We all face moments when we feel utter defeat and despair because things aren’t turning out the way we’d hoped. I know I have sometimes felt misunderstood or underappreciated, alone, or isolated from good. The point here is not that we may have faced these feelings in some measure; it’s what we do in those moments that makes all the difference. 

Christ Jesus gave us the ultimate example to follow in how he faced his mental struggle in the garden of Gethsemane (see Matthew 26:36–45). It was toward the end of his ministry, after his last supper with the disciples the night before his crucifixion. He felt the weight of those who either misconstrued the motives of his healing ministry or felt threatened by him, or both. 

The Bible says that he told a few of his disciples he was feeling overwhelmed with sorrow and needed to pray. He asked them to pray with him while he went alone to another part of the garden. Among the olive trees, he asked God if there was any way he could escape the ordeal that lay before him. But he also affirmed his desire to do God’s will for the greater good. Still troubled, he went to check in with the disciples.