Help comes for those who cannot help themselves. When we bottom-out and come to the end of ourselves, that is where hope springs.

Darkness is not your only friend. Jesus loves you, and he will be with you.

There is perhaps no better observation about the nature of anxiety and depression than its fundamental desire for avoidance.

It turns out that when Elijah battled depression, God sent someone to just be with him. To comfort him.

The Devil knows your weaknesses, and he will work them. So, I would like to offer some hard-won advice on how to persevere in this cosmic wrestling match.

In 2nd Corinthians, Paul has a lot to say about suffering. Paul reminds us that in our suffering, Jesus manifests both His suffering and His comfort. Oh, and Louie the Unofficial Comfort Dog/Program Producer makes an appearance, too.

Whatever theoretical or conceptual ideas to which we surrender in despair, the Christian faith offers something wholly different. It offers a person.

God is always better than your imaginings. God is greater than your thoughts about God!

At the core of Luther’s advice is the proclamation that we are free to hand over our pain, our sin, and our inabilities to our Savior.

Whatever loss you’ve undergone, whatever grief resides in the hollow of your heart, however much it seems like God has abandoned you, God sees that void as the place he wants to fill with new life and mercy.

Please... don’t say any variation of, “cheer up.” or “look on the bright side.” Don’t invalidate what someone is going through because you may not understand.

As I remember these stories of the other side of Christmas—where it’s not a wonderful life, where there’s no joy to the world, where silent nights are interrupted by screams and sobs and cursing and gunshots—I remember that this other side of Christmas is precisely why there is a Christmas in the first place.