Friday’s 333 Devotional: “Find A New Rhythm”

To help conquer depression we have to find a new rhythm.

Finding a new rhythm is something I’ve been advising those who have experienced a loss of a loved one, although in different terms. I tell them they need to find a new normal.

One of the things most people who’ve lost loved ones try to do is to get back to “normal.” But things will never be the same as they were when their loved ones were with them. Life with the person they lost will never be there again. The “normal” there was, is no more.

You may think of it like this. When you’ve lost an arm, life will never be the same as it was when you had two arms, but it doesn’t mean that life cannot be just as satisfying and life-affirming. Instead, a new normal, a normal with one arm must be found.

The same goes for those who are struggling with depression. They desperately try to get back to the way things were only to find things have changed. And so, their depression deepens as their attempts to find the old normal fail.

So, a new normal needs to be found, or better yet, a new rhythm. We need God to place a new song in our hearts to replace the old.

David knew this is what he needed.

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” (Psalm 40:1-3a)

God has a new way, a new thing, and a new rhythm to conquer depression.

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19)