“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire, he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”
Psalms 40:1-2

One stage of grief  is depression. Depression can be all-consuming and make you feel like you’re wading through a marshland of constant regret, weariness, and sorrow. King David writes in this passage that he had recently lost a child and was in deep grief. In the midst of grieving this terrible tragedy, he cried out to God from his depression. That was the wisest thing he could have done because we read that the Lord heard David's cries and lifted him out from the place he was in. God set his feet and gave him a firm place to stand.
 
The symbolism expressed in David's Psalm paints a picture of the reality of depression within grief. For those in mourning, it can feel like we are sinking into a place of darkness, mud, and mire; a slimy pit of despair from which we see no hope of escaping. Many mistakes and regrets can happen during a deep depression, but when we place our depression at the foot of the Cross and pray for His assistance, the Lord promises to guide us toward stability and free us from despair. During this period, we need to be patient and wait on the Lord. We must resist the urge to take matters into our own hands. Instead, we choose to depend on God and turn our cries to him instead of carrying the weight of our sadness alone. Through prayer and petitioning God for help, our feet can find a firm footing and we can begin to walk slowly but steadily out of the pit toward restoration.