The Black Dog

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
(Psalm 23:4 NIV)

Hemingway referred to it as “the black dog.” As did Winston Churchill. Both suffered from severe depression. I know what they are talking about. I have battled depression on and off for over thirty years.

Sometimes it comes as a dark, black cloud that quietly sinks down over you. Other times it is more insidious. Instead of a black cloud, it is a soft, gray mist that envelops you. The sun may physically be shining, but life is monochrome and blah, like the English countryside on a rainy day.

For those of us who have had to deal with this malady, we are in exceptional company. Some of the greatest saints in the Bible dealt with this issue. A good example is Elijah. He was so depressed he begged at one point for the Lord to take his life.

And he prayed that he might die, and said, It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers! (1 Kings 19:4 NKJV).

Luckily, God did not grant Elijah’s prayer and continued to use him mightily. So much so that Elijah never saw death. God took him directly to heaven in a chariot of fire.

Even the man who wrote two-thirds of the New Testament was not immune. Despite his road to Damascus experience, despite being taken three times into the third heaven into the very presence of God, despite being trained personally by the Holy Spirit in Arabia for three years, Paul fell into a well of despair. He had faced intense spiritual battles; been physically beaten, whipped, and scourged; had often gone hungry and thirsty; and carried a weight of worry on his shoulders for his beloved church. Finally, weary and drained, he hit bottom.

We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself (2 Corinthians 1:8 NIV).

Often, to add to your misery while you are dealing with the black cloud or the gray mist, the voice will come telling you that you are never going to make it, that it is just too hard, that things are never going to change, that it is always going be like this.

Do not listen to that hissing sound. That isn’t your Shepherd speaking. That is the Enemy’s vile voice. Your Shepherd is right there next to you. Reach out, take His hand, and He will walk you safely through the valley out into the sunshine on the other side. God has a plan for your life and all the forces of darkness cannot stop what He has ordained.

I know that You can do anything and no plan of Yours can be thwarted (Job 42:2 HSCB).

For the Lord of All has planned, and who can keep it from happening? Who can turn His hand back? (Isaiah 14:27 NLV).