By Nancy Virden (c)2025

Excerpt from How the Difference-Maker Lifts You Above Depressive Thoughts

God loves you. He cares about you. He is not distant, too busy, or distracted. The Bible promises the Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he who watches over you will not slumber.

The child in my house wants to be seen. This is typical and age-appropriate for a five-year-old. The security and self-esteem he feels is partly due to how people respond to his demands. Do you see me? is his question behind loud noise-making, and the more he feels seen, the better he behaves.

He will mature out of this stage. However, the longing to be seen, known, and accepted never leaves us. We are sometimes disappointed because humans do not have the capability of always understanding or accepting. God never fails.

Hagar was an Egyptian slave, pregnant, and in a contentious relationship with the woman she served. Hagar was out of options. She ran away into the desert, where the angel of the Lord met her. He said that God was aware of her misery. He promised she was having a son who would be as free as a wild donkey and the father of many nations.

Hagar likely carried deep longing for any of her future children to be free from slavery. Reassured of her future she said, “You are the God who sees me.”

In your alley of hopelessness, alone, when fear of staying alive swamps your mind and suicide seems the
only way out, there is One who sees you.

Buried alive under mounds of despair and emptiness, lying in the dark corner of a lifeless room, there is One who hears your silent screams and understands what you cannot speak.

As you walk secret trails through unwanted memories of shame and torment, and you believe you are a waste of skin, there is One who knows you completely and loves.

Overwhelmed in a desert of grief and questions, expecting only more loss in your tomorrows, there is One who weeps with you, who stands with you in broken-heartedness.

He loves the child once so battered by other people’s sins. He loves the adult in need of rescue from your own sins. He sent his Son for both and offers salvation and healing to each part of you. So, when you believe there is no hope for change, and everyone will be better off without you, there is One who sees, hears, knows, and loves.

Go ahead, ask him to meet you where you are. He is the only One with the power to guide you through the next minute, hour, day, and year. Reach out to Almighty God, your difference-maker.

-COMMENTS WELCOME

Today’s Helpful Word

Matthew 10: 29-31 (Jesus to His disciples)

What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

If you are feeling suicidal, or concerned about someone who is, in the U.S. call 988, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. For a list of international suicide hotlines, go here.

If you are suicidal with a plan, immediately call 911 in the U.S. or go to your nearest emergency room. In the EU call 112. (For other international emergency numbers, go here ). Hope and help are yours!

Always the Fight Ministries (ATFM) has been displaying compassion for those fighting mental illness, addiction, or abuse since 2012. Nancy is the founder and voice of ATFM and openly shares her emotional resurrection from despair. 

NOTE: Nancy is not a doctor or a mental health professional, and speaks only from personal experience and observations. This website is not intended to substitute for professional mental or behavioral health care.

_{HOLY BIBLE, NEW LIVING TRANSLATION, COPYRIGHT © 1996, 2004, 2015 BY TYNDALE HOUSE FOUNDATION. USED BY PERMISSION OF TYNDALE HOUSE PUBLISHERS, INC., CAROL STREAM, ILLINOIS 60188, PER BIBLE GATEWAY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. RETRIEVED FROM HTTPS://WWW.BIBLEGATEWAY.COM/}