Depression

Mark 5
21When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” 35While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” 36Overhearing[a] what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” 37He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Today, in my devotions, I read this passage. It shows how Jesus could take two grossly serious situations, one person sick for decades and another dead, and turn them around. In Acts, it also shows how the apostles were able to do the same thing. All if this was done through faith, either the person doing the healing believing God would heal the other person or the person themselves believing God would heal them. Where does that faith come from?

At the end of the devotional, one of the comments asked for prayer. The person suffered from depression and wanted prayers as she felt she was far from God today (don't we all have that feeling sometimes?). She stated she knew God would see her through, but really needed prayers right then. There were several responses stating they were praying for her right then. Other responses praying that Satan would be bound and she would be released from her depression. Requests that God would help her through this. 

For me though, I noticed that in the midst of her depression she wrote that she knew "God will see me through" this and that she knew she needed prayer. Wow! What faith! I responded and thanked God for her faith and her strength to ask for prayer! Here is a women in the middle of depression, and she KNEW God would see her through it. She KNEW to reach out to others for prayer. She may be depressed, but she has great faith! I think she will be just fine. God has plans for her. But then, God has plans for all of us, doesn't He...even if we can't see it.

So where does her faith come from? Romans 12:3, Ephesians 2:5, 8, 9,16 state that God gives us faith. We may be messed up, depressed, making wrong choices, in the middle of sinning right now, but God gives us faith to know He will see us through! He still loves us. He will not give up on us. He knows we are sinners, but then that is why He sent His Son to die for our sins...So we can be set free from those sins. Since we are free from those sins, we can glorify God for sending His son, for forgiving our sins, for giving us everything we need...including the faith we need everyday. The faith to know we can get through anything, everyday!

Father, we praise you and thank you today for tending to our every need: our sin, our weakness, our need for prayer, our need for faith in you. We thank you for sending your Son to forgive our sins so that we can move ahead today. We thank you that we are seen as holy in your eyes through Jesus Christ. We thank you that you have given us the Holy Spirit to keep us with you, to have faith, to cry out for prayer. Thank you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.