The struggle with anxiety and depression has been a real battle lately. Stress triggers, life changes, life issues, life in general, all can work to drag a person down in the mire of negativity and worry and burn out. I share this not to elicit sympathy, but to inspire hope. Hope is there for all of us.

Let mem share some truth with you. Ready?

(Jesus said:) “²⁸ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

– Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)

All who labor and are heavy burdened are those of us who are worried or stressed, weighed down by the troubles of life.

Those who are hurting.

Those who mourn.

Those who are confused.

Those who are at a loss about where to turn.

Those who are at the end of their tether.

Those facing a broken relationship.

Those who hunger for something more.

Those who feel abandoned, rejected, unwanted, unneeded, unloved…

Those who have a need they cannot seem to fill.

Those who feel helpless.

Those who worry about tomorrow.

Those who can’t get out of bed to face today.

Those who constantly relive the shame or guilt or pain of yesterday.

Those who feel alone.

Those who feel hopeless.

Please know this: you are not hopeless. You are not beyond help. You have Jesus.

Yes, you’ve heard it before. But where is God when we cry out? Where is He in the silence? Where is He when we hurt and ache and cannot sense His presence?

He is right here. He is with you. And when we’re in the midst of the fog of depression, it’s even harder to hear from Him. The key, I believe, is simple. Not necessarily easy, but simple.

It’s about letting go. It’s about trusting God and taking Jesus at His Word. It’s about going to the LORD in faith and crying out, letting go of the hurt and the fear and the anxious troubles and the despair and hardship. It’s about choosing to believe what we cannot necessarily see with our own eyes.

Theer comes a point where we have to simply admit we cannot carry this burden any longer. We need to seek the LORD, trust Him with every aspect of our lives, and wait for Him.

No, it isn’t easy. We’re often tempted with the worrying thoughts and wearying sadness that comes from our troubles and hardships and sorrows. Instead of latching on to the troubling notions that plague our untrustworthy emotions, remember what Paul said:

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

– Romans 8:35-39 (ESV)

Despite what our emotionds may be telling us, the LORD is with us always. Don’t give up. Don’t lose heart. Don’t flame out. Trust God. And when you feel you can’t hang on much longer, cry out to Jesus and trust Him. And just keep trusting Him – despite how circumstances may appear. God has you. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Trust Him.