"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."
Alma 26:27
This is part of the story of the missionary journeys of Ammon and his brothers. They are looking back at a lot of the things they had suffered on the journey, including being imprisoned and living through several attempts on their lives. I like this verse especially because it is cool that the scriptures confront depression... aknowledging that it happens and that sometimes we just want to give up. There are miraculous moments of course, but God doesn't typically have a quick fix for this. We aren't just lifted out of a bad situation and teleported to a better life. God does care, and he will help us, but we have to be patient with his timing.
This reminds me of when Lehi's family was wandering in the wilderness living on raw meat. There was a lot of grumbling, especially when Nephi broke his bow, but God helped them, and strengthened them so that they could handle it. Another similar story is when the people of Alma were enslaved by the Lamanites and Priests of Noah. They were very much not happy, but as they looked to God for help, God strengthened them as well. They still had to endure it, but God helped them get through it, and past it.
I think that it is the same for us... even in the midst of depression, we can turn to God who can strengthen us and help us endure our trials. With his help, we can have the patience and faith to endure, and stay sane and whole until our deliverance. Today, even though it is not easy to have patience when we are going through something hard, let's turn to God for help, and work on our patience and our faith.
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