Today is a difficult day. Today I again realize that unless God chooses to heal me, I will spend the rest of my life periodically cycling down into depression and/or anxiety. This hopeless thought saddens me and I cry. I feel despair, trapped. There is no escape. Life must be a total drudgery. Or…
There is one escape. Do I embrace it? A battle ensues as the thought captures my attention. It brings the slight, momentary attraction of relief from the cycle. But…
There is another option.
The gospel is good news of hope for the depressed and anxious. In Jesus there is the hope of joy for me. Maybe not now. Maybe not today. Maybe not for long horrible, hateful cycles of my life. But often, and someday, joy forever. And ever. And ever. Amen.
I’m writing to myself and to you, reader, to remind us that the gospel guarantees joy. Sometimes the hope of future joy is all we have, but it is enough to get me through another difficult day.
Filed under: Emotional Health Tagged: anxiety, Christ, depression, gospel, hope, Jesus, joy
