“Action is the antidote to despair,” Joan Beaz once said. We often feel overwhelmed with the tasks that lie before us. The more we think about the mountain we have to climb, the higher and more impossible that mountain becomes. In life, all too often we are inclined to give up and just take the easy way. Giving up can lead to lethargy, and as the problems grow larger in our minds or in reality, we can slip into despair and depression.

Jesus’ account of the good Samaritan teaches the lesson of a healthy action lifting despair from the person being helped, and also resulting in a blessing to the Samaritan (Luke 10:30-36). The Samaritan found favor with God and with men. We may need a little help when despair looms on the horizon, but busying ourselves by helping others is an antidote for despair in our own lives.