If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
Psalms 139:11-12 (NIV)
Even in our times of darkness, discouragement and depression God faithfully stands by to help us through. He never abandons or condemns us when we are suffering in low times. This is what we need to keep in mind when dark and negative thoughts flood our minds. As we mature and grow we realize that these moods are not the final state and these thoughts do not define the ultimate reality of who we are. The more we can hold onto God's truth and his word the sooner we will rise from our despair and the more comfortable and accepting we will feel as we are going through it.
So many successful people have admitted that they were subject to down times of discouragement and doubt. (Picasso, Van Gogh, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill.)
Amy Grant in her book, Mosaic, writes:
Whenever I am in a bleak mental state, I think about these people whom I admire and realize that this condition is not unique to me.
Probably my age and the circumstances of my life have softened the downward spirals for me, but winter is still a struggle every year. Maybe subconsciously that is part of the reason I've made so much Christmas music - to focus on hope and joy and store up a lot of good thoughts for the dark months ahead.
What I've learned so far is that depression can be, but is not necessarily, about circumstances or about a particular event. It is physical. It is hereditary. It is cyclical. Its onset is like traveling down a road and suddenly hitting a patch of deep sand, wheels spinning and no visible forward motion.
The good news is, I've learned to recognize it and not be ashamed of it. I know as surely as it comes, it will go.*
Perhaps, during this darkest time of the year, you are suffering with depression. Don't be down on yourself. Remember there is no end to God's faithfulness. He never changes. The light of his love shines continually as bright as the sun no matter how cloudy your day may seem. Encourage yourself. Even if you feel discouraged and sad, put your hope in God. He will lift you again and restore you to the joy of his presence.
Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!
Psalms 42:11 (NLT)
So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!
Psalms 31:24 (NLT)
http://youtu.be/6RVTZDgcpqM
*Grant, Amy, Mosaic:Pieces of My Life So Far (New York: Doubleday, 2007), pp.167-168.
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