Kingdom Proclaimers Report

From Depression to Happiness

JEHOVAH is a happy God. (1 Timothy 1:11) He wants those serving him to be happy also. Hence, if one of his servants is depressed, Jehovah will help him to endure the pain and sometimes even to regain a happy spirit. The following experience from Uruguay illustrates this.

A sister was waiting in a clinic in Montevideo for the result of an X-ray examination. A lady sitting next to her was very much afraid of what the doctor might tell her as a result of the examination that she had undergone. The sister told her that ever since she had been a Witness for Jehovah, she had not been afraid of anything. The lady, however, said that she did not like the Witnesses because they expected too high a standard from people.

The sister then told her how a knowledge of Bible truth had helped her. She had lost an 18-year-old daughter in death and had gone into a state of deep depression for eight years. Neither psychiatrists nor costly medications helped her to overcome this depression. Several times, she said, she was hospitalized, but no improvement resulted. Her household was taken care of by servants because she herself was not able to take care of anything. She tried to commit suicide because she had lost interest in life. Nothing seemed to help.

Then, she told the lady, one day Jehovah’s Witnesses called and left her some Bible literature. That sparked her interest in God’s Word, and she began to read the Bible all the way through. Something started to change within her. She began to get up in the morning and take an interest in her household. She finally decided to take care of the house by herself and found she was able to do so. It was as though she had never been sick! This made her feel very happy.

She did not return to the psychiatrist. Her will to live was stimulated by her knowledge of God’s Word, and this proved to be the best medicine. She looked for Jehovah’s Witnesses, and they started a regular study with her. She also began to attend meetings, and very soon she got baptized. No longer bothered with depression, she now finds joy in serving Jehovah.

The lady in the waiting room listened attentively. Then she said to the sister: “For some time, Jehovah’s Witnesses have been crossing my path; but if sometime in the future, I actually become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses myself, it will be because of what you just told me. Listening to you is like starting to see light in a dark place.”

Many people the world over are seeing the futility of trying to solve life’s problems on their own, and they are turning to Jehovah God. How happy they are to learn of God’s coming new world where everyone will be happy, and depression will be a thing of the past!​—Proverbs 16:20.