Happy Wednesday everyone! Hope all is well!
Let's travel back in time to John 11 when Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha, had just passed away. In the passage you can see how Jesus comforted the family as they laid their brother to rest. He gave them assurance that they will see him again and he can rise from the dead. Before Jesus went to see where Lazarus's body was, he began to weep. "Then some of the Jews said, 'See how he loved him!'" (John 11: 36) He wept for multiple reasons, which I may get into in another post, but Lazarus was a man that Jesus loved, as the sisters described in verse 3. Lazarus was His friend! He didn't "stay strong for the family". He didn't wait until He was by himself to cry. He wept, right there! WITH the family and others who were there! While they were together! In community! Supporting and comforting one another! The crazy thing is, He knew that He would be able to raise Lazarus from the dead, yet he still allowed Himself to experience pain, grief, mourning, sadness, compassion and to CRY!
Now, let's go to modern day Christianity. We are told to be strong because we have Jesus! He died for us so we can't be depressed. We have to be strong and courageous at all times! We are taught to not to be sad because we don't have it as bad as other people. If we are upset or depressed then it is showing a lack of faith and that we don't trust in The Lord. Guess what y'all?! Staying "strong", not showing deep emotions or not being sad DOES NOT equate to having more faith. It just means you can hold it in longer than most people or you are trying to mask the truth of your emotions. If you don't express your emotions properly and appropriately, they become bottled up and used at inappropriate times, which will cause more damage to yourself and those around you. You begin to engage in activities that mask your true emotions to display the "strong" appearance or prove to yourself and/or others that you are "staying strong". These can include partying, drugs, sex, drinking, being a workaholic, being a professional student, SOCIAL MEDIA. It could be why we have so many "super holy" bitter and angry Christians... *sips tea*
In all seriousness though, Jesus was able to feel our emotional pain. He went through points of agony and anxiety, especially before He was crucified and praying on the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39-44). In His prayer, He asks for the Father to take this cup away from Him if it is God's will. At that moment, an angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened him. He was praying in ANGUISH. Jesus was sweaty so profusely that his sweat looked like drops of blood onto the ground! *foreshadow* Jesus was about to engaging in something we cannot fathom of having to experience. It shows, however, that Him being called perfect does not mean He didn't get sad, anxious, or experience deep emotions! It just means He perfectly lived out the Law of God. Yes the bible says to "be anxious for nothing" (Phil. 4:6), but that type of anxiety comes from worrying about the future where you don't know what is going to happen and/or that you can't control a situation. That is when we put our trust in our fleshly power. (Ill get into that in another post.) Jesus, however, knew what was going to happen to Him physically, which caused great agony and anxiety. More importantly He knew He would be separated from The Father. Though the separation would only last 3 days and 3 nights, it is a pain that none of us should ever have to experience, yet many will for eternity. (Definitely making another post on that!)
So what am I really trying to say? IT IS OKAY TO BE SAD!!! IT IS OKAY TO CRY! IT IS OKAY TO BE DEPRESSED! It is NORMAL to feel those emotions when something traumatic happens or is about to happen: death (family, friend, someone else), sickness, losing a job or home, abuse (sexual or physical), a failed marriage, even when things do not go as planned. It is not that we don't trust in The Lord, it is just life and We have to be honest with The Lord about our emotions so He can come in and comfort/heal us. Having God while we are experiencing these emotions means we can REST in our Savior who has experienced these emotions. We are not alone! He is right there to encourage us, help us through these emotions, and help us improve. That's where the joy comes in! Joy meaning peace that it will get better because you have Jesus, NOT a false sense of joy meaning happiness. Because we have Jesus to rest in, over time we may not be as anxious when something happens. We may not fall into depression as often or stay in depression for a long period of time. We have hope that He knows exactly how we feel and that we can and will get through this.
So if you are a Christian who is sad/depressed, or a Christian that doesn't want to admit they are sad/depressed, IT IS OKAY!!! Life is hard and can knock us down sometimes which will cause us to be faced with a variety of emotions! As Christians, however, we must not put our identity in the anxiety or depressions, but we must acknowledge that these emotions are real and that we are currently experiencing them. The beautiful thing is, we have a Father who loves us and knows EXACTLY what we are going through. Invite Him in! He will comfort, encourage, and hold your hand in this process. He will send you people to confide in, help support you, and pray for you so you don't have to "be strong", hold in emotions, or be alone in these times; just as Jesus, Martha, and Mary were there for one another to comfort each other during the death of Lazarus.
I pray you all continue to have hope and that Our Heavenly Father gives you comfort, peace, joy, love and strength to keep pushing forward!
Love you!
~Meghan A. Harper