Today’s Verse

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. (NLT)

As I studied and reflected on how to write a series of devotionals on the topic of depression and hopelessness, I was reminded of today’s verse. Today’s verse reminds me of story #2 from Leah and my adventure on the catamaran (I told story #1 yesterday, go check it out here).

As we were heading out to sea for our excursion, we saw what was a pretty gnarly storm off in the distance—when you’re on the water, you can see the rain falling pretty far away, and it was more than falling, it was coming down in buckets. The crew of the boat noted it and said it was going away from us. It was indeed NOT going away from us, it was coming towards us. Our time at the reef was cut short and everyone scurried on board so that we could try to beat the storm to the dock.

I’d imagine that a stressed crew of a catamaran that runs every day isn’t a great sign, and these guys were STRESSED. If there were hatches to batten they would have definitely been battened (whatever that means). The motor was going full-tilt and we were still being run down by the storm, which was a sight to see - until we couldn’t see at all. It was as though we had navigated directly under a waterfall that surrounded the boat, but the crew KEPT SAILING with absolutely zero visibility. Everyone huddled under what equated to an awning and two guys pretended to know where to go. I was certain we were going to ram into another boat, the shore, a dock, or all of the above. Eventually, we stopped—which then made me certain we were going to be rammed by another boat ourselves!

Maybe there are parallels between my experiences in the ocean to you or someone you know’s experiences with depression. In my experience, there are times I can see depression brewing in the distance and times it seems to run me down from behind. Either way, it leaves me feeling hopeless. 

I find great comfort in the way hope and joy are intertwined in the Bible—and it’s intentional. Romans 12:12 (NLT) says, “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” and 1 Peter 1:3 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”. Often we are told to “rejoice in hope”, and that’s because no matter what we experience in this life, we know the outcome of the story—Jesus reigns victorious.

REFLECTION

Do you struggle with hope and joy? Are you stuck in the middle of a storm without the ability to look outside of it? Jesus wants to come alongside you and calm the storms in your life and instill His hope and joy in your life if you’ll let Him. We’d love to partner with you no matter what your season of life is—find some ways to get in touch right here!