Times of depression

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

There was a time during his married life that Doctor Martin Luther became depressed. His wife Kate tried in vain to cheer him up. Finally, she put on funeral clothes and went about her housework in deepest mourning. When Luther saw this, he asked her "Who is dead?" "God," she replied. "Don’t talk so foolish!" he retorted. "Well, my dear Doctor," answered Kate, "you are so downhearted that I concluded God must be dead, and I put on my mourning apparel." Luther, understanding the lesson his good wife wished to teach him, embraced her and forgot about his cares.

When troubles pile up, it is easy to despair and conclude that things are hopeless. But when we start thinking this way, we have forgotten that God is alive and wants to be a part of our lives. We too often take God for granted, assuming that since He loves us He will smooth every wrinkle out of our lives. But God will not accept being treated in this way, and He often allows our road through life to become bumpy so that we wake up and realize that we have been ignoring Him.

The Bible says pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17). When we are praying, we are remembering that God is alive, that He has promised to listen to us, and that He cares about what we are going through. The habit of prayer steers us away from depression, because by it we are reminded that we are not facing our troubles alone.

Peter writes, cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. When we become gloomy, it is often because we cannot figure out how to solve a problem. But our God is the Lord of Creation, infinitely powerful and infinitely wise. Doesn’t it make sense to ask the One who is Wisdom from on High for guidance in what to do? Doesn’t it make sense to ask the Almighty to step in and use His power on our behalf? When we belong to God through faith in His Son Jesus, we don’t have to solve our problems on our own. What we need to do is remember that God is a living part of our lives and turn to Him for help. Please join me in praying:

Lord Jesus, please forgive us for so often acting as if You are dead. You rose from the grave so that You would always be available to hear our prayers and lend us Your aid. Give us wisdom to make the best decisions in confusing situations. Use Your power to rescue us when life seems hopeless. Remind us always of Your presence and Your love. Amen.