Psalm 34:17-18

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them, He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Jesus is with you even when you are facing depression and anxiety. Unfortunately we hear these two words a lot these days. Our world is full of people who struggle with depression and anxiety. The year of 2020 brought on even more of this. People who had never in their life faced depression and anxiety were hit in the face with it due to the stress and fear of the pandemic. If you are struggling I hope the next few paragraphs bring you some hope. I pray God leads each word I type and that it speaks to your heart.

I have battled with depression and anxiety and chemical imbalances since the age of 16. It has been a rough road but if you ask me if I would change it, I will tell you….no. Why in the world would I want to be sad, staring into space with the weight of the world on me? Why would I want to be so anxious I have to take deep breaths, grab on to reality and sometimes take medication as a panic attack comes on? Well the truth is, I don’t like any of these things. They are very hard to deal with. But I’m reminded of II Corinthians where Paul talks about the thorn in his flesh and how he begged Jesus three times to take it from him. But Jesus reply was this…”my grace(my favor, lovingkindness and mercy)is enough for you(sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully), for my strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themself most effective in your weakness. Therefore I will all the more gladly glory in my weakness and infirmities , that the strength and power of Christ may rest upon me. (11 Corinthians 12:9)

Through these trials my only strength, hope and joy comes from Jesus. And my weaknesses and illness keep me sitting at His feet, bowing before Him, relying on Him, and worshipping Him in spite of my pain. I know every breath I breathe is a gift from God. I feel His peace even when the tears flow and the weight of depression tries to hold me down. I am a more compassionate person than I used to be because of it. My heart aches for people facing depression. I spend a lot of time in prayer for those who struggle because I know the pain.

Depression weighs me down some days, I’m human, and I’m not grateful every day for this thorn in my flesh…I ask God to take it from me as Paul did. But He hasn’t and He’s using my journey and for that I am eternally grateful. If just one person needs to heart this, my heart is blessed.

The best part of all is the way I’ve been able to help others. I’ve helped friends, posted my testimony on Facebook and I spoke at a ladies meeting about my journey through depression and my testimony of God carrying me through it. I even took the opportunity to share part of my testimony at my moms funeral which was viewed by many on Facebook live. It blesses me abundantly to be a blessing!

I hope to bring hope to those struggling but also an awareness of the realness of mental illness. It is not imagined, it is not choosing to be sad, negative, hopeless and pessimistic. It is real and it needs to be treated.

Your brain is an organ and when it is out of balance it needs to be treated. If you have heart problems or you are diabetic, you need to be treated. The same is true with your brain.

In the Christian world we can be labeled as not having the joy of the Lord. We can be told we are not counting our blessings or living with hope. We may be told we have a lack of faith. Simply not true. We can choose to make the effort to rise above these chemicals as best as possible and choose joy in the midst of depression. But it is a true illness and people should be sensitive to that.

It is important to get a diagnosis from a Dr. There are a lot of people that think they are suffering from depression and anxiety and it could very well be something else stressful, another health issue, or a hormonal imbalance. Don’t diagnose yourself.

I’ve had experience with mental illness off and on for 29 years. I’ve been to Dr’s, psychiatrists, off and on meds and I’ve been going to Christian counseling for 5 years. These things have been extremely beneficial for me and a necessity. But I can honestly say my main, number one coping skill is digging deep into my relationship with Jesus. He is the one thing that has NEVER changed and will NEVER change! He is a “constant”in my life. That gives me such hope, joy and peace in my journey. I challenge you to go after Jesus first and to seek Him continuously. You won’t always want to…a lot of days…you won’t want to. Just as you don’t desire to get out of bed, go out of the house, fellowship with others…you won’t always desire being with Jesus. But do it anyways! Be disciplined(talking to myself here too!) You will never regret sitting at the feet of your Savior. Pouring out your heart to Him. Spending time in a quiet place with just you and Jesus….priceless!

Jesus can give you victory over depression and anxiety. You may still have to live with it. You may never be healed or you may. But you can still be victorious with God on your side!