Tragic news greeted the sporting world on Saturday as Kansas City Chiefs' linebacker, Jovan Belcher, took the life of his girlfriend and then took his own life at the team's practice facility. The families and the Chiefs are heartbroken and struggling to understand how this could happen. Belcher was only twenty-five years old, a professional athlete with a bright future, but all of that ended suddenly. I'm sure there will be an investigation, which will probably find no easy answers to this tragedy. How does someone who is so young with so much ahead of him become so hopeless that the only way out is death?
I bring this up, not to make light of this situation nor to try to devise any answers, but to remind us that this is the season of depression. The suicide rate actually doubles during the month of December, which tells us that depression should be taken seriously. We too often look at this season as a time of joy, when in reality, for many people, it is a most-depressing time. There are a variety of factors for this: Many who have lost loved ones during the year are facing the pain of Christmas without that loved one. Many have high expectations for the season and then they are not met, depression overwhelms. Many are simply lonely and this time of the year magnifies that loneliness. The rush of the season, but itself, can cause overwhelming stress. There are so many expectations and activities that we get overloaded. The list could go on and on. One of the holiday classics, "It's A Wonderful Life" shows a powerful portrait of a man who has lost hope during the holidays.
I share this, not to rain on your parade, but to make us aware that there are many hurting people around us. We have a fantastic opportunity to offer the true hope of the "Holy-days" in Jesus. Psalm 42:5 puts it this way: "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why do disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will praise my Savior and my God." Too many around us have lost hope because they have placed their hope in things that cannot bring them lasting hope. We have peace for a moment, but that peace if fleeting. If we would take the time to slow down, we would see a slew of hurting people around us. They have lost their way, have lost their passion, have lost their energy and have lost their hope. Yet our hope is in the Lord. Isaiah 40:31 tells us that those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. God promises to be our strength when we put our hope in Him. He is our lasting hope.
To what have you been turning to for hope? Your success? A relationship? Our money? A drink of a drug? Sports? Friends? Church? If we are ultimately trusting anything other than Jesus, we will be disappointed and left empty. Embrace Jesus for your hope and then you can help others who are hopeless. Would you keep your eyes open this week for those who seem to have lost their hope? Will you take a moment to listen to their story and try to help them turn to the only One who can give lasting hope? Jesus, the Messiah? May this Sip help you satisfy your thirst in Jesus. Tis the season for more than depression - Hope in Jesus!
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