Let Your Voice Be Heard
Depressed People Need To Speak So They Can Be Heard And Healed
by Eric Elkin
“Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!”
Ranchers brought more than 2,000 cattle to the Rugby Livestock Auction this week to be sold. The volume of livestock nearly outnumbered the people living in this small North Dakota town. Yet, no one considered it a good week.
Ranchers were being forced to sell their cattle to manage the debt created by drought conditions. More populated states, like California, grab most of the headlines regarding the drought. Few people will hear the auctioneer's words in one of the least populated states in the U.S. Then again, not many people were talking in Rugby, ND; the scene was too sad for conversation.
Smaller ranch operations live on the edge. They have little room for error. Living on the brink of collapse describes the vast majority of family farms. Three-quarters of U.S. farms have a gross income of less than $50,000 a year. Unfortunately, much of the federal support did not make it into the hands of the smaller operations.
A friend posted an article about the cattle auction. Until I saw it, the reality of the problem did not register in my life. In the city, we only see drought as an inconvenience to the health of our gardens and grass. There is a blind spot in our view where we cannot see the suffering of others.
“There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.”
Depression is a silent condition. It is not the kind of thing we talk about with friends or colleagues. Often, people who are depressed will not even talk about it with a spouse. The saddest part of depression is the one who suffers is crying out inside. They want to be heard, yet, the pervading darkness prevents them from speaking.
The drought is something the people in North Dakota saw coming. North Dakota State University started producing information to help farmers cope back in February. One of the university's biggest concerns was assisting ranchers in dealing with stress. North Dakota has seen a 57% increase in the suicide rate among farmers.
"Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice!" I wonder how many of those ranchers selling their herd would find comfort in reading Psalm 130. The psalmist understands their plight. Darkness is a deep pit that causes many sleepless nights. Yet, even in the darkness, there is hope.
The psalmist reminds the suffering to speak. Speak because forgiveness is real. Let your voice be heard, and God will respond. God's response might not be a burning bush but a therapist's voice. Speaking the words a suffering soul needs to hear, "You are not alone." The truth opens up a vision of hope. And hope has the power to pull even the smallest rancher in the least populated state out of the deepest pit.
Click to read Psalm 130
Reflection Questions:
Have you ever been silent about a problem that was eating away at you?
Were you able to speak about it? If not, what prevented you from speaking?
When was a time you wanted to experience hope?
How can speaking up help us encounter God’s hope?
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