In this age, many are stricken by diverse kind of spiritual oppressions. Our Christian world is under heavy siege, almost every child of God who is on the divine mission for the Lord has to do with a fierce spiritual battle. One of those things that is really destroying many Godly men, is depression. In my experience, all those that I’ve met have to do with this spirit in a way, some of them big time.
I’ve also been under this for a while now, and since some time, I’m free and God gives me clear view on this nasty state of being. Truly, it is not Gods will for us, Christians, to be under oppression by this spirit. In this article I will do my best to explain how depression enters into our lives, what it does to us, and most of all: How to get rid of it.
Depression comes in waves. It needs time to develop, and it’s being grown through reasoning. There is no hope in depression, and it’s caused by and leads to short-sightedness [CP 2 Peter 1:8-9]. We are responsible for our depression, we are the ones who give ground to this force on which it is allowed to sow havoc in our minds, this means that we can also get rid of it by confronting whatever it sows in our minds. It is very important to know that depression is like a seed, that is often sown on a soil of loneliness.
- Depression: severe, typically prolonged, feelings of despondency and dejection.
- Dejection: a sad and depressed state; low spirits.
Source: Google dictionary
Let’s pick on the loneliness part: Many Christians are afraid of entering the realm of loneliness, but I have good news: it is more than a blessing to be in this state. First of all I want you to think of this, that without fear it’s impossible to have courage. In this same sense, it’s not possible to have a deep and intimate relationship with God without sowing seeds of life (thoughts and words of peace, joy and righteousness) on this fruitful soil of loneliness. Why this state is fruitful? Because it is exactly the time when you are deeply vulnerable, not being secure on a personal level, it’s when you start to recognize that you are not complete on your own. The devil knows this, and he will try to snatch you away by sowing lies into this state, these can be words that people speak, or memory’s which are triggered out from your past remembrance. How both seeds grow, is by the reasoning process that goes on in your mind continually. In most cases, we are not even fully conscious of this reasoning. – I hope you’re still following me!
While in this state of deep vulnerability, on a quite intimate level in our hearts, we are highly blessed because of the knowledge of Jesus Christ being with us, the Hope of Glory! This is exactly the time when through prayer we experience a most intimate communication with the Father. This is exactly the time to reflect ourselves in the precious Word of God. I hope that this excerpt from a psalm can give you more light on this:
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
As you read, the psalmist is remembering God while his soul is down. In whatever condition you are, in what darkness you abide, even the most hopeless moments in your life, you may know that this state really is just temporal, and that God is there next to you to provide you with the Hope of eternal Glory, to provide you with His peace and presence (did somebody say ‘Immanuel?’).
The reason you feel so bad after having a sense of loneliness, is because your apprehension on reality is a bit darkened, this can be because of many reasons: Your body may have been hurt; you maybe ate too much or just the wrong thing; maybe you have had a wonderful time with people who do not believe God, without discussing about God with them; or you had some time with believers, but did not acknowledge the Lord in the fellowship. Just to name a few – So in all these things, just head back to remembering God, and rejoicing in Him by bringing up every good thing He gave you in Christ.
So now we’ve seen what loneliness is, let’s head back to depression. From this place of understanding, we may conclude that depression is a tree, grown from a single seed, on the soil of loneliness. In this illustration, the tree is the result of a time of negative concluded reasoning. Let me explain.
Reasoning happens when your heart has the possibility and opportunity to settle with a certain way of thinking. This comes after you make a compromise with a thought you have about a matter, in this case, yourself. Every thought you’ve got, is part of a larger system of thinking, and that system of thinking also has important sources of which it gets power to reside in you. [CP Proverbs 23:7] These sources we call: alternate realities (or identities), but let’s stick with just naming them lies. Yes, it’s very simple, you believe a lie – and you conclude all what you think on that lie. The whole thing about a lie is this: someone’s behind it! Now just draw the connection.
The way out of this is the following: we have to chop down that tree. In order to do that we will need to take up an axe, and have the strength to chop into it. There is a problem with this though! The problem is that the tree will simply grow back again or it can be that the tree is way too thick to chop down. So how do we deal with this to really get rid of the tree for once and for all?
The answer is to curse the tree!
And Jesus spoke and said unto it [the fruitless fig tree], “Let no man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever.” And His disciples heard it. (…) And in the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, calling to remembrance, said unto Him, “Master, behold, the fig tree which Thou cursed is withered away.
You see what happens when you curse the tree? It becomes “dried up from the roots”! I think you get the point now, but it is worth to mention that the tree did not look like it was dead after Jesus cursed it. So even after confronting your depression with words that are grounded in the Word of God, words of hope, you still may have depressive thoughts! When you let those thoughts settle, you start to give the tree the right to grow again, especially when you speak the thoughts – as if you believe them.
We who are in Christ, can rely on the name of Jesus, the Word of God which is the truth. When we speak words against the depression trees in our minds, our words are based on the identity of Jesus Christ in us. This is what gives power to our words which we speak against these poisonous trees.
And when you get rid of the tree of depression, use your moments of loneliness to water the good and holy tree of life in you. Do this by nourishing it with words of life, and watering it with the Word of truth (Scripture). The tree of life in you, is a picture of the mind of Christ, an intimate knowledge of the One who is always with and in you.
..be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5b