Mike Novotny - Depression Is Real
This week in our country, millions upon millions of people will celebrate the gift of freedom. That God has blessed us with a freedom from so many of the things that people struggle with around our world. But even more, we as Christians celebrate the freedom that we have in Jesus. We don't have to be enslaved to our past, to our struggles, to our sins. The blood of Jesus has set us free. And as Jesus himself said, we are free indeed. And yet there are so many people in our country who don't know about that freedom. They haven't heard the good news of what Jesus did for us on the cross. They live enslaved to expectations and their past and their shame. Which is why we here at Time of Grace are so passionate about sharing God's timeless truths to more and more people around the world and right here in America.
A generous donor has recently agreed to give a Reaching America match. Your gift, up to $5,000 will be matched by this donor so that more and more souls can be touched by that Gospel message that we love so much, the truth that sets us free. Interested in giving? Click on the link in this post to learn more. Thank you for your generosity and God bless. Ken Griffey, Jr. was a professional baseball player, and a very good one. A couple of years ago, he was inducted into the baseball hall of fame, which is the biggest honor that any professional baseball player can ever be given. And in his Hall of Fame speech, he admitted something about himself that gives him something in common with a number of people. With Halle Berry, Princess Diana, Tina Turner, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Pryor, Walt Disney, Billy Joel, Clark Gable, Fantasia, Sammy Davis, Jr., Drew Carey, Vanilla Ice, Nell Carter and Gary Coleman, among many others.
And do you know what that is? They all tried to commit suicide at least once. They all, at one point, came to the conclusion that it might not be worth it to keep going. I don't know if you've ever considered suicide. But you don't have to be suicidal to ever wonder the same thing. And if you ever have, if you've ever looked into your future and wondered if you would have the strength or the energy or the desire to face whatever you believe is coming, I want you to know that you're not alone. There's someone else who knows how you feel.
And I'm not talking about Ken Griffey, Jr. I'm talking about Jesus. He wasn't suicidal, but thoughts about the future filled him with anxiety, too. And so much anxiety that it literally caused him to sweat drops of blood while he begged his father in heaven to put him on a path that was different than the one he knew was coming. In Luke, chapter 22, it says Jesus says this, Even Jesus knew what it was like to feel anguish. Even Jesus felt weak. Even Jesus needed to be strengthened.
And the reason he did was because he knew exactly what was coming. It was a cross. It was some nails. It was the weight of the world's sins. It was, it was our only shot at heaven. Which is why our father in heaven answered his prayer with the very definitive, "No". He said "no" to Jesus' request to take all of his pain away because he clearly wanted to say "yes" to one day taking away all of yours, so that you can live each day knowing that God chooses you. He chooses to stay by your side through anything. I know life doesn't always make you feel that way, which is why I'm glad you're here with me this week. We'll remind one another that our God is the one who always gives us good reasons to keep going.