Hearing God in Our Depression

     When my friend Michele’s military husband was deployed for a year, leaving her with four kids at home, and away from their families, she shared this story:

There were times when I felt like I could not catch my breath as panic set in.  Bitterness had taken root in my heart.  The reality of my current life situation compounded with the many unknowns in our future set me into a tail spin.   Well meaning friends would ask how they could help us and all I wanted to do was scream to them, "I do not want your help, I want my husband home!" I am pretty sure there were times that my children thought about the phone-a-friend option!  I am pretty sure that if anyone on the outside had seen our reality they would have questioned my stability.

And then God spoke to my heart.

Through a military spouse-specific devotion book I purchased and His perfect timing, I found the reassurance that I needed. God cares, and He was just as sad as I was.  And maybe even angry as well.  He does not desire to see His people hurt, but He does desire to see them grow.”

         In learning to hear God we need to remember how much He loves us. He cares about the details of our lives. He cares if we are stressed and overwhelmed. He cares about our relationships. He cares about our kids, our marriages, our jobs and our ministries. There is not a pit of depression too deep that He can’t speak to us.

         The devotion book Michele read reminded her of how much God loved and cared for her and that He was sad about her life circumstances as well. Knowing that made all the difference to her. We have a God who cares and empathizes with us. Yet, He is strong enough to be our strength when we are weak. He is our Guide when we need direction. He is our comfort when we hurt. He is a father to the fatherless, and our friend when we are lonely.

This is how God showed His love among us: He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:9

To read the rest of Michele’s story or to check out her blog, click here.

http://www.familyfaithandfridays.com/2015/03/how-god-changed-my-heart.html

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How about you? Have you heard God’s voice when you were in a pit of depression? What did God say to you? Please share in the comments below.

This is day 28 in the series about Hearing God. It is part of the write31days.com writing challenge. To read the other posts in this series, click the links below. If you enjoyed these post, please consider signing up to receive them in your email. Don’t worry on all other months I post, at the most, twice a week.

Day 1: Take Off Your Sandals
Day 2:  God in the Grocery Store
Day 3:  God in the Grocery Store - Part2
Day 4:  Peeking During Prayer
Day 5:  How Do We Know God's Voice?
Day 6:  A Young Mom, Toddler Toys and Hearing God
Day 7:  Hearing God When Making Decisions
Day 8:  Lining Up Those Ducks
Day 9:   Hearing God for Our Kids
Day 10: God or Genie in a Bottle?
Day 11: The Perfect Day to Hear God
Day 12: Hearing God in a Crisis
Day 13:  7 Ways to Test an Impression
Day 14:  Remote Assignment
Day 15:  God's Silence
Day 16:  Hearing God While Dating
Day 17:  Hearing God Bible Verses
Day 18:  What Others Say About Hearing God
Day 19:  Hearing God Through Distractions
Day 20:  Hearing God as a Child
Day 21:  Hearing God in Confusion
Day 22:  Hearing God's Encouraging Voice
Day 23:  Hearing God on a Tractor
Day 24:  An Email Confirmation
Day 25:  Do You Really Want to Hear From God?
Day 26:  Why Hear God?
Day 27:  Are You Texting God?
Day 28:
Day 29:
Day 30: Desperate to Hear God
Day 31: Desperate to Hear God (Part 2)