing of “Draw Me Nearer” into spiritual depression

As a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God? (Ps. 42:1-2 ESV).

I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice,
and it told thy love to me;
but I long to rise in the arms of faith,
and be closer drawn to thee.

(“I Am Thine, O Lord, I Have Heard Thy Voice,” Crosby, F., 1875)

Draw me nearer, finding healing

Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
to the cross where thou hast died;
draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
to thy precious, bleeding side.

Help me remember my hope in Your salvation

These things I remember, as I pour out my soul:

how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God (Ps. 42:4-5 ESV).

Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord,
by the power of grace divine;
let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
and my will be lost in thine.

Draw me close in Your loving presence

O the pure delight of a single hour
that before thy throne I spend…

I say to God, my rock:

“Why have you forgotten me?

Why do I go mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?” (Ps. 42:9 ESV)

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him (1 Jn. 3:1 ESV).

He only is my rock and my salvation, 

my fortress; I shall not be shaken. 

On God rests my salvation and my glory; 

my mighty rock, my refuge is God (Ps. 62:6-7 ESV).

Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, 

a cornerstone chosen and precious, 

and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame (1 Pet. 2:6 ESV).

when I kneel in prayer, and with thee, my God,
I commune as friend with friend.

Draw me near to the cross of Jesus

As with a deadly wound in my bones,

my adversaries taunt me,

while they say to me all the day long,

“Where is your God?” (Ps. 42:10 ESV).

Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
to the cross where thou hast died…

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace (Rom. 8:6 ESV).

draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
to thy precious, bleeding side.

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me? (Ps. 42:11 ESV)

Draw me nearer, into my spiritual depression, as I trust in Your promised peace and joy

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God (Ps. 42:11 ESV).

There are depths of love that I cannot know
till I cross the narrow sea…

there are heights of joy that I may not reach
till I rest in peace with thee.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope (Rom. 15:13 ESV).

Resources of Singing Christ’s Hope: “Praise interruptions” into depression or spiritual depression

Sister in Christ, this week, I’m adding music therapy-inspired worship music playlists for depression to our private, subscriber-only resource library. When my depression weighed heaviest, singing worship music was His greatly healing gift. But I’ve learned it needs to follow the flow of lament to “feel” authentic; otherwise, it can make things feel worse. 

So, I pray that by singing Scriptural lyrics of lament, He would draw you near as you are enabled to praise our Lord with assured hope in Christ, into any physical or spiritual depression¹ you’re experiencing. I pray that the dimensions of the music itself would be God’s gift to lift you up, in the moments you lift your eyes to Him in praise. For yes, Scriptural laments are filled with “praise interruptions.” He knows our emotions, thoughts, and bodies need to turn to praise and trust in the midst of our pain. How?

Only by the healing work of God the Holy Spirit, by His grace, and in His deep love for us as His beloved in Christ. These resources are here, offered by a sister who knows what it’s like…and knows He’s at work “establishing you for every good work and word”…right now, today. May they be healing tools, for the weary of depression, spiritual depression, and any other suffering, as you move forward in His care, while being drawn nearer to our Lord.

¹ Jones, M. L. (1965). Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure. Pickering & Inglis.