Kristin said, “I have been in and out of therapy and treatment programs for too many years to count. I’ve read every self-help book. I have prayed relentlessly to God. Nothing ever changes. For eighteen years, my body has suffered. My pastor told me I was living in the enemy’s camp. This enemy has turned me against myself by clouding my mind and filling me with pain, rage, and anger. He has sent people into my life who abuse, torment, and hurt me. The enemy has done everything in his power to keep me from God. And he is winning.”
Kristin is at war. Satan is very real and hates all that God loves, and that includes you because God loves you. We can all probably say that we have underestimated the spiritual battles that rage around us every day. I always knew Satan existed but thought he’d be spending his time on more worthwhile people, like Billy Graham (well-known evangelist who ranked number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for the 20th century).
As long as we maintain our status quo, Satan will leave us in peace. But when we seek Christ with all our heart and start making changes to our lives, he will go on the attack, and we need the weapons to fight back!
Be aware! Satan will want to cloud your mind as you study the truth! Satan’s goal is to take our minds and hearts off Jesus Christ, then steer us to the “world’s way.” Even Jesus was tempted numerous times by Satan (Luke 4:1-12). Depression is another weapon of his.
Depression is a household word today. Depression is called the “common cold of counseling.” Twice as many women as men suffer from depression. Why? Satan has very cunningly led each person through a series of lies that they believed, and life eventually becomes mental torment.
Laura writes, “I feel myself slipping into a self-absorbed, secluded world. I’m shutting people out. I could break down in floods of tears at any moment. I feel so fragile and insignificant and a nuisance. I’m angry with everybody. I just want to be by myself. My head is such a mess. I’m confused and incredibly depressed.”
To be depressed is to be “pressed down.” There are various reasons we direct our emotions down—or inward—abuse, loss of a loved one, stress, pursuit of thinness, guilt, intense teasing, and/or rejection. Depression can also be a symptom of unbelief. We should to turn to God and ask Him to direct us.
The Bible is full of people with broken hearts and spirits. King Ahab became depressed when he couldn’t get his own way. When Ahab’s neighbor refused to sell him a piece of property, he threw a temper tantrum and became “sullen and angry.” He lay on his bed “sulking and refused to eat” (1 Kings 21:4).
Hannah, a godly woman, became depressed when she had to deal with a combination of unfulfilled longing and a strained relationship over a prolonged period of time. She had a godly husband, Elkanah, who loved her dearly. However, for reasons known only to the Lord, He had closed her womb. Hannah’s struggles with barrenness were exacerbated by her husband’s other wife, Peninnah (Elkanah had two wives). Peninnah had no difficulty conceiving and bearing children, and she “kept provoking Hannah in order to irritate her” (1 Samuel 1:6). For years, she provoked her until she wept and couldn’t eat. Hannah was depressed (7).
One of my favorite promises for trouncing depression is John 8:12: “Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” Did you get that? Jesus promises that if we accept Him and follow Him, we will never walk in darkness again. That’s another truth!
Read this excerpt from “I’m Beautiful? Why Can’t I See It?” by Kimberly Davidson.
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