Depression
We Believe Something
“Depression is a common mental health condition that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and changes in how you think, sleep, eat and act”. - Cleveland Clinic
I am not qualified to speak to the science of the operation of the human mind. However, I am miles ahead of the man who thinks that his field (psychiatry) is the sum of all knowledge in the universe. I may not know much about the function of psyche but I do know that there is another aspect to the human being.
Every person has a soul. This is an aspect of our being that houses our emotions and our personality. It is immaterial yet definitely part of this earthly realm. There is another part of reality. It is imperceptible to the natural senses yet it is something that we deal with every day. I am referring to the spiritual realm. Someone has described it as the dimension that operates with a frequency higher than the speed of light. That is why we normally cannot see it. Spirit and soul – you cannot ignore one of them and live in the real universe.
Someone thinks that everyone who looks at him sideways is demon possessed. Another person thinks that every problem in life is because of one's dysfunctional relationship with his mother. As with most philosophies, the truth is probably somewhere between the weeds, between the 2 extremes.
I do not pretend to be an expert in the medical world or in the field of psychiatry. There are people who have a great deal of knowledge and experience in these areas. While I may not be an expert in more mystical things either, if you simply recognize the existence of the spiritual world, you are ahead of 98% of the population of the world. That alone must qualify you to be some kind of expert.
If you are dealing with depression, it may be beneficial to obtain the help of a Christian doctor who has expertise in these matters. In my opinion, psychotropic drugs should be a temporary help and as a last resort. They should be used under the strictest supervision. I have heard that while it is kept very quiet in the news, many mass shooters that we hear about were taking these types of meds. They may be necessary for a short time. Please seek the help of a reputable professional.
One of our weapons against depression and its cause is authority. I am not trying to be overly simplistic. I am not insensitive to persons suffering depression. There is a certain amount of natural authority resident in the human being. This may not be enough to drive out deep seated depression but it may be enough to resist some preliminary attacks. Great authority has been given to the believer in Jesus' name. This does not automatically happen. If the person involved has been crushed down by long term mental attacks, he may need the help of another person who is more established in spiritual authority.
Sometimes a person may feel depression being “offered” to them. If one is already in self pity because of bad circumstances, he may give in to the strong feelings of sadness. This is a real critical point. If you use your natural authority and especially your spiritual authority in Jesus' name you may see these attacks leave before they take root in your mind.
Having said that, let me address another side of depression. Possibly the most common reason we experience depression because we believe something. Ungodly spirits are always involved in teaching some kind of doctrine. They can communicate something to our minds that we almost always mistake for our thoughts. The ancestors of present day demons are said to be the original Sons of God. One of the things they are accused of is bringing unlawful knowledge to men: astrology, advanced astronomy, metallurgy, warfare , and such. For some reason they need to teach something. People who have had questionable near death experiences always are “sent back” with a doctrine or teaching. It seems that the ungodly spirit world knows that the most deadly thing they can do to the human race is to insert some type of twisted knowledge. Therefore I say that one of the major causes of depression is to believe something that has been inserted by spiritual forces with evil intentions.
We can, often times, be totally unaware that we are holding to one or more of these dangerous implanted thoughts. We do not fight against them because we mistakenly assume they are our thoughts. Demons always speak to us in the first person. They say to someone, “I am stupid”. They never say you are stupid (or something else). Their doctrines are disguised as your thoughts. Therefore we do make any effort to combat them.
I do not intend to make light of any depression one may be going through. It is just that the real cause of these problems, many times, may be so simple. Too simple to even be considered valid, in many cases.
How can I know if I am believing a lie? “You're not really saved.” “God has forsaken you.” “That's it! You have sinned for the last time.” “The pit of hell is your eternal home.” “Everyone has forgotten you.” “God is angry with you.” [I just said that evil spirits speak to you in the first person. These statement just indicate that an evil spirit will direct these types of thoughts to you while trying to make you think they are your thoughts.] This is not the work of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. He may convince you that something in your life needs to be forsaken because it is evil or harmful. The demons will condemn you. The Holy Spirit will warn you. Demons will pass final sentence of condemnation.
Unfortunately, I know what I am talking about. In my experience, devils will always, in effect, say, “Check-mate”. I have learned to recognize their presence by their introduction of hopelessness. Something is always the last time. Now it is final. There is no recovery. They seem to always present something as impossible to remedy.
They can also cause a vague sense of dread or impending doom that can be overwhelming – for no reason at all.
I do not want to encourage anyone to throw away their meds, but do you simply believe something that is a lie of devils? How do I remedy that? The way that you recognize the lie is to be familiar with the Truth. A growing knowledge of the Bible is one of your best guards against deception. This comes over a long period of time. What if you do not have 10 years to build immunity against the devil's lies? This is tricky. You might access the wisdom of another person. I say might because people can be more wicked than devils, or deceived themselves.
The subject of depression is a large topic and I do not want to be too simplistic. However, I feel that I have something that can help certain people. I said the Bible is one of our best guards against deception and therefore depression.
For a few years I was a member in a church that made a lot of noise about believing the Bible. However, something was missing. We wanted everything to be objective and mechanical. “Chapter and verse, please.” Somewhat like finding the short, simple answer in an auto owners' manual. What we did not realize (mostly because we did not want to admit) that the Bible cannot exist by itself. It comes with a teacher, a spirit. That was too subjective or non-concrete for us. God has made things this way on purpose. It may be understood as similar to 2 eyes to be able to focus or 2 legs to be able to stand and walk. The Bible and its Teacher must go together.
Years ago I would occasionally hear that psych wards would not allow a Bible to be present with the residents. Lately I cannot find anyone who will allow it to be put into writing that they deny patients a Bible in their room. Every health care professional seems to deny that accusation. However, I personally know it to be true, even today, in some cases. Why? The Bible is a book of good news, right?
A friend of mine was preaching in Brazil. He noticed a man in the audience that seemed to be enjoying the message. This can be encouraging to a speaker. After a short while this man got up and left the room. This was a little bit discouraging to my friend. After the service he found the man who had left the auditorium earlier. He was still in the church building. He asked him why he had left in the middle of the message that he seemed to like.
The man replied, “Oh, I did like the message. I really got it. I understood the message. I was so filled with joy I had to run out. I thought I was going to burst. I ran out into the foyer and had to jump and scream with joy!”
He really did make contact with the good news of my friend's Bible message. The positive message combined with the presence of the Holy Spirit allowed at least one hearer to be filled with uncontainable joy.
The Bible comes with a spirit, with a teacher. When a mentally disturbed person is in a psych ward, he is very close to evil influences. When a depressed person is reading the Bible he may be close to evil influences. The Bible is a book of good news, almost too good to be true. However, when it speaks of the enemies of the Lord, very dark and disturbing language can be used. An evil “teacher” can be present to guide the person reading into some disturbing thoughts. Experience has suggested to health care professionals that a Bible can cause extreme distress in some people. It is not the good news that causes distress but rather a spirit that is trying to cause agitation whenever it can.
For a depressed person, he must read the Bible but while being guided by the real teacher, the Holy Spirit. Other people may or may not be a help. Among other things, the fruit or result of being influenced by the Holy Spirit is joy and peace (Gal 5:22). Are you listening to the Teacher? Or are you hearing the voice of the false spirits?
Mar. 6, 2024