If you’re feeling depressed or going through a dark season right now, please don’t go through it alone.  Reach out to someone.  Reach out to God.  Because you are not alone.

In “Seasons” Part I: When You Feel Stressed, I talked about trials and difficult seasons of life, and I talked about how focusing on my blessings and seeking out “self-care” helps me through those difficult (stressful) seasons.

I would like to add, however, that the post’s message does not intend to “gloss over” trials.  Not at all.

Trials are hard– some harder than others.  And there are times when we’re in the midst of our trials that we don’t feel like counting our blessings or bringing ourselves to thoughts of thanksgiving and praise.

I get it.  I’ve been there.  Many times.  And to be completely honest, I’ve been there recently.

Psalm 40:1-3 says, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.”

Notice how it says, “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire.”  Sometimes we do end up falling into the pit, and sometimes we stay there for a while.  God recognizes that. Sometimes there’s a gap and a “waiting period” before we can bring ourselves to stand firm and to praise again.

I believe that praising God doesn’t always involve joy; sometimes it involves sadness and distress.  I believe that when we cry out to God, feeling lost and defeated, it’s a form of praise because it shows Him that we are seeking Him and needing Him.

And He hears our cries.

It’s in our brokenness—in our mire and slimy pit—that we learn to rely on God and not on our own strength.  He (and friends and helping professionals whom He provides for us) will help us climb out, and our relationship with Him and with others will grow all the more closer for it.

So yes, we should count our blessings.  Yes, we should seek out self-care.  But we also need to recognize when we’re in the pit and in a dark season.

We need to acknowledge the negative feelings and try to address them in a healthy manner.  If we ignore them and suppress them, only choosing to focus on the positive, those unresolved feelings will just keep coming back… sometimes all at once (at least it did for me).

Are you in a dark season?  Have you fallen into a miry pit?  Please know that you’re not alone.

Let me say that again– You. Are. Not. Alone.

Cry out to God.  Cry out to others for help and support.  I promise you will feel less alone when you do that.  You may still struggle for a while, but you will feel less alone in the process.

And eventually, in a time that only God knows, God will lift you up from the pit, and He will place a new song of praise in your heart.

Just wanted to keep it real… because life is hard.  There are seasons for everything.  Seasons for joy but also seasons for sadness, anger, grief, and depression.  We can’t avoid them.  And we can’t ignore them.  I’m re-learning that myself.

I pray this message helps someone who might be going through a difficult or dark season.  Please don’t go through it alone.  Ask for help.  You may be surprised at how many people God sends your way.  And one day, you’ll be able to help someone else out of the pit as well.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Amy

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