Depression: Choose What will Determine Your Reality
In the midst of depression, many of us reevaluate what’s true about life, God, and ourselves. We question certain phrases we once accepted without thought, such as “God loves me,” and “There’s always hope.”
Under the weight of sadness, hurt, disappointment and a slew of other emotions, doubt creeps in and alters how we view the world. Some of us have felt this weight for a long time now, and we point to experience to seemingly disprove the promises we’ve always heard, because they don’t feel true for us.
This is where we have to choose what will determine our reality – our past experience or God’s Word, our emotions or His promises.
Leanna, a girl, grew up in an abusive home where she suffered things no one should have to endure.
Stuck in this environment, she felt she was worthless, that life had no meaning and there was no hope because every factor in her life appeared to be proof of those feelings.
But she reached out to Heartsupport and shared her situation, and they got her out. Now, a few years later, she has a gentle, loving husband and a new baby boy, and she is now advocating on behalf of others trapped in that same situation.
If Leanna had allowed her experience to dictate her decisions and reality, she never would’ve asked for help, and never would’ve been freed. Even though she didn’t feel hopeful, she acted on the hope that maybe someone could rescue her and be there for her.
Today,please cling to the belief that it will not end here, that you will come out on the other side of this pain. God promises you in Isaiah 51:14 that you won’t die in the “dungeon” of depression, and that He will give you your “daily bread” in the meantime – enough for one day, one moment at a time.
He is the God who will carry you. Hold onto that truth, stand on it and claim it in spite of what you feel, and you will be free.
We’ve had some people shared their experiences with depression.
Many times, it seems we have trouble forgetting the areas where our soul has been wounded.
It’s almost like a scar that flares up and reopens into a fresh wound. Soldiers who served in Afghanistan and Iraq have openly shared about “soul wounds” that still cause anguish. The trauma they experienced can easily put them back in a dark place some days.
Others have shared about sexual abuse and how surviving rape, or molestation has left those wounds that they can’t seem to block out of their mind.
We’ve even heard stories of those who’ve had core wounds from family members that they can’t shake because the harsh messages play over and over in their minds; seemingly to remind them they’re “worthless.”
The prophet Jeremiah shared a similar experience in Lamentations 3 of a soul wound he endured.
Babylon had destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and was oppressing the nation of Israel at the time Lamentations was written. It’s believed by many scholars that every able-bodied man in Israel was required to fight and pick up a sword during this season.
At the very minimum, Jeremiah experienced the horrors of war and oppression. At the most, he picked up a sword and fought. Like so many, he stated, “my soul continually remembers it,” and he bemoaned the loss of peace, happiness and hope. A reminder where his true hope came from, however, interrupts Jeremiah’s lament.
There are two pieces to what he did –
1) He expressed the weight of his soul and did not bottle those emotions.
2) He then made a deliberate choice to remember where his hope lay while focusing on the character and goodness of God.
By doing so, he reminded himself that God would sustain him with new mercies and the ability to put one foot in front of the other.
Write down your wound and potential frustration with God like Jeremiah did. Then write down the mercies (new or otherwise) you see God providing.
