S237P10 – Dark seasons of the soul: depression
Psa. 34:17-18
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.
Her life was like anyone else’s with ups and downs, with hills to climb and valleys through which to trudge. Nothing seemed terribly out of the ordinary or difficult to handle, but that all changed with the death of her best friend. This was not a woman of old age but a young lady in her prime snatched from a life only half lived. Dealing with that death would take her through a sadness and sense of loss she never had experienced. This new and deeper valley was so dark she felt that she would not make her way out of it. She resigned herself to the fact that this would be her new normal, and it was only by the attention and care of those closest to her that she would recognize that this was just another season.
The hold of depression can be incredibly strong. Our experiences in life will tell us that everything we encounter, good or bad, has a beginning and an end. We will reach times that are much more oppressive than others, but realistic and practical thinking tells us that those times eventually will pass. Depression, on the other hand, can lead us to believe that the dark shadow is not a season but simply is life. It tries to keep us under that circumstance or condition perpetually. It is successful only when we believe that we cannot escape that period of darkness. We can become paralyzed by feelings we do not even understand, which is a dangerous emotional trap.
The Lord gives us a promise which completely contradicts the lies that make us think there is no way to escape our pain or sorrow. The Lord is there to deliver us from our troubles. Sometimes those troubles are small, and sometimes those troubles are mountainous. Life will have dark seasons, but they are only seasons. Each of them will pass in its time because the Lord will fulfill his promise to deliver us from them. Today’s sorrow can be a distant memory tomorrow. Today’s pain can be forgotten in time. What lasts forever is the love of God which saves us and frees us. Father, we ask You to come against any spirit of depression or sadness which has its hold on us, that we would experience your deliverance according to your word.