Last week I talked about Psalm 21:1. This week I’m inspired
by the last verse in Psalm 21, verse 13. It says,
“Show your
strength, God, so no one can miss it.
We
are out singing the good news!”
Even in my depression I’ve been able to see God’s strength.
He has shown it in so many ways in my life that I cannot miss it. As a matter
of fact, I firmly believe that apart from God’s strength showing up in my life,
I may not even be still alive.
There have been many times in my life when I’ve thought I
would put an end to the suffering and pain my depressions have brought me. Yes.
I’m talking about suicide. I’ve heard people, generally people who have never
experienced the deep depression I have experienced, say that suicide is
selfish. What they don’t understand is the severe desperation that a person
considering suicide is feeling. It’s not selfishness that drives a person to
consider a way out of the pain. It feels like the only way to relieve the agony
of the unseen turmoil that is going on in a person’s mind and body.
However, in the darkest moments of my life, there’s been a
little bit of hope that comes shining through. I don’t have an explanation for
that hope. It didn’t come from inside of me or from my own thoughts and
feelings. It has been supernatural. It’s been from God. He has shown me His
strength in ways I could not miss. He has said to me, “Don’t give up. Don’t
forget there is something more in this life for you.”
It’s not always immediate, but it always comes. The relief
from the depression happens. The clouds lift and there’s new light at the end
of the tunnel. I can’t pinpoint when that light shows up. It’s usually a
gradual process. But without God’s strength, I don’t know if I would have had
the patience to wait out the pain and turmoil. I don’t know if I would have
seen the light at the end of the tunnel.
It’s because of His strength that I have made it through
each episode of severe depression. And, it’s His strength that allows me to
sing out the good news of a renewed hope. I will continue to try to sing out
the good news even as I struggle through another round of depression. I know if
I hold on long enough, His strength will become evident and I will not miss out
on the renewal of hope.
1 comment:
June Hunt radio broadcasts Hope in the Night has terrific biblical counseling sessions online. I see they cover topics that include Depression out of the darkness that may help lift you up.
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