There is no lack of grief in Scripture, and we should be ready and willing to put the words of God’s people to our own experience as a remembrance that even in our loneliness we do not walk an unknown path. Faithful people of God have long tread with sadness and despair, and God walked with them. Jesus himself, to capture the complete abandonment and isolation of the cross, quotes from the psalmist, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1)
Can we accept that not every sadness has a quick end, that not every weeping night sees joy rise at dawn? I invite you to wonder, at this moment, what can be said in the face of despair?
Those of us walking with depression might find it helpful to read aloud questions like: What are you struggling to do, and can I help? Have you eaten today? Do you want to talk about it? Can I pray with you? Those invited to walk with us might also practice and reach for them when the time is right.
This message is excerpted from “The truth about sadness” by Emmy Kegler in the July/August 2022 Gather magazine.
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