Digging Out from Depression

Once again Jesus spoke to the people. This time he said, “I am the light for the world! Follow me, and you won’t be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life.”

John 8:12 (CEV)

Some days are hard and sometimes the hard things just keep stacking up, higher and higher. It doesn’t take a degree in counseling to figure out you have a dark mood you can’t seem to shake. The truth is that many teens struggle with depression, a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest and can interfere with your daily life.

If you are feeling this way, talk to a parent or caring adult. There is help in counseling, medicine, and self-care.

And also tell Jesus about it. The one who gives all life and created all good things is the same one who loves and cares for you. Walking with him is the only way to truly find hope for better days.

Jesus understands what you are facing and can help you find rest, health, time with the people you love, food for your very soul, and medicines that are sometimes necessary to deal with whatever is affecting your body and mind. Everything good and life-giving comes from him. Strength for the day, light for the way, joy for life—all come from Jesus!

On the other hand, the destroyer of our lives, Satan, tells us lies and pushes us to do all the things that continue the downward spiral. To shut him up, we must drown out his false words using the truth found in God’s Word—the Bible. It holds the wisdom for how to find those joyful days that are part of the good life God intended for us. So read it today!

SPIRITUAL FITNESS TRAINING

When we are feeling down, we don’t feel like doing the very things we need to do to get better. This week, pray for the strength to do them anyway. Below is a list of actions that will help shift your mood in a positive direction. Consider a few of your own mood-boosting activities too. Keep track of how you do this week. With Jesus’s help, you will see better days!

• Turn off social media
• Sleep 8–10 hours per night
• Eat healthy foods, like fruits and veggies
• Play with a pet
• Drink plenty of water
• Read your Bible
• Exercise or play a sport with friends
• Pray
• Get fresh air outside
• Hang out with people
• Do something you love:

INSPIRATION

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.”

—Helen Keller, a speaker, author, and activist in the early 1900s who was deaf and blind

KEEP IT GOING

Related passages: These additional verses will help you expand Scriptural knowledge and place on the armor of God’s Word to tackle each day. Swipe to read the passages today.

Psalm 119:105

Proverbs 4:18

John 1:3–5

Revelation 22:5