“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” (Helaman 5:12)
Those of us who have experienced depression are well acquainted with the “mighty winds the devil shall send forth.” When we are depressed, the forces of evil seem to gather around us, creating additional chaos in both our mind and our lives. The mighty storm rages and because of our weakened mental state life events (that during better times wouldn’t faze us) send us into a tailspin.
How do these mighty winds appear in our lives?
- Our thoughts. Satan loves to add to our depressive state by feeding us thoughts such as “I can’t take it anymore,” “I’m no good,” or “I’ll never be happy again.”
- Stress. When we are depressed, we seem less able to handle stressful life events. It is no accident that sometimes, everything seems to pile on us, particularly if we are prone to suffer from this illness.
- People. Often, when we are depressed, the innocent (and yes, sometimes not so innocent) comments of people can cause us additional pain. We are less able to throw off what is said to us.
The good news is that this scripture offers us a promise. We are promised that if we build our foundation on Christ, these blasts of hot, fiery air cannot drag us “down to the gulf of misery and endless wo.” What hope this offers those who are ill! While we may suffer exceedingly, if we trust in Christ and believe Him, we will not be left to agonize forever.
How then, do we build our lives on Christ? The answers are so simple that we often cannot (or will not) believe them. “Give me some hard task, Lord,” we cry. “Tell me to sell all of my belongings. Tell me to give up sugar. Tell me to write a magnificent symphony that will make the inhabitants of the earth weep with joy when they hear it. Give me something that I really can’t do, because then I will be free to blame you for my problems.”
The Lord, in his mercy, merely smiles and then speaks to us gently through his servants. He tells us that his way is understandable. The path is clearly marked.
The answers are always the same:
- Have faith in me. I love you and will help you.
- Pray. Pray even when you think I don’t hear you. I do hear you and I need you to keep praying so that I can help you.
- Study and ponder the scriptures. The iron rod of the word of God will keep you steady.
- Keep the commandments. Do your best. Repent when you fail. Get up and try again.
- Follow the prophets. The words of my modern day prophets will show you that I still am here and that I am concerned about my children.
- Love and serve each other. The best way to find me is to “lose” yourself in the service of your fellow mankind. Keep it simple. Do what you can. Even if all you can manage on a rough day is a breath of a prayer for someone else or a small smile directed towards another person, your service will benefit both those served and yourself.
- Believe in Christ: He is there. Believe Christ: He will do what he has promised us.
- Believe him, just believe him and somehow, you will make it because he will never fail you.
Exercise is one of the best ways of coping with depression which is an illness that is believed to never fully disappear. Getting a decent exercise regime in place will help coping with depression when it starts to rear its ugly head throughout your life.