To Those Struggling with Depression:

You’re not alone.

You could fail a thousand times a day, but He remains faithful.

You might not be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, or even far enough to take the next step in front of you, but He is ready to catch you if you fall.

You may find yourself without even the strength to get out of bed, but He offers you His.

You might feel lost and lonely in a crowded room, but He is with you. You are never alone.

He knows your pain and weeps with you. He knows your struggles and rejoices with each little victory. Sometimes just holding on and weathering the storm for one more day is victory enough.

You may see yourself as worthless, but He still loves you. This might make no sense to you, but it’s true. He is love. Love is not just what He does, it’s what He is.

He is the ultimate, infinitely loving, joyful, peaceful, satisfying, open, committed, generous, intimate, and uplifting fellowship, and He wants you to participate. Not just watch from the other side of the room, but be actively and fully involved, and be completely healed, purified, and invigorated.

You can’t escape from His love. Wherever you go, from the most luxurious palace to the cruellest dungeon, from the most pristine cleanroom to the filthiest sewer, from the depths of the ocean to the depths of outer space, and everywhere in between, He will be there, loving you.

You don’t need to be famous, you don’t need to be popular, you don’t need to be loved or praised by those in charge. The glory that this world offers means nothing in the end. The glory and peace and love and fellowship and satisfaction and joy that awaits you will make all of your sufferings down here worthwhile.

Cling to Him, open up to Him, and trust Him, because He loves you.

He sees you, He hears you. He has not abandoned you, and He never will.

You’re not alone.

More Than Worthy

I am pleased to present the music video for track 4 of Virtual Orchestra – Heavenly Light

which is about how Christ understands the isolation, pain, and suffering that is endemic in our world and especially among young men, and the rich, meaningful life that He offers that the world cannot compete with. English and Czech subtitles are available.

The lyrics are:

You deeply understand my loneliness,
Abandoned by your closest friends;
And when you prayed alone in deep distress,
You clearly saw how that day would end.

Subjected to all of man’s cruelty,
You died so that others might live;
And as they all mocked you with vicious glee,
You cried out, “O Father, forgive!”

You’re more than worthy of all my praise
With all my strength, for all my days;
You’ve taken away all my guilt and shame,
And shown me the way I should live.

Help me to become a better man,
With love to give and strength to serve.
I know my life is safe within Your hand;
I won’t receive what my sins deserve.

Give me wisdom to see through the world’s great lies
And courage to go against the crowd;
Fixing my eyes on the eternal prize,
With my whole life declaring out loud:

You’re more than worthy of all my praise
With all my strength, for all my days;
You’ve taken away all my guilt and shame,
And shown me the way I should live.

——————————————————————–

Melody, lyrics, vocals, instrument programming, arrangement, audio mixing and video editing by Ben Zwycky using Reaper and Hit film pro with virtual instruments from Orchestral Tools. Guitar accompaniment by Petr Mares.