“I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.” (Psalm 40:1-3)
A run across Canada that began as a deeply personal challenge has turned into a growing movement for mental health awareness. Carter Armstrong recently arrived in Swift Current on Day 46 of his solo journey from Vancouver toward his hometown of Dryden, Ontario, running thousands of kilometers while raising awareness and funds for mental health initiatives through the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Armstrong said the idea for the run came after years of struggling with his own mental health, including the loss of a close friend to suicide. “About two months before I started on this venture…I attempted to take my own life,” Armstrong said in an interview with Country 94.1 FM’s Chris Martens. “The next day, I just realized I had so much more to give to the world.”
Sadly, Carter isn’t the only one who has struggled with depression and thoughts of suicide. An estimated 5.7 percent of adults worldwide, roughly 332 million people, suffer from depression. In the United States, current rates range between 8.3 and 18.3 percent of the adult population, depending on whether the metric measures a diagnosed major depressive episode or self-reported ongoing symptoms. However you measure it, one thing is clear. A great many people struggle in this sinful, broken world, and there are countless reasons why a person can despair of life.
King David was one of those people who, at any given time, had legitimate and real reasons to become downcast and despondent. As a young shepherd, he protected his flock from lions and bears. He famously defeated the Philistine giant Goliath as a youth, an act that thrust him instantly into the national spotlight. David’s popularity then stirred fierce jealousy in King Saul. For years, David lived as a fugitive in the wilderness, and although he had already been anointed as king, it would be roughly fourteen years before he ascended the throne. He narrowly escaped assassination attempts, hid in caves, and even had multiple opportunities to kill Saul but chose instead to spare him, showing remarkable restraint and respect for God’s anointed and God’s timing.
After becoming king, David fell into severe moral failure, committing adultery with Bathsheba and orchestrating the death of her husband Uriah. Though God forgave him, David faced lifelong consequences, including the death of his newborn child and deep family turmoil. His own children brought him immense grief. His son Amnon violated his half-sister Tamar, which led her brother Absalom to murder Amnon in revenge. Absalom later conspired to steal the throne, forcing David to flee Jerusalem on foot, a betrayal by his own son that is often considered the darkest and most agonizing season of David’s life. Beyond his family conflicts, David also fought endless battles with enemy nations and endured devastating civil wars. This is only a fraction of what David endured.
As you might imagine, David experienced many highs and lows, countless seasons of despair and doubt, yet he continued to depend on the Lord. Why? Because he had learned firsthand that God is faithful to hear and to act. We see this clearly in Psalm 40, where David wrote,
“I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.” (Psalm 40:1-3)
There is so much we can glean from this as we walk through our own dark seasons, and it is never a question of if, only when.
The first thing to notice is this. Even in a season of waiting for deliverance, God bends His ear to hear our cries. Think about that for a moment. The Almighty God of the universe bent down to hear David, and He does the same for us. That means no matter what our feelings tell us, the truth remains that God knows and God cares.
Second, God pulls us out of the sinking mud. If you have ever experienced depression, and I have, you know exactly what it feels like to be weighed down by sadness. Those feelings can become a pit so deep it seems impossible to climb out of by our own strength or willpower.
But God.
Depression may steal our joy and silence our voice for a season, but God will give us a new song. He will take our heavy groans of despair and replace them with a melody of genuine hope and freedom. Here is the beautiful part of our healing. Our survival becomes someone else’s survival guide. As David noted, people did not just hear his song, they “saw it,” and they trusted in the Lord because of it. That is the remarkable gift available to anyone walking through sorrow while continuing to trust in the Lord. He replaces our sorrow with singing and gives us the opportunity to help someone else find God’s eternal salvation.
If you have been born again, then whatever you are facing today, hold on to Jesus. Your pain is not meaningless. God can and will use your story of overcoming the darkness to anchor the faith of someone else still trapped in their own pit, if you will call on Him and trust in Him. He did it for David. He did it for me. And He can do it for you too.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding me that You know, You hear, and You truly care about what I am going through. Lord, help me understand that I won’t always grasp the reasons behind my seasons of dejection, especially when they come from something outside my control, but that if I depend on You to see me through, I will not only come out stronger for it but will have a new song to sing, one that causes others to trust in You. It’s in Your precious name I pray, Jesus. Amen
Happy Running!
Melissa Sharp is an ultra runner and running coach who has completed more than 100 marathons and ultra marathons. Melissa has learned how to keep running the race of life for the glory of Christ even though she endured decades of domestic abuse. Melissa is a survivor. Through her daily blog thejoyfilledrunner she inspires others to live in the strength of Christ.
