Out Of A Cubby Hole

In my last post, I talked about Patches of Fog being a symbol of depression. In this post, I’d like to share some things I learned which helped drive away the ‘fog’ of depression.

In Second Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul talks about a prayer request of his that was not granted (although many others were.) After pleading with God three times, he realized God had a reason for not granting this request. God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,” (verse 9.)

Although God had told me earlier that His “grace was sufficient” for me, I didn’t access that grace when I went through my darkest time. I felt like God had abandoned me, so I had underlying attitudes of rebellion, self-righteousness, and resentment. When I finally confessed these (“laid them out in the sun”), He forgave me and cleansed me of these attitudes.

God sent His sunshine through other Christians, as well. They prayed and talked with me—when I sought them out. I could feel His light and warmth driving away the fog as I attended worship services, sang praises, prayed, read my Bible, and listened to Christian music. The sun couldn’t shine on me if I hid in a cubby hole. I needed to get out into the sunshine to let it warm me and lighten my heart.

Some fog seemed endless. However, God works in fog as well as in light. The Psalmist mentions God riding on the clouds. Perhaps I needed to experience the ‘fog’ of depression in order to be motivated to call out to God. When I called to Him in my distress, God delivered me and began to work out His loving purpose in me.

The Psalmist says, “The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, …. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses,” (Psalm 135:6-7, NIV).

These verses say to me, “When your world is coming to an end, God is the one who makes it foggy and scary and bitterly cold.” Why would He do this? He must have a good reason. I came to realize I’d been clinging to some idols. Other people, my emotional needs, my natural desire to be loved and appreciated, had become more important to me than obedience to God. He knows it is best for us to worship Him alone. It took a storm to rip me away from idols to which I had clung.

Jesus came to me in my cloud of depression and confusion, warming my emotions with reassurances of love. This ‘Sonlight’ gradually broke my fog into patches and drove it away. Now, if I hit a patch of confusion or depression, I turn to God, exposing my heart to his Son’s light through his Word, prayer, worship, or Christian fellowship. Soon the fog is gone. “Patches of fog won’t hold up under sun;” they disappear.

This shows how living in an intimate relationship with God can help a person live more joyously, specifically to help one overcome depression.

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This post was edited from an article previously published in Foursquare World Advance, Pentecostal Messenger, Seek, Evangel, and The Vision.

Copyright, Judith Vander Wege