The River of Life Flows Through the Slough of Despond

In this brief editorial, David Powlison discusses the issue of depression. He argues that depression is far more than a medical problem; it is a “being-human” problem. Powlison maintains that, for many reasons, extreme melancholy is a difficult issue for counseling theory and practice. The problem itself is serious, even deadly and many different factors come into play. Powlison points out that the culture offers many explanations and cures, none of which point towards the Savior from the depths and lengths of real-time misery and sin. Powlison concludes that the church is often unsettled about how to understand and address the problem and introduces articles in this issue intended to help.