March 22 Im Here for You Bear one anothers burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 Barbara and I admit that weve never experienced depression in its rawest, deepest form. Yes, weve had seasons of intense discouragement. Weve had our share of valleys, crying out to God in the agony of our souls. We know what it means to suffer. Still, there are ravages and depths of depression we dont know about firsthand. But if one of you suffers with depressions telltale signs -- low self-esteem, severe fatigue and sleeplessness, lack of concentration -- we know it affects you both. And the strain of it has the potential to steadily increase the distance you may feel from one another. So we encourage you today to love your husband or wife in ways that are intensely real, genuine and sacrificial. Instead of taking all of this personally, realize that the emotional darkness your mate is experiencing likely has little or nothing to do with anything youve done or not done. This is simply your chance to listen, to be patient, to go to him or her without accusations or piously offered overly spiritual answers. Rather than urging your mate to snap out of it! or flip a switch that allows you to get on with life, this may just be a time to crawl up in bed and hold each other. To pray, offer comfort and read the Scriptures. To remind each other of whats true and eternal and longer lasting than any earthly suffering and hardship. Do you want to be a hero to your wife? Do you want to be the gleam in your husbands eye? Then be your mates most faithful encourager. Be his or her rock to lean on when everything seems dark and cold and purposeless. Dont lay blame. Dont become short-tempered. Dont come down hard and make demands. Just carry the burden . . . and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. Discuss Talk about what you need most from each other when youre down or depressed. Pray Ask Christ to shine His own love and comfort and patience and power through you.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 12:02:12 +0000
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