Hi guys,
Hope you are well. Well, yesterday (Saturday), my friend and sister, Naomi Ose, of @thebrookchurchng (on Instagram and Facebook) had a Live streaming where we discussed about Depression, what it was and how to fight it as a Christian.
Thank you to everyone who joined the discussion yesterday. The network connection wasn’t the best and we plan to have another discussion soon but this is just to encourage anyone in that low place, HOPE in the Lord God Almighty. Don’t be ashamed of what you have to struggle through, depend on God. Turn to him. The ONLY cure for depression is the word of God and prayers. You cannot medicate something that comes from the spirit. The world can tell you it’s a “chemical imbalance in the brain” and etc but the word of God clearly tells us about the “spirit of heaviness” ( “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”- Isaiah 61:3 KJV). There is healing in your praise. The only tried and trusted ways I have found to stave off depression and fight back are:
2. Digest the word of God. To listen to teachers (ask God to direct you to the right teachers and to show you the people you need to listen to). To engage the word of God. Write out scriptures (long hand) and use them as affirmations. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. Speak back the word of God to yourself. Then as you perform these spiritual disciplines,
3. Practice gratitude. There is ALWAYS something in your life to be grateful for.
4. Wait on the Lord. Wait. Tarry. Hope on the Lord. Trust. Believe that ALL things are working together for good for you BECAUSE you are a child of the most high God ( “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”-Romans 8:28 KJV)- https://www.bible.com/1/rom.8.28.kjv)
It doesn’t matter what you go through, how low you feel and how low you fell, how “unrighteously” you may have acted, repent QUICKLY and turn back to God. DON’T DWELL THERE. Turn quickly and if you are really struggling and are unable to “turn quickly”, take it easy on yourself and just continue to ask God to help you- ask the Holy Spirit continually for help. God often helps us through different methods. He could send you someone with the help you need. It could be an idea that drops into your heart that you KNOW that, even on your BEST DAYS, could never have crossed your mind, it could be a message that preaches to you about the word you need to bring you out of your situation, it could be a problem that arises that ONLY YOU have a solution to, it could be anything. But God will always send you help. Just, please, learn to tarry in hope. To tarry in faith. To tarry without fainting. Be expectant as you continue to ask for help.
Also, don’t judge yourself if you have attempted to cope in this time in ways that you are not proud of. Eg, you might have been irritable and cranky and exhibited and/or engaged in some behaviours that leave people questioning your faith. First of all, your faith is between YOU and GOD. NO THIRD PARTIES.
Secondly, when the devil whispers to you that you must not be a very good Christian to slip up, don’t listen to the liar. The word of God shows us, in Zechariah, how God sees us even when the devil tries to pin us down with our sin.
“Then the guiding angel showed me Joshua the high priest [representing disobedient, sinful Israel] standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at Joshua’s right hand to be his adversary and to accuse him. And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Even the LORD, who [now and ever] has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is this not a log snatched and rescued from the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy (nauseatingly vile) garments and was standing before the Angel [of the LORD ]. He spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And He said to Joshua, “See, I have caused your wickedness to be taken away from you, and I will clothe and beautify you with rich robes [of forgiveness].” And I (Zechariah) said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with [rich] garments. And the Angel of the LORD stood by.”- Zechariah 3:1-5 AMP https://www.bible.com/1588/zec.3.1-5.amp
Substitute “Israel” with YOUR name. THIS is what the Lord is telling YOU. NOTHING YOU have done is bad enough to disqualify you in the sight of God, NOTHING. As long as you come to him in repentance. God will take away everything from you representing a “filthy garment” and he will bring you restoration- “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and shall praise the name of Jehovah your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you; and my people shall never be put to shame.”- Joel 2:25-26 ASV https://www.bible.com/12/jol.2.25-26.asv
The other things I’d recommend that you do, too, are:
5. Stay connected to the church or a praying people. Open up to trustworthy and godly people in your life about what you are going through and ask them to pray with you. But, a lot of times, the battle will meet you by yourself, alone. So don’t simply rely on someone else, it’s great to have them and to call when you really need encouragement, but also begin to exercise your ability to encourage your own self. I like this bible verse where the bible shows us how David coped and managed through a depressing time. It says, “ “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”- 1 Samuel 30:6 KJV https://www.bible.com/1/1sa.30.6.kjv.
6. Fast and Pray. Make a habit of praying. You can place it on your phone timer to remind you. Just keep your thoughts on God and godly things. Meditate on the word, have a word you choose to continually affirm to yourself in this season, speak out the word to yourself, write it out in longhand, sing it, meditate on it- “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”- Joshua 1:8 NLT https://www.bible.com/116/jos.1.8.nlt.|
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”- Philippians 4:8 NLT https://www.bible.com/116/php.4.8.nlt |
7. Practice self care. Take a bath and brush your teeth. Seriously. Some people who have never experienced depression would read this and think “come on, it cannot be that bad!”. And I understand why you won’t understand. But those who need this understand what I mean. Wash your hair. Put on some nail polish. Clean up your space. Clear out your inbox. Wash the dishes. Do ONE thing first and you’ll find that you suddenly get that sense of accomplishment that takes you into yet another chore. And if it’s just ONE thing you do on your list, that’s okay too. Seriously. Be kind to yourself.
8. Adopt positive self talk and thinking. Be positive. Believe that all things are working together for your good. Write out affirmations and say them out to yourself. Psyche yourself up! 😉
9. Exercise. Everyday or at least 3 times a week. Someone suggests doing at least two minutes work out everyday and working your way up. The idea is to form the habit of doing it daily then increasing it to, at least, 30 mins daily.
10. Eat healthy. Eat clean or, at least, relatively. I personally have struggled in this area as I would binge but you keep asking the Holy Spirit to help you. Any aspect of your life that is out of control requires the help of the Lord.
11. Develop self. As you develop your spiritual life, also develop yourself in a rounded manner. Professional growth. Read books. Listen to self help messages. I like to listen to Tony Robbins, Jim Rohn, Joseph Murphy, Brian Tracy. Start with these. Then we’ll talk more about reading some other time.
12. Find your recharge. Your recharge is an activity you do that can momentarily lift you up. It gives you an instantaneous boost. For some people, it’s singing, dancing, exercising, writing, washing and cleaning up, etc. For me, my recharges are: Praying, Writing, Singing, Listening to messages.
I don’t believe in using medication for depression. Maybe because I understand that it is a spiritual entity, like cancer and all the other ravaging diseases. So I won’t talk about medication. I understand that there maybe people who need to be on medication. I understand. I respect that. I would, however, recommend that medication not take the place of what you need to do for yourself- to build your resilience and your “bounce-back” ability.
I hope you find these tips helpful and I’m praying for strength for you. You can do this 💪🏾
And please, once you are able to find how to use these tips and regain freedom (and continue to exercise your right to freedom by using it as needed), help other people who are where you are now. This is the purpose of the trials we face, especially in the kingdom. It is to help others realise that #youtoo, but for JESUS. It is to spread hope. We cannot pretend to not have experienced these things because it doesn’t look good on us, no, it is our testament of the goodness of our father- “ Simon, Simon, look! Satan has asserted the right to sift you all like wheat. However, I have prayed for you that your faith won’t fail. When you have returned, strengthen your brothers and sisters.” Luke 22:31-32 CEB https://www.bible.com/37/luk.22.31-32.ceb |
“And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.”Revelation 12:11 NLT https://www.bible.com/116/rev.12.11.nlt
Have you been depressed before? How did you overcome it? Are you still dealing with it? Do you want to share what is particularly hard for you? Feel free to share and you can email me too ❤️
Love and Light,
Judith.
P.S : And, back down social and medical analysts, I’m talking STRICTLY from the spiritual side of things because things happen FIRST in the spiritual before they appear in the physical.
Beautiful and very very deep. Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteThank you! ❤️
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