I know, perhaps as well as anyone, what depression means, and what it is to feel myself sinking lower and lower. Yet at the worst, when I reach the lowest depths, I have an inward peace which no pain or depression can in the least disturb. Trusting in Jesus Christ my Savior, there is still a blessed quietness in the deep caverns of my soul.
Interpretation
Even in the depths of depression, one can find peace through faith.
Charles Spurgeon reflects on the experience of depression, acknowledging its profound impact while also expressing the profound peace that can exist within the soul despite such suffering. This inner tranquility, rooted in his faith in Jesus Christ, serves as a beacon of hope for anyone facing emotional turmoil, suggesting that spiritual trust can offer a refuge from the darkest feelings.
In practice
Sharing this quote during a motivational talk about overcoming mental health challenges.
Amusement should be used to do us good “like a medicine”: it must never be used as the food of the man...Many have had all holy thoughts and gracious resolutions stamped out by perpetual trifling. Pleasure so called is the murderer of thought. This is the age of excessive amusement: everybody craves for it, like a babe for its rattle.
When you see no present advantage, walk by faith and not by sight. Do God the honor to trust Him when it comes to matters of loss for the sake of principle.
It is far easier to fight with sin in public than to pray against it in private.
You will never glory in God till first of all God has killed your glorying in yourself.
After faith comes repentance, or, rather, repentance is faith's twin brother and is born at the same time.
["All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant."] The original Hebrew word that has been translated "paths" means "well-worn roads' or "wheel tracks," such ruts as wagons make when they go down our green roads in wet weather and sink in up to the axles. God's ways are at times like heavy wagon tracks that cut deep into our souls, yet all of them are merciful.
I haven't a particle of confidence in a man who has no redeeming petty vices whatsoever.
The emotion of fear often works overtime. Even when there is no immediate threat, our body may remain tight and on guard, our mind narrowed to focus on what might go wrong. When this happens, fear is no longer functioning to secure our survival. We are caught in the trance of fear and our moment-to-moment experience becomes bound in reactivity. We spend our time and energy defending our life rather than living it fully.
I never think of the future - it comes soon enough.
If you come to a fork in the road, take it.
Our kindness may be the most persuasive argument for that which we believe.
Those unacquainted with the world take pleasure in intimacy with great men; those who are wiser fear the consequences.
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