Dealing with Depression: 3 People In The Bible Who Got Through Their Darkest Hour With God
We all go through dark times in our lives. As humans, we face all sorts of problems – problems that test our mettle and drive us to our knees. No matter who we are or how successful we might appear to be, we all face hardships and sad moments.
Even the great men and women of God in the Bible faced dark times. These heroes of the faith didn't have life easy; they faced much hardship, experienced certain pain, and went through periods of testing and sadness. Yes, they went through what many of us are going through today.
Facing the dark and seeing the light
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Friends, knowing that even the faithful people in the Bible faced dark times should encourage us. Why? It's because they overcame the sadness and the depression that we are going through now. They overcame not because they were strong or awesome, but simply because they have placed their hope in God, who does not fail nor abandon those whom He loves.
These people faced the dark, but because they saw God's light and lived in His love, they overcame. Let's learn from them.
Here are some people in the Bible who went through their darkest hour with God and overcame.
1) Joseph (see Genesis 37:1-50:26)
Joseph, famously known as the dreamer, faced several periods of darkness in his life. He was beaten and sold by his brothers into slavery; he was imprisoned for a lie; was forgotten by friends who he had helped; and was thought wrong of by his brothers who he had longed to see and embrace.
Through it all, we read that God was with him. Without the Lord, he would probably be like many of us: down and out.
2) Job (see book of Job)
Of all men in the universe, Job would be the most unfortunate of all. He was a rich and upright man who prayed for his kids. Yet without doing anything wrong he lost his kids and herds to tragedy all in the same way. His wife, apparently devastated, even urged him to "curse God and die."
And to add insult to the injury, his closest friends labeled him a sinner, blaming him for the misfortune that fell on him. They wouldn't believe his innocence.
Yet, we read at the beginning of his story that God was actually proud of him, and was waiting for a time to reveal Himself as good and mighty. In the end, God blessed Job with more than what he had lost at the beginning of his ordeal.
3) Jesus (see the Gospels, Isaiah 52:13-53:12)
"Whoa!" Some might say. "Jesus went through a dark period in His life?"
Yes, He did. The Son of God did.
- He left His comfortable abode in heaven to be a normal human just like us: limited and weak.
- He was born with a clear-cut purpose known to Him since childhood: He is destined to die for all men.
- He lived a simple life as a carpenter's Son, later working as a carpenter Himself, ironically working on the material He would later carry on His shoulders and be hung on: wood.
- He trusted in people who would later abandon or betray Him, leaving Him to face His death: His disciples.
- He reached out to people who would reject Him and want Him dead: us.
And we haven't even talked about many other things yet: His agony in the garden of Gethsemane, the actual pain He felt while being scourged, the loneliness He felt that made Him say "Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani?", and the pain of dying for a people who hated Him.
Still, Christ overcame all of that because He saw God's will being fulfilled: the salvation of many sinners – us who believe in Him.
Look to Jesus
Friends, no matter how dark is the season of life you are in right now, always remember that Christ has overcome for us. The Light of the world has come, and has shown us that the Father loves us so much and will never ever abandon us. He is with us always.
Let us always look to Jesus.
"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)
