Many of God’s people suffer depression! Of all illnesses, ailments, and diseases on Earth, depression ranks the most prevalent! This is not surprising considering we live in a world deprived of truth, and life transforming information! In this brief study of this vast subject, we are going to focus on understanding depression, so we may correctly align our thoughts, (most important), and order our words, (critical), to accept our Lord took our sins upon Himself, “and with His stripes we are healed”! Isaiah 53:5.
Firstly, we need know man is spirit, soul, and body. 1 Thess. 5:23. The body is the flesh, the soul is the personality, and the spirit is the breath of God, or life force within us! Genesis 2:7. When we die, our spirit returns to God who gave it, our flesh stays behind to decay, and return to dust, and our soul comes before God for judgment! Ecclesiastes 12:7-14.
Secondly, three main types of depression exist. Circumstantial, (most common), Clinical, (less common), and Spiritual Depression (very common). We may safely add a fourth, Induced Clinical Depression! Psychiatrists, having misdiagnosed the type of depression, can create Clinical Depression with drugs. A visit to the NHS site on depression, will reveal many “treatments” involving various drugs. These are usually administered on a trial basis as the patient’s sensitivity, and compatibility to the ‘treatment’ are unknown. Only after a medication has been tested on a patient, can its effect be evaluated.
Circumstantial depression due to loss of business, consequent lack of funds, bills to pay, stress from divorce, bereavement, or living with a suppressive personality, is best handled without medication. Identifying the cause of depression is three quarters of the battle won! Circumstantial Depression is addressed with appropriate attitude, and resultant remedial action to restore self-esteem. Counselling with an experienced person may be all that is required.
Clinical Depression is a chemical imbalance in the body possibly due to an under functioning thyroid, or pituitary gland as a result of head injury, or some other medical condition. After accurate diagnosis, it is usually necessary to re-establish the chemical balance in the body with the help of an appropriate drug. This has been successful.
Spiritual depression is commonly misdiagnosed. Mental Health Practitioners generally do not know about the sins of the fathers being visited to the 3rd and 4th generation, Exodus 20:5, nor do they know about the things God refers to as “abominations in the earth”. Deuteronomy 18:9-13. Humanism has turned a blind eye to the detrimental effects of sin! The occult, idolatry, adultery, homosexuality, Leviticus 20:13, witchcraft, astrology, and necromancy, will almost certainly produce serious Spiritual Depression! Sufferers often do not realize it is their sinful, unhealthy activities that are underlying their condition, and the wrong treatment is prescribed! This is the common cause of Induced Clinical Depression, which coupled with Spiritual Depression, exacerbates the patient’s condition! Sufferers without any circumstantial reason for depression, nor any physical symptom to indicate Clinical Depression, are most likely suffering Spiritual Depression!
This being the case, the sufferer is advised to read the ten commandments, Exodus 20:1 to 17, to see how their life measures up to God’s standards for His creation. This effort, could be a most revealing experience!
Rule one when dealing with depression, is to accurately diagnose the type of depression before taking any medicinal remedy. Before any medical assistance is sought, sufferers would be wise to consider the following. Firstly, is their depression the result of current circumstances? Secondly, does the sufferer have physical symptoms, such as dizziness, nausea, stomach, or head pains, or fatigue? Thirdly, how does the sufferer rate their relationship with God? How is the sufferer’s relationship with immediate and extended family? Does the sufferer go to church, or is the sufferer indifferent concerning God? Is the sufferer community orientated, or self isolating? Considering these questions before seeking help should assist to point the sufferer in the right direction to discover where the cause of their depression is rooted! If this process is not successful to provide a clear cause of depression, it is important to seek experienced guidance.
Thirdly, it is important sufferers grasp we are made in the likeness and image of God! Genesis 1:26. Just as God spoke our universe into being, Genesis 1:3, we create with our words, and speak our universe into being! Say it, and you will have it! Proverbs 18:21
Those who have yet to discover they are spirit as much as they are flesh, who may suffer depression need to ask themselves, are they truly thankful to God for an opportunity to be alive on this beautiful planet? Is one grateful to God for God’s unspeakable gift? Do we even know what God’s unspeakable gift is? that God gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life? John 3:16, that the words Lord Jesus spoke, are spirit, and life? John 6:63.
Many sufferers have been healed with Godly, positive self affirmations. What do we mean by this? “I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made”, Psalm 139:14, and, “This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it”. Psalm 118:24. These are attitudes to the day we may speak into our situation, to heal our condition, for it is written, “With His stripes we are healed”!
Unclean spirits readily get their victims to go into agreement with unhealthy thoughts! The next step is to get their victims to speak these thoughts, and believe they are useless, helpless and without hope, and God is to blame! The remedy is to distance oneself from these unclean spirits, and close the door to their returning! Sufferers may need to fast. Matthew 17:21. Mental Health Therapists need ask a few questions to diagnose Spiritual Depression, and most are completely untrained for this!
What do we mean by “the sins of the fathers are visited to the 3rd and 4th generation”? Simply this, ‘Children cannot learn what their fathers never knew, and their fathers’ sins, will affect those children to the 3rd and 4th generation’! God is a jealous God, Exodus 34:14, meaning, God wants to be involved with His creation, but, so often His creation does not want to be involved with Him, therefore God “visits”, as a father to chastise, and correct those whom He loves! Proverbs 3:12, Psalm 94:12, Jeremiah 10:24, 29,11.
By Lester Oliver Thomas Flock © 2020