Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This..

Day 47: Judges 7 to 11

Depression distorts reality. It makes things seem so much worse than they are. It takes away hope and brings doubt. It puts a lot of emphasis on the self and feelings. It is a mental disease that brings so much pain.

I speak from experience here. I have been depressed for almost nine months now. There were a lot of circumstances that led to this depression--the failure of the church plant, a major car accident where I hurt my back and sprained my ankle, the death of a loved one, my back going out and being unable to walk for two weeks, weight gain, a job search, financial fears, feelings of anger, my husband's personal struggle with the same disease. This was a lot to handle and apparently I'm not too good at handling stress.

I write all this to say that depression is not easy to "get over." Just when you think, "I had a good day today," the next day doesn't go so well and you're stuck back in it. The hole closes in around you and there's no way to even see out.

However, even in the midst of our struggles, God cares. Even when we are sad, depressed, lonely, God cares. When we sin, God cares. When we are selfish and egotistical, God cares. Judges 10: 15-16 says, "The People of Israel said to God: 'We've sinned. Do to us whatever you think best, but please, get us out of this!' Then they cleaned house of the foreign gods and worshiped only God. And God took Israel's troubles to heart."

If God cares about Israel's troubles, even after they have betrayed him over and over and over again, surely He cares about ours, too. He takes my troubles to heart, and he takes your troubles to heart. Tomorrow is a new day, a new opportunity for our troubles to be lifted. But even if they aren't, God still cares.