Some of the ideas I come up with are, let’s say… peculiar. Like the time I was clinically depressed and decided it would be a great time to read the book of Job.* Now everyone is different, and I am by no means telling you that you should avoid a particular part of the Bible when you are depressed. (God works in mysterious ways.) But let’s just say that it only intensified my emotional tailspin. Thankfully I had the presence of mind to bail on that idea… and instead read the book of Ecclesiastes.*
It’s OK. You’re allowed to laugh at me at this point.
But you want to know the crazy thing? It was such an unbelievable comfort to me. (I told you God works in mysterious ways.) Here was an author, inspired by God Himself, saying again and again, “Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless.” I figured, if someone full of the Holy Spirit of God could write that, then the thoughts currently going through my head did not put me beyond the pale of God’s people. There was space for me.
It reminds me of my friend Donna, who had lost both of her parents by early adulthood. She told me once that Psalm 88* was wonderful, because it didn’t end in praise… it was dark the whole way through. And some days you need that. Some days are all darkness, and you need a psalm that gives voice to that. A psalm that reminds you that, even in that darkness, God holds space for you. That’s good news.
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*If you’re unfamiliar with Christianity or the Bible, here’s a quick reference of the sections of the Bible I reference here:
Job is about a man who experiences wave upon wave of loss and suffering and his subsequent struggle of faith.
Ecclesiastes is an exploration of the meaning and meaninglessness of human life on this planet.
Psalms is a massive collection of song lyrics.
I highly recommend all of them, if you have not read them. And now perhaps you can understand the humor of me thinking I should read Job or Ecclesiastes while depressed.