not abandon you . In the Garden of Gethsemane , Jesus desired his disciples to stay awake with Him as a support during His greatest agony . Likewise , those battling depression seek the same thing , even if they are not willing to say so . If you see someone on the ground , defeated , hurting or lonely , don ’ t try to fix them , but rather sit with them and hold their hand . Tell them you love them and let them know that Jesus is with them even if they cannot see Him .
In this imperfect world , everyone will run into some type of difficulty . The Bible has many examples of strong faithful people who faced seemingly hopeless situations . It is commonly thought that , “ God only gives us as much as we can handle ,” but the truth of the matter is God only gives us as much as we can handle in Him . Joseph was sold into slavery , Moses was surrounded by the Egyptian army , Daniel was thrown into the lion ’ s den and his friends were placed in a furnace . Peter was a coward and Paul and Silas were thrown into prison . Jesus was crucified and all our hopes were buried with Him . But they all called to the LORD in their distress , and He answered them ( Jonah 2:2 ). We can see that their situations were seemingly hopeless and clearly too much for them to handle on their own . But with God — Joseph became second in command , the Red Sea parted , Daniel was not eaten by lions and his friends were not consumed by the fire . Peter became the rock , Paul and Silas ’ prison doors burst open , and in Jesus Christ all our hopes resurrected on the third day . In this new year we can be encouraged in knowing that He will bear our burdens and free us of hopelessness , if we trust Him .
References
1
World Health Organization . “ Depression : Fact Sheet .” 2016 . 2
Sansone , R ., MD & Sansone L ., MD . “ The Christmas Effect on Psychopathology .” Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience . December 2011 . 3
National Institute of Mental Health . “ Depression .” 2016 .
4
Schrobsdorff , Susanna . “ Anxiety , Depression , and the American Adolescent .” TIME Magazine . November 7 , 2016 . 5 Harvard Health Publications : Harvard Medical School . “ What Causes Depression ?” June 2009 . 6 Nedley , Neil , MD & Ramirez , Francisco . “ Nedley Depression Hit Hypothesis Identifying Depression and Its Causes .” American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine . November 10 , 2014 .
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