DEPRESSION
«Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord» (Jeremiah 17:7).
An anecdote is told of three sisters who, during their childhood, used to sleep together in the same bed. Every night, they would switch places so that none of them always slept on the edge or in the middle of the bed. One night, the mother noticed that the little one went to sleep without saying her prayer. «Aren’t you afraid to go to bed without praying?»—asked her mother.
The little one answered:
«Not today, because it’s my turn to sleep in the middle.»
Feeling flanked by her sisters, she was fearless. The feeling of this little girl can help grown-ups understand what fully trusting in God entails: full protection and absence of fear, worry, uncertainty, doubt and despair.
The people prone to depression tend to have a negative way of thinking, exaggerating the risks and imagining themselves in the midst of the worst situations. This is the case of the wife who calls her husband and, if he does not pick up his phone, thinks about catastrophic thoughts presaging a heart attack or a fatal car accident. Or of the man who finds out about the financial diffculty of the company he is working for and deduces that they will lay off staff and he will be the first one to lose his job. The Bible is rich in messages of appeal to trust in the Lord maybe because it is one of the greatest needs of the human being.
One of the many messages given by the Scriptures is this, «Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding» (Prov. 3:5). The Hebrew word binah, translated as «understanding,» can also mean «wisdom,» «comprehension,» «knowledge» and «meaning» implying that human reasoning can be logical, evident and rational, but insuffcient. The pain, suffering and meaninglessness of this world require complete confidence in God.
Trusting the heavenly Father is the authentic way of preventing depression and escaping it. The circumstances can terribly worsen the personal situation of someone who is susceptible to depression: a serious illness—their own or that of a loved one, loss of employment, family breakdown, rejection, professional or academic failure.
If you are beset by a multitude of worries and fears, faithfully declare, «Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.
In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear» (Ps. 56:3-4).
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Taken from: Daily Devotions for Adults 2020
“A Cheerful Heart Is Good Medicine”
From: Julian Melgoza-Laura Fidanza
Colaboradores: Alejandra Zavala
