Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. (2Corinthians 1:3-7)
Holy Spirit help us to remember what Christ told us and is recorded by Matthew 11:28&29—“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” I pray today for all the people who have lost someone to suicide, accidents, cancer, or Covid. Lord, help me and these others to turn to You and realize that of all things You can understand, You understand the pain when You let Christ die on the Cross for our sins and had to turn away to let it happen. Because we live in a broken world corrupted by sin we witness, death, pain, sorrow, hurt, anger, sorrow, and depression. Help us to turn to You for not only our salvation but for our hope. With You and our hope in You we have that one lifeline to get us through the day, to face even the most minimal tasks. We know not only that You love us but You have prepared a place for us. We take to heart Christ’s words, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Mat. 5:3&4)
Help us to turn from depression by turning to praise and counting the blessings You have bestowed on us. Help us to live and love those who are still alive in our lives while we are here on earth so that we can run our race to the end and make it to heaven and hear “though good and faithful servant come home”. Teach us to grieve for those we have lost but to live for those who are alive. Help us to invest our lives into building Your kingdom demonstrating love and hope so that maybe we can help one person not commit suicide or become so depressed they give into Satan’s lies.
Father, You created us with memory and the ability to remember way past the time of when something happens. Help us to not forget but not stop living either. Mold us into the useful creation we need to be so that we have purpose and so that we can face life even after being broken and humbled so greatly. We all bear scars whether externally or internally. These scars remind of the hurt, pain, and loss we have experienced but they also remind us that we can heal and live even though we are forever marked by what we have faced. Help us to move forward without forgetting or trying to ignore what has happened in our life. Help us to embrace our pain and learn to love and hope again anyway. Help us to learn to have a renewed mind and spirit so that we can have peace of mind. In Jesus’ name, Amen.