When you obey, God’s power is within reach to help you rise above your saddest circumstances.
Navigating Depression: Hope for Heavy Hearts booklet - free offer link below:
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a word about depression.
Now, I’m no certified biblical counselor, and I’m not a psychiatrist, but after living with suffering as long as I have, I think I’ve got something useful to say. I have spent too many hours battling my way up and out of the blues to not have at least “something” to report that’s helpful, especially if today you are feeling weighed down. I know that feeling. Just recently I damaged a nerve in my right arm, and I’ve lost the ability to feed myself. Now, just think about that. Because if all of a sudden, you lost your ability to raise your arm to your mouth, making it impossible to feed yourself, wouldn’t that be depressing? Well if you say yes, then bless you for being honest, and for understanding my plight. I’m not on a pity party here, but with all the things that quadriplegia has taken away from me, at least I’ve been able to feed myself with a bent spoon in my arm-splint. But now, with that no longer possible, believe me, it could have made me feel so blue.
But you know what? I couldn’t allow it. I just, I just couldn’t go there. I cannot let my emotions drag me down into a dark tunnel. For me at least, depression [that terrible darkness that feels so hopeless]; it’s the worst. It’s the pits. But, thankfully, over the years, I’ve practiced a simple, biblical discipline that has helped so much. What is that it? It’s obedience. Obeying God in a hard thing will move you forward. And often it is so basic. Like, when Elisabeth Elliot was asked what helped her up out of depression after her husband was savagely murdered. She replied, “I just did the next thing” [that was her way of moving forward]. She said, “Maybe you will have to get out of bed, or get up from your chair, or go outdoors and walk, sing a song out loud, bake a pie for somebody, mow the lawn as an offering of praise.” Elisabeth was just making the point that when you feel down, you have to get up and move forward. And for me, doing the next thing? Well, I call a friend and pray with them over the phone. I wheel to my Bible and memorize a new verse. I turn on an audio book with an uplifting story. I write a letter to a friend. I go outside and watch the birds. When I feel the blues, I obey God in some small way. And it’s how I can move on.
It’s a little like what Moses did. I mean this great man of God was totally bewildered and frustrated when God’s people kept stubbornly rebelling. And finally, he throws up his hands and cries. And God says to Moses in Exodus 14:15, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.” In other words, stop singing the blues, Moses. Get moving. You know, amazing things happen when we obey. God’s unfolding purposes open up to us when we trust God in obedience. Oswald Chambers once said, “All God’s revelations are sealed until they are opened to us by obedience. Immediately you obey – and a flash of light comes. Obey God in the thing he is showing you, and instantly the next thing opens up. The tiniest fragment of obedience, and heaven opens up to you.” Oswald Chambers has it right. When we obey, God’s power is within reach to help you rise above your saddest circumstances. There’s much more to say about this, and so I’d love to send you my new booklet, “Navigating Depression: Hope for Heavy Hearts.” So if your heart is heavy, then ask for my booklet at joniradio.org. The insights will really help you move forward. Find out how at joniradio.org.
© Joni and Friends