Find Freedom from Despair – Part 1

In life, unexpected events strike, things we never saw coming. They can cause us to end up in a dark place, feeling confined and hopeless – in despair or depression.

These feelings might come from relationship break-ups, divorce, unemployment, loss of a child, infertility, money or health problems, a death in the family. Sometimes you cannot pinpoint anything… you just feel perpetually flat. 

We are emotional creatures. God has emotions (love, anger, jealousy, grief) and he made us with emotions. Life is not just about processing events, it is about processing emotions that come with life’s events. 

When life presses in on us, we can feel stuck, angry, aimless, guilty, torn, betrayed, depressed, jealous, inadequate or simply numb. 

It could be worse in a person of faith, because you are left trying to reconcile your feelings with the idea of a good God… which makes you despair even more.

Some have said despair is like feeling like you’re drowning, but everyone around you is breathing. If you ever feel it, know it is normal, painful and takes time to walk through. Today’s Bible readings tell us that heroes of faith experienced it, including Moses (Numbers 11), Elijah (1 Kings 18), Job (Job 3), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20), and David (Psalm 6).

Everyone can experience despair and depression, but some are more vulnerable than others owing to genetic or psychological reasons, personality or temperament, or situational or spiritual factors.

Despair and depression bring with them physical symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbances, aches and pains, decrease in appetite, agitation, restlessness, slowed thinking or movement, headaches and difficulty concentrating.

Despair makes us believe there’s nothing we can do, but we can control our response to events and emotions. The Black Dog Institute, which promotes mental health in Australia, points out that a predisposition is not a death sentence. 

Neurologist Dr Caroline Leaf says, 

‘You cannot control the events or circumstances of your life, but you can control your reactions… controlling those reactions is the difference between healthy minds and bodies and sick minds and bodies.'

God has something to say in this space. We can pray to Him: ‘Jesus, you’re God. Let your Spirit live within me and change me from the inside out.’ Tomorrow, in the final devotion of this series, we will learn seven keys to ease despair.