When Sorrow Feels Overwhelming - Martin Wiles

He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Matthew 26:38 NLT

When sorrow feels overwhelming, it can be a bitter pill to swallow, and I felt as if I were being swallowed by it.

Days stretched into months. An act of betrayal by another had turned my family inside out and headed it straight for dissolution. Although the situation could have been fixed, it wasn’t, and the shadow of depression soon hung over my head like a thunderous cloud.

Unemployment followed on the heels of everything else that had disintegrated. Months passed as I sent out hundreds of applications to various places, looking for anything that would help me support my family. Finally, a job opened, but the depression hung around. My outward appearance and actions seemed normal, but my insides churned.

Various trips to the emergency room for chest pains alerted my family doctor that something was wrong. “You’re depressed. Take the medication I’m giving you, and stay out of the emergency room,” he said. I followed his advice, and slowly the depression receded.

One translation has Jesus saying, “My soul is swallowed up in sorrow.” I suppose he felt that way. He was overwhelmed by what was ahead, but his disciples couldn’t keep their eyes open to comfort him. He felt alone … as if he were fighting a battle by himself. And He was. The disciples could not accompany him to the cross and die for humanity’s sins. Only a perfect person could. He wasn’t sorry he was doing it, but the weight of what was ahead had the power to swallow his soul in sorrow.

Situations that cause grief and intense sorrow aren’t easy to face, but we can face them more healthfully when others support us. Trying to face sorrow alone often leads to depression, whereas having a support system tends to ward off the dark clouds of depression. If Jesus needed companionship in his time of sorrow, we do too.

Of course, our greatest support system is found in our relationship with Jesus. We can’t physically experience him with our senses, but we can feel his presence in our spirits. This spirit-to-Spirit relationship surpasses anything we might experience with our senses.

Don’t try to face times of sorrow alone. Depend on God and godly people to help you through your trying times.

Father, thank you for your presence and the presence of others when I face sorrowful times that want to swallow me. 

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