The Cure for Sadness

Richard Hollerman

We are living in an age of sadness, depression, and struggle. We know that this may be expressed in many different ways. It is a time of sadness, of unhappiness, of grief, or of despondency. It is a time of deep unhappiness, misery, of pessimism, and of broken-heartedness. Maybe it has always been of this nature but maybe this characterizes our age in particular. Think of the physical disabilities, the mental anguish, the wars and tumult in the world, the needless rejection by unbelievers, and the ever-present trials of life.

As we look out to our friends, neighbors, relatives, and others, we naturally realize that this sadness is all around us. Maybe this is shown in the massive number of suicides in our age and perhaps this is manifested in the “mental illness” that characterizes our society. It is not just a matter of money, for places like affluent Iceland and Sweden may be compared to the poor countries such as India or Bangladesh. No, it must go further than this. And it is not just a matter of religion for sadness comes to atheistic nations as well as deeply religious India and Afghanistan. We don’t mean to imply that countries that are religious are more prone to sadness than are secularistic ones. No, it must go further than this.

When we go to the Scriptures (and this must be our primary sourcebook, wouldn’t you agree?), we find that Jesus Himself could say that He was “grieved and distressed” (Matthew 26:37). He admitted, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death” (v. 38). We may notice that Jesus had a serious reason to be grieved for the burden of sin was on Him and He would soon bear the sin of the world. Plus, of course, his own pain in life was great—the terrible suffering that he was about to undergo, the rejection by even those who were one time loyal to Him, and so much more.

Then we think of Paul the apostle, some years later. We find that this apostle could write Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” These words sound like this was a man was filled with joy at all times and in all circumstances.

But at other times, Paul admitted His sorrow! He wrote, “Out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears” (2 Corinthians 2:4). The apostle also admitted his inner pain at times. He wrote, “our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within” (7:5). Paul wrote, “I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart” (Romans 9:2).

Perhaps we can see something of both Paul’s inner joy and inner pain in his comment at 2 Corinthians 6:10. Paul said that he was “sorrowful” “yet always rejoicing.” Here was a broken, pained, rejected, and persecuted man who could admit that he was “sorrowful,” yet he didn’t remain in this dejected state for he also said that he was “always rejoicing.”

Is this the way that you and I are? Do we have “pain” because of many things in life—our own physical disabilities, our jobs, our financial distress, or our rejection from people when they don’t like our commitment to God? But, on the other hand, are we able to “rejoice” because of our relationship to God, our joy in His service, our ability to see the blessings of people who are positive toward Christ—as well as our eternal future with Christ?

In other words, do we have this same kind of sorrow as well as joy in life?  We are not overwhelmed with the distresses of life for we know that God knows what He is doing and all will be well. But still we can have a deep and profound joy because of fellowship with the Lord and His sweet presence through our anguish!

Let us cultivate this perspective in life! We will know the sorrow of life, knowing that our Lord Jesus also felt distress and anguish. But we will be able to have the attitude that Peter mentioned: We will “greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of [our] faith the salvation of [our soul]!”