Dealing with Darkness

Today I talked with a young woman who struggles frequently with extreme anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon.  Emotional trauma is difficult to define and treat, but none of our inner trials are foreign to the Lord.  Everything we deal with here on earth has already been experienced and conquered by our Lord Jesus on the cross.  Sin died there.
God's ear was often bent to hear David's cries, Solomon's repeated declarations of the vanity of life, and the whines of Jonah and Elijah. God invites us to cry out to Him. Why would He ask us to do something that we might feel incapable of doing due to the darkness in our souls? Because He knew we would experience periods of deep aloneness and vulnerability.  Our woes are specifically designed to keep our faces turned toward His.
Bottomless valleys are the hardest to travel.  We lose our footing and grope in very real moments of blackened agony because we have forgotten that our Maker is incapable of looking away.  His constant gaze is given little merit when panic sets in...but He is there.  HE IS ALWAYS THERE.
I have not been able to find the key to unlock the pattern that paralyzes some people. It isn't that they are forever disabled by this unseen plague, but that when it arises, no solution, no words, no logic can penetrate the unknown that holds them captive.  At least I have not discovered it.
All I know for certain is that God and His word do not change.  If grabbing this truth can somehow bring the tiniest glimmer of light into the situation, then at least part of the darkness must die. Light dispels darkness, and darkness can never dim the light.
2 Samuel 22:29   For you are my lamp, O LORD, and my God lightens my darkness. 
As believers we can be sure that He is with us in our blackness, though it may be a fight to bring that fact to the surface on a dark day. Feelings will lie to us and can't always be trusted, especially concerning spiritual matters. The truth in Scripture is not dependent on how we might feel at a particular time...because our emotions are unstable and unreliable when allowed to go unchecked. Until we are able to read God's word and gently place our faith there instead of following the negative bent of worst case scenarios, we are enslaving ourselves once again to the beckoning gloom. We must recognize that we have an Anchor. Instead of being tossed to and fro by fears, there is an immovable, unshakeable buttress that holds fast at bay the evils that desire to undo us.
I do not suffer these attacks as some do, but I see how crippling and dibilating they are.  I can only remind them of a Savior who promises to keep His children in His watchful eye - One that would walk with them through ANY fierce abandonment of spiritual reality they might face.
Our Sovereign God sees, knows, and has conquered all manner of darkness. On a cross He suffered separation from all that is good and holy that we might know abundant life. Stand firm in your faith. This battle has been won and the victory is His alone. Embrace the love of your Savior.