Have you ever felt like it was coming apart? Like things are all going against you and you have had just about enough? Or maybe you have even gone past that point of just about enough and you are ready to be done.

Trust me, I get you. You may say, “…but you’re a pastor, don’t you have the faith in God to not get to that point…” or maybe “…as a religious person, don’t you put your hope in God, and pray to Him, and all things work out?”.

Guess what? I’m just as human as the next person, and things drag me down into places where I feel I can’t see any light. It’s actually very normal.

From a study done in 2021 it states that over 8.3% of people are extremely depressed and over 12% of all people have major depression episodes frequently.

Now I do not want to oversimplify things, but as a Christian, I need to have hope in God. You see that I did not say as a Pastor, but I said as a Christian. Because when we are dealing with concerns about our well-being, mental health, and overall outlook on life, there shouldn’t be any delineation over choice of occupation. It needs to be a personal thing.

And yes, I believe that I need to put my hope in God. And that requires me to do a few things.

I need to read the Word. The Bible is a source of healing and also promises from God to us regarding this very subject. Look at these verses and hear the concern and love in them.

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV - “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Isaiah 41:10 NIV - So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand

Both verses tell us that He is with us, that He will help us. They state that He will strengthen us and even hold us up. And how? We just have to come to Him. And how do we do that? By reading His Word, and by praying, or talking to Him.

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV - Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

He tells us to bring to Him anything, in any and every type of situation through “prayer and petition” talking to Him. A conversation with the Lord can go a long way to seeing you taking a new approach or a new thought about something that has been bothering you.

I think many times we see the Lord as this High on His Throne God, who can’t take time for His subjects. When in reality it is quite the opposite. I mean in the book of John; we see that God actually comes down to be with His people.

John 3:16-17 NIV - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

We see in this passage that God, who is Jesus and The Holy Spirit, came down to live on earth as a man. He experienced pain, hurt, and sorrow. He knows what it is like to lose something or someone. He has experienced hunger, thirst, and physical pain. He knows what it is like, and what we feel.

So, to pray to someone who understands what my hurts are, gives me hope and gives me comfort. Because He understands.

Lately I have been finding that God’s Word, The Bible is a salve to the thoughts, heartaches, and pains that accompany this human life. I have found that actually hearing it out loud makes a difference too. It fills not only my eyes, but my ears too. There is actually an ache that I cannot take it in more, to experience it more. For it to illuminate my every thought as well as my every step.

Maybe that is what is meant then by the verse.

Psalm 119:105 NIV - Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

Let’s look to God to give us guidance when we are feeling low, even lower than low. When those days and weeks stretch out before us, and it’s hard to see around them to the next “thing”, let’s let God do that looking and planning. And we just rest in Him and His Word.