Hate'n Life

"Therefore I hated life..."  Solomon, King of Israel.

I used to read the Bible as an emotionless book until I went through a time in my life where I had some real strong emotions.  I don't know where it came from, but a couple years ago a tidal wave of unhappiness flooded my soul.  Like King Solomon I had it all.  I had a great life, a loving husband, 4 children, enough money in the bank, a nice house, friends...  I could go on, but you get it.  IF happiness was based on circumstances you would look at my life and say WHAT could you possibly be depressed about.  

King Solomon had it ALL.  He was blessed by God in every area of his life.  In his own words "and whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not my heart from any pleasure..." Ecc 2:10.   But just 7 verses later he says "I hated life."  If Solomon could suffer from what looks to me like depression than I think it's safe to say we can to.  It's real.  It hurts.  You are not alone.

In fact as I read God's Word now I see many men and woman suffering from sadness:

Elijah-"...and he requested for himself that he might die." I Kings 19:4
David- Psalms is filled with painful pleas to God as well as Praise.
Job- no he didn't curse God, but He was in AGONY.
Hannah- broken over not being able to have a baby.
Jonah- "Therefore now, O Lord, I  beg you to take my life from me; for it is better  for me to die than to live." Jonah 4:3

If anyone was going to suffer from sadness I would think Paul would.  Paul went through a lot of hard circumstances, but this is Paul's advice... "Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS." 

Solomon says, "He has made everything beautiful in HIS time: also he has set ETERNITY in their heart..."  

God has set eternity in our heart...  We can never be completely satisfied with the temporal.  We can never be completely satisfied apart from God.  Our hearts are longing for God, but we try to fill that longing with people, places and things.  We try to build kingdoms here that won't last and we begin to realize just like Solomon that it's all vanity.  It's all vexation, so we become SAD, until like Solomon or Paul we realize that God alone can satisfy us and that we must at times force ourselves to REJOICE IN HIM.  We must turn our hearts to Him and to eternity. 

I still suffer from bouts of depression, but they don't last as long because God reminds me that this place is not my home and that ONE DAY I will be with Him and He will be with me.  One day.  NOT NOW, but One Day and I can Rejoice in the Lord.   I can remember and rejoice.  I know now WHY I'm not completely fulfilled on earth.  It's ok and It's normal for us to be longing for something.   We just have to remember what it is that we are really longing for...  HOME. 

I know some people are suffering terribly and this may seem like a very simple-minded answer and to be truthful I don't know the depths of your despair.  I know it's not that easy and I'm definitely not trying to say snap out of it...  Before I suffered my own depression I would have said that.  I can now say that I am thankful for the dark time I went through because it has caused me to have some measure of compassion, but I think in the Christian community this is something we try to ignore or dismiss and we shouldn't.    If you are hurting I get that it is real.  Find someone to talk to.  Find someone who will point you to Jesus...  The Bible says "He sent His WORD and it healed them of all of their diseases."  His Word is POWERFUL and it can change you life.