Defending Your Family - Lesson 5 - Depression

It's a Bad Day When....

· You turn on the morning news and they're displaying emergency routes out of your city.
· Or when your boss tells you not to bother taking off your coat.
· You know it's a bad day when the bird singing outside your bedroom window is a buzzard.
· It's a bad day when your horn accidentally gets stuck and you're following a group of Hell's Angels on the freeway.
· You know it's a bad day when you put both contact lens in the same eye.
· When your income tax check bounces.
· When suicide prevention puts you on hold.


Depression and Sorrow

Depression is a deeply crushed, weighted down and defeated spirit.
The sadness that a depressed person feels
is to the point of feeling battered and deeply bruised.
Their heart aches all of the time and tears are close to the surface.
It doesn't take much to bring on the weeping of deep felt sorrow.


Proverbs 15:13, “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.”

Have you ever felt this way?





Proverbs 17:22, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones."

Can you elaborate on this verse?





Have you ever heard of someone crying until they could cry no more?
Sometimes the tears come and come for months
and seems to wither and dry up a person's heart.

Pain can be that deep
but no matter how deep the pain can be Jesus can bring inner healing.
A person who is in a depression will have decreased interest
or pleasure in most every area of their lives.

They may have significant weight loss or gain.
They either eat everything in sight or they stop eating all together.
They get too much sleep or can't seem to sleep at all and insomnia sets in.

They usually feel worthless and have difficulty concentrating on the littlest matters.
Thinking becomes terribly hard to do as concentration becomes difficult.
Some depressed people have recurrent thoughts of death and suicide.
Satan's ideas about dying often come into their minds.

There are different levels of depression depending on the sin level, but its all bad.
Satan enjoys seeing us feel sad and depressed.
Satan enjoys telling us we are no good
or not good enough at anything and everything.
He likes us to feel fatigue, irritability, and nervousness.
Sometimes memory loss becomes a problem.

Not everyone feels these feelings when they are depressed
but they feel enough of it to know it hurts, and it hurts bad.
Sometimes the pain of depressed sadness hurts so bad,
that sicknesses and diseases can come about.
A person can even end up in the Hospital.

Satan desires us to be tormented to the point of complete defeat.
He brings confusion, conflicts, and tricks our mind off of the Word of God.
If he can get our mind off of Jesus and onto worldly sorrows, he has us.

When Jesus is the complete Lord of our lives
and our focus is centered on Him,
life is easier to handle.
We have to keep our eyes and hearts on Jesus.
Make Him more important than our problems.
We need to put things in the proper perspective.

When the spirit is weighted down with total ruin and awful depression, sickness comes.
A doorway has been opened up for Satan to enter.
He works at defeating what little spiritual defenses are left to fight.
The only way to combat this is to first admit that we are in sin.
The sin is the "Sin of not trusting God enough"
to be in control of the situation
when you have just prayed to Him for His help.

Proverbs 19:23, “The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.”


We need to ask for forgiveness of that sin
and then again pray to give to problem to the Lord.
Leave it in the Lord’s hands,
He will take care of the problem in the right way
and be Lord of the circumstances.

We have to "trust" Him
and if we don’t trust Him to do the right thing
then we are in "sin." The bible says over and over again
to trust the Lord.
Will we continue to disobey God?

It doesn’t matter what our eyes see
or what we are feeling about the situation,
it is walking in solid unwavering "faith"
in the Lord that He will help you.

By walking in faith, we will eventually see
God’s hand was helping us
even though at the time we could not see it.
Faith and trusting in the Lord Jesus is the answer!
The only real, lasting answer!

I Peter 5:6-11, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

Can you share a testimony of ‘casting your cares’?





Serious grief opens up a doorway to possible depression and Satan’s attack.
Happiness brings inner health!
How does a person get their life to turn around so that they can be happy?
We can start by reading the Bible,
and then having the faith to know that God’s Word is true.
Stand on that Word.
In full faith!


Depression

Whether it is a root that has sprung up from a past hurt or emotional let down.
Whether it's a physical or mental problem,
Isn’t it possible that satan is right there behind it all.
And since he is a defeated foe,
we have power over him through Jesus.

As we examine some of the causes of depression,
Let’s keep in mind, though the problem may appear to be medical,
there is a hidden source lurking about.

II Corinthians 4:8-9, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;”

Has that verse ever helped you?





Physical and/or Emotional Problems

On the Spiritual Side – the devil would like to make us emotionally sick.
Actually, he'd like to just destroy us all together,
but if he can't do that, he would be just as happy
making us physically or emotionally sick.

‘Today's young women are more likely to become depressed than their mothers were and at a younger age. Reasons: increased economic pressure to contribute to family income...changing role in society...inability to meet their own expectations...a sense of having lost control. ‘
Dr. Gerald Klerwan, in Homemade, December. 1986.

Remember this – we are a weapon for God
and the devil wants to hinder you.


Becoming Bored and Lacking Fulfillment

On the Spiritual Side – If the devil can get us bored
he can get us into trouble.
An idle mind is the devil's workshop
so don't let boredom reign in your life.
Find something that fulfills you and go do it.

1Timothy 5:13, “And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.”


Boredom breeds depression.
Are you doing what God called you to do?
Are you abiding in your calling as the Bible says?
If you want to be happy put the Lord first
and do what he'd have you to do.
This always brings fulfillment and fulfillment always brings joy.

Psalm 37:4, “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

Is there something the Lord told you to do and you are not doing it?





Feeling Helpless

Isaiah 41:10, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

This is something straight from the pit of hell.
Satan wants us to feel HELPLESS because he feels helpless.
God threw him out of Heaven
so he doesn't want you to have any hope of making it to Heaven.

Let’s remember
We don't have to fall prey to satan,
we have power over all the power of the enemy.
Depression has to bow at the name of Jesus.

We can reach out to someone we trust and ask for help.
Or better yet, reach out to God,
read His Word.

Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”


‘Many years ago a young Midwestern lawyer suffered from such deep depression that his friends thought it best to keep all knives and razors out of his reach. He questioned his life's calling and the prudence of even attempting to follow it through. During this time he wrote, "I am now the most miserable man living. Whether I shall ever be better, I cannot tell. I awfully forebode I shall not." But somehow, from somewhere, Abraham Lincoln received the encouragement he needed, and the achievements of his life thoroughly vindicated his bout with discouragement.’

Today in the Word, MBI, December, 1989, p. 20, Swindoll, You and Your Problems Transformed by Thorns, p. 58.


Feeling Trapped and Hopeless

Proverbs 24:10, “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.”


On the Spiritual Side – other than feeling helpless,
the enemy wants you to feel HOPELESS.
These feelings cause depression
and since they are NOT from our loving Father
they should NEVER be entertained.

II Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”


The devil knows that if he can get us feeling hopeless,
we will then get depressed,
and he'll have you trapped.
DON'T LET HIM TRAP YOU!

Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”


The devil is after your faith,
if he can steal your hope,
he has your faith in hand.
ARISE and tell the enemy,
YOU CAN'T HAVE MY HOPE OR MY FAITH.

If we are feeling trapped by circumstances beyond our control,
Let’s not allow ourself to be lock into satan's emotional prison.
Look for ways out.
Let God lead you out of your wilderness situation.

1Corinthians 10:13, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

Maybe the Lord opens a door for us and we so ‘no’ what about then?





Dwelling and Thinking on the Negative

On the Spiritual Side – when we start dwelling on the negative,
we are stepping over into enemy territory.
No Child of God should be near the enemy line,
much less crossing it.

Anytime we are talking negative;
we are that close to going over to the other side.
We must watch our mouth
and it keep filled with FAITH-FILLED WORDS.

Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Can you give testimony of your negative tongue?




We are the children of the Most High
and we need to think, talk and act like it.
We should never allow our minds to wonder off
where it has no business and brothers and sisters,
we've no business dreading upon enemy soil.

God's Word says clearly,
we are to think on good things.
If we crowd our minds with positive thoughts,
the negative thoughts won't have room to get in.


Job 42:10, “And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.”

We are already involved with a good spirit filled church,
And we need to keep our mind on helping others.
We can read about Job and read how he was able to turn his life around.
He started praying for his friends and God blessed him.
So the way to get out of a depression is first to talk to someone about your feelings.
Second start getting involved in other people's lives in a constructive way.
Helping others helps bring inner healing into your life.
As you help bring healing into someone else's.
If you desire the Lord to heal your inner hurts
reach out to others with all of the love
and compassion that you can.


In Conclusion

Don't give up on yourself or God.
Keep fighting back.
Satan may be out to get us,
but we can RISE UP IN THE NAME OF JESUS,
PUT ON OUR ARMOR,
AND TELL THE DEVIL TO LEAVE US ALONE.



Isaiah 61:1-3, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 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.”


next chapter

back to index