Many people think that God is absent whenever they feel depressed or sad, as if the thick clouds of depression and sadness keep them away from God's hand. Sadly, many of us who feel sad or depressed fail to realise that God is always faithful, and that He'll always be with us no matter what we feel.
"I will never leave you nor forsake you." (see Hebrews 13:5)
God Is There
Friends, God is present in our lives even when we are in the midst of turmoil. Even when we feel like we're drowning in the depths of sadness and depression, the truth remains that God will never leave us nor forsake us.
In fact, God is faithful to stay with us that wherever we go, He is there! Psalm 139:7-12 speaks beautifully of such truth:
"Where shall I go from Your spirit, or where shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell at the end of the sea, even there Your hand shall guide me, and Your right hand shall take hold of me. If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light shall be as night about me,' even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines as the day, for the darkness is like light to You."
The problem then, my friends, is not that God would abandon us or leave us—that's out of the question. The problem lies within ourselves.
Taking Responsibility
Dear reader, I want you to understand that God remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. He promised to never leave us, and He will be faithful to do that until we go home to Him.
The problem is that we people think He has marooned us when we face a sad and depressing situation. We think He's gone and has left us in need of help. No, He hasn't, but we need to do something so that we can see Him.
We need to lift our eyes up.
Lift Your Eyes
Psalm 121:1-2 beautifully shows us the right thing to do when we're tempted to look down in depression and sadness:
"I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth."
We need to lift our eyes to see Him. We need to realise that when we are facing trials and other tests, God is there to help us. Let's fix our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and your hearts give up." (Hebrews 12:2-3)
