I am so sorry that you are struggling with depression. You're not alone, my friend. Things can get pretty dark for me also, but may I give you a word of encouragement?
Firstly, please do me a favor and hear me out on this.
So, James 1:5 says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
I want you to pray and say, God, I want wisdom. Please give me wisdom. I want to know the right thing to do here. And truly mean it. That's step number one.
There is only one solution to what you're going through and that is your Creator.
You know, many great men of God in the Bible struggled with depression, even suicidal thoughts. Look:
Jonah struggled with depression in Jonah 4:3 - Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
Elijah also struggled with depression in 1 Kings 19:4 - But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
The Apostle Paul also struggled with depression in 1 Corinthians 9:15 - But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void.
And in Romans 9:1-3 - I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
So, don't think that you have some kind of a mental illness and that something is really wrong with you. Quite frankly, something is right with you if you're depressed. Because this world is a very vile and wicked place. And if you have no cause in life and no reason to live, then suicide just seems like a natural conclusion to a miserable life.
But I am going to tell you that there is a reason for you to live. If you're done with your life, there's somebody that wants it.
Philippians 1:21 - For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
You see, Paul had some suicidal thoughts. Paul was saying many times that it is just better for me to die and I shouldn't even be here on earth and there were some bad things that he went through. But he had a cause and that cause was serving Jesus Christ - God.
And you say, what about "to die is gain"? Well, when a saved person dies, they go to an incredible eternity in heaven with the Lord. Why miss out on that? Don't take your life right now without understanding what the Bible says about what you can have if you believe on Jesus Christ and give your life to Him.
You might feel like a mess mentally, but that is exactly the kind of person that Jesus Christ wants. YOU are exactly the kind of person that God is looking for. Don't throw away your life when God wants to buy it.
Philippians 1:23-24 - For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
You can have a reason to live. I have a reason to live. I can tell you that I have been suicidal in my past, I have struggled with the deepest depression, to the point where I was on medication and I had locked myself in a dark room, put towels over the windows to block light from coming in and stayed in that room for weeks.
But eventually I got through it and remembered the point in my life where I gave myself over to the Lord and he bought me; he purchased me with the blood that he shed on calvary. His death, burial and resurrection. He paid for all of my sins. He paid it all. And what does he get in exchange? My life. He called me and has me preaching the Gospel and now I have a cause for living. And there's times I still get depressed, there's still times that I have a bad days, there's times people still turn against me and hate me. But I have a reason to live. Wouldn't you like a reason to live? Besides just the ridiculous nonsense of this world; the money and all the worldly desires. No. Live for God. Give him your life.
This is Jesus Christ speaking. Here's his invitation for you in Matthew 11:28-29 - Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Are you done with your life now? Have you had enough? Have you had enough of the relationships that go bad? Have you had enough of trying to make something of yourself in the career, college education or Jobs that fail? All the stuff that this world has had to offer, are you through with it? Because if you are, then God is ready to purchase you. He says "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden." Are you laboring right now? Is every day a struggle when you get up? Are you heavy laden? Are there things that are really depressing you and you can't see a way out of it? YOU'RE what Jesus Christ wants. You are right at the brink of salvation. You are right at heaven's doorstep. You're at the foot of the cross. You can look up at Jesus Christ and day He died for my sins. God, will you please save me. Salvation is very simple and if you are depressed, you are right there ready to go.
Not only does God see what you're going through, but He can relate to it. He can relate to you.
Just think about what Jesus Christ felt and experienced. He experienced such an incomprehensibly deep level of sorrow, He experienced a level of pain greater pain than anyone. He left glory to experience his own creation mock him, ridicule him, spit on him, hit him and crucify him and He took all of that on for that very creation, for you, for me, for everyone, for even the vilest and lowest of men. Look at what it says in this prophecy in Isaiah 53:3-5 about The Lord Jesus Christ, "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."
Jesus Christ says in Luke 5:32 says, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Jesus Christ came not to call the rich, the successful and the one with the great relationships and whatever else. He wants you! He'll purchase you. Call out to the Lord. Call upon Him.
I plead with you to read this Gospel message and get saved and then you can have a purpose in your life and live for Jesus Christ. Please take my advice.
And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Luke 18:9
The Bible says in Romans 3:23,
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
Sin is the "transgression" or breaking of God's law. The Bible declares that we are "all under sin" and that "there is none righteous, no, not one:" In fact, Jesus Christ said "there is none good but one, that is, God:" Our human "good" isn't good enough.
The Bible says in Romans 6:23,
"For the wages of sin is death;"
The "wages" or payment for our sin is death: God's justice demands a payment for sin.
We may desire Heaven, but we deserve Hell.
The Bible says in Revelation 21:8,
"and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
In our flesh, we stand "guilty before God" and condemned "under sin." Thankfully, God himself provides the way of salvation for the sinner.
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6
The Bible says in Romans 5:8,
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
God sent his only begotten Son Jesus Christ to be born of a virgin, live a sinless life, die on the cross for our sins, be buried and rise again from the dead. This is the good news!
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 says,
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
The Lord Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh and He paid for all of your sins. He shed his blood on the cross as a payment for the sins of the world.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says,
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Notice, the Bible says that salvation is "not of yourselves" but rather it is "the gift of God". Meaning, It's God gift to give, not our reward to earn.
If I told you that I'm going to Heaven because "I'm a good person," would you say that I'm trusting in Jesus or myself?
If I said that I'm going to Heaven because "I've been baptized" or "I go to Church", would you say that I'm trusting in Jesus or myself?
What if I thought that I was going to Heaven because "I try to obey the commandments", who am I trusting in?
The obvious answer is, MYSELF! I'm trusting in THE SINNER rather than THE SAVIOR.
The question was put forth in Acts 16:30, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" and the answer was "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved".
The one and only condition for salvation is faith in Christ:
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:15
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: John 3:36
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. John 6:47
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: John 11:25
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? John 11:26
A sinner must trust in Jesus Christ and what He did ALONE to be saved. They must rely and depend upon His works to be saved, not their own.
Unfortunately, many trust in their own behavior rather than The Savior.
The Bible says in John 3:16,
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
The moment an individual places their faith in Christ to save them, they have "everlasting life". They are eternally secure in the hand of God and can never lose their salvation.
John 10:28-29 says,
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
If you come to God as a Hell bound sinner and believe on Christ, you'll become a Heaven bound son!
John 1:12 says,
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Friend, if you're trusting in yourself, you're trusting in a sinner who deserves Hell. What are you waiting for? You can receive eternal life right now, decide in your heart to trust Jesus Christ alone Stop relying on what you do and place all of your faith on what he did.
If you've trusted in Jesus Christ, you can now confidently declare "I'm saved and on my way to Heaven". Take a moment to thank God for giving you eternal life.
