“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17

Depression’s Daily Grind

Depression makes daily life feel like an endurance race that never ends – it only gets more draining over time. In my experience, this is because depression saps one’s energy and hope for the future. Thoughts of death intrude my mind and become dominate. Things that gave me pleasure in life loose their luster.

I have hope of remission for my depression symptoms, but sometimes that hope is not enough to comfort me in the daily struggle.

Hope From God’s Presence

The daily verse in my Bible app was Zephaniah 3:17 (displayed above). Certain phrases struck out to me and sunk into my heart. God is living with me, in my heart. His healing power is a reality in my life, especially when I choose to focus on His presence and the Hope He promises me.

If I shut God out and I focus on my depression and its negative effects on my life, I will be overwhelmed. If I choose instead to focus on my Mighty Savior, I have the strength to keep going, and I can see the path forward.

Hope From Promised Joy

“He will take delight in you with gladness…He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” This part of the verse brings me great hope! Even when I feel despair about my own existence (and I am overwhelmed by negative thoughts and feelings), my Jesus is rejoicing over me!

He takes delight and joy in me, all the time. He has not rejected me because of depression, and I am not worth less in His eyes if I am not feeling the way Christians are “supposed” to feel. I can also take strength from the joyous love Christ has for me.

Loving Deliverance From Fears

“With his love, he will calm all your fears.” Well-meaning people who do not understand or who have not experienced depression often wonder why one cannot just “get over it.” The same is true for the disorder that often accompanies depression: anxiety.

Thank God that He heals with love and gentleness. I have experienced this at some of the lowest points in my life. God is consistently loving and gentle. I can lean into His love and let His reassurance calm all my fears and anxieties. When I choose to engage with His beautiful word, and I believe in and lean into the comfort He gives me, my mental health improves. It can be the difference between a bad or good day for me. His Love is real and potent.

I hope this gives someone out there a bit of a comfort, and a reason to make his/her next step forward!