17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lordhears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:17-18 ESV)
Most of the people who know me would not think that I was prone to bouts of depression or anxiety. Mine is not so bad as others who suffer from these things as long as I stay busy. However, the down side of simply staying busy is that I am not really dealing with the problem. I am not one to take something for it and so it manifest mostly at night and makes my nights restless.
God gives us scripture specifically for those who are brokenhearted or crushed in spirit, the latter is what I believe points to those like me who get depressed. It often feels like I am crushed in spirit. God promises to deliver us from our troubles, but we must make note of the first part of our scripture. It speaks to when the righteous cry out for help. This is pivotal.
We need to first search ourselves to make sure we are living a life of righteousness. No, we are not always going to live a right life and often our sin is what leads us to feeling depressed or anxious. So we must first seek forgiveness for our wrongs before God can work something new into our lives.
Reflect on: How you might be letting unrepentant sin cause you to feel depressed or anxious and seek forgiveness.
