The Bible doesn’t present suffering as evidence that God has abandoned His people. It doesn’t pretend faithful people never feel this kind of despair. In fact, many of the most important people in Scripture walked through seasons of intense sorrow, fear, grief, weariness, and emotional collapse.

Elijah was so exhausted and afraid that he sat under a broom tree and asked God to take his life.

David poured out his anguish in the Psalms and asked God how long He would hide His face.

Paul wrote honestly about being afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down.

Naomi was so overcome by grief and loss that she asked the women around her not to call her Naomi anymore, but Mara, because she believed the Almighty had dealt bitterly with her.

And Jesus Himself was described as “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”

Their stories don’t teach us that depression is failure. They teach us that God can be trusted in the middle of suffering and that despair doesn’t disqualify us from being loved by God. They remind us that when God’s people are weak, He doesn’t turn away in disgust. He draws near.