Praise the Lord, my soul. Lord my God, You are very great. You are clothed with splendor and majesty… I will sing to the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to Him, as I rejoice in the Lord. (Psalm 104:1, 33-34)
Lifting Up the Downcast
Author Lily Burana was close to suicide until God rescued her. She had always been gloomy, and even as a small child, she suffered bouts of hopelessness. Lily was raised in a Christian home, but the darkness within her kept deepening. As an adult, her pessimism froze her for weeks at a time. She wrote, “I teetered on the brink of suicide. Even with the outward show of a full and happy life—husband, family, health, career—I felt desperate, alone, scarred, stained, and worthless.”
Lily cautiously returned to church and loved hearing about God (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), who not only redeems us but also emboldens us! She clung to Scriptures like Hebrews 13:6: “We say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my Helper. Why should I be afraid of what people can do to me?’”
Lily wrote, “God didn’t reach down and whisk away my melancholy. But faith in Jesus has made living with it more manageable. I take my meds, but I can’t give Big Pharma full credit for my well-being. Nothing has helped me recover more than receiving God’s grace in Christ. Depression is most often an invisible illness. People don’t know you have it unless you tell them. Through faith in Jesus, I feel less alone, less ashamed, and less likely to conceal my suffering. I know God hears me and loves me. I’m understanding things with a peace and depth I’ve never experienced before. And through Christ I am redeemed, my slate wiped clean.”1
Hope in Jesus
Lily’s comments are so helpful! She experienced:
- Forgiveness of Sins: The Son of God suffered the whole gamut of human agony Himself, so He understands us. Then Jesus took our griefs and sins upon Himself at the Cross, bringing reconciliation and peace with God to His believers. That’s big!
- Conquering Death: Christ’s resurrection brings us life, power, meaning now, and victory over death in the end. That’s forever!
- A Living Anchor: Biblical hope is not wishful thinking, but a firm assurance fixed on God’s unchanging character and His past faithfulness that continues to cheer us. Jesus Himself is our Blessed Hope who will return soon to take His followers home and consummate our eternal salvation. That’s security!3
The Scripture at the top of this post speaks of singing, praising, and rejoicing in God. How can we do that when downcast? The Lord doesn’t ask us to pretend that we are happy. He calls us to bring our sorrows to Him as our Loving Father and to sing truths about Him that will strengthen us.
A Word of Caution
The Lord helped Lily Burana, but He didn’t make all her troubles disappear.
Jesus said: “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble (trials, tribulations, difficulties, sorrows). But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Christ doesn’t promise us a problem-free life. His believers still experience suffering, hardship, and disappointment in this fallen world. Things go wrong for all of God’s people, from Bible times until now. But peace comes from our relationship with Jesus, not cozy circumstances. When life is hard, we still have confidence in God because Jesus has conquered sin and death, and He will ultimately destroy all evil.
Hope in God’s Psalms
Lily Burana found comfort in Hebrews 13:6, which quotes Psalm 118. The Psalms are super-encouraging and brutally honest. They never claim life is easy, but they point us up to God when life is hard. The Psalms never say, “Don’t worry. Be happy.” They acknowledge that Jesus’ followers can be depressed, anxious, grieving, lonely, or discouraged. But the Psalms don’t let suffering have the last word. They remind us that things can be very bad—but God is still God, a good and loving Father who delights in showing us compassion. Our problems can be big, but our Lord is bigger!
So we can pray: Answer me when I call to You, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress. Have mercy (favor, grace, kindness, pity) on me and hear my prayer. (Psalm 4:1)
The 150 Psalms in Scripture celebrate all the Lord is and all He does for us. Martin Luther called Psalms a “mini-Bible” because they summarize so many big ideas about God and human beings. We only know ourselves and our circumstances correctly when we know who we are in relation to God!
The Psalms don’t minimize our pain. They magnify our God, who can help us!
Psalm 23 says: The Lord is my shepherd. I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows. He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Your rod and Your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. (NLT)
Jesus cares for us so much, beloved, especially in hard times! Christ has never lost a single follower, and He won’t lose any of us who call on Him!
He says: I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. (John 10:29-30)
Prayer
Heavenly Father, sometimes we are overwhelmed with sadness. Even if we feel well today, we pray for our brothers and sisters who are suffering. We can feel as if we’re suffocating under all the bad thoughts and feelings. Jesus, our Lord and Savior, also experienced deep sorrow and grief. So He understands us perfectly. Christ pressed on through His severe suffering in the Garden and on the Cross. Help us, Holy Spirit, to persevere through our troubles by Your grace and power. Lord, don’t let our downcast feelings cripple us. Strengthen us to trust and follow Jesus, and to believe that our suffering will not last forever. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.5
To be continued.
Notes (various Bible translations): 1 Adapted from Lily Burana, “Defeating the Darkness Inside,” CT magazine (Nov 2017), pp. 95-96. 2 Titus 2:11-14; Heb 6:18-20. 3 Adapted from “10 Prayers For When You Feel Depressed,” August 1, 2025, klove.com.