I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence, so the king said to me, “Why are you sad, when you aren’t sick? This is nothing but depression.” I was overwhelmed with fear 3 and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
4 Then the king asked me, “What is your request?”
~ Nehemiah 2:1b-4a HCSB
There are two things that came to mind as I read the above verses. First, this casual dismissal as the issue being nothing but depression, the NKJV calls it sorrow of heart. All too often we act as though depression and sorrow of heart are no big deal, something to ignore or push away or snap out of. But the truth is sorrow of heart can be far more damaging to the mind and soul than physical illness. So, when we see someone who is struggling with depression, let us be a source of encouragement and strength for them in their weakness and not dismissive of their situation.
The second thing is that although he felt afraid, Nehemiah told the king what was causing his depression. The king seemed dismissive, "Oh, this is no big deal, you're not sick, it's nothing but depression. What's your problem?" Nehemiah could have been hurt by this and said nothing, I'll do better, he could've gotten angry, or he could have let his fear keep him silent. Instead he said I hurt because......... Being willing to face his fear and be honest about what was going on with him opened the door to the blessing that happened next. The king asked what he could do. Sometimes it feels like we're all alone in our struggles. We don't have any help or encouragement. Then someone asks how we're doing and we say fine. Today let us try to be honest about what is troubling us, not going overboard with drama to manipulate or underplaying things to hide the problem either. Let us simply be honest and keep the door open for the blessings and help that God wants to give us.
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