Anxiety And Depression Boot Camp

8 February 2022

Anxiety And Depression Boot Camp

Welcome back, my amazing Compadres!

I want to run a series on two of the most deadliest weapons the enemy deploys against the human race. These arsenals together have killed many people more than Hitler’s gas chamber. Their devastating effects have not yet been realised, since the enemy is good at concealing himself in the dark and unleashing his trusted weapons against the human race. It is my utmost desire to expose the enemy big time.

Right from creation, Satan has hated the human race with passion. After he fell because of pride [1], God created us to replace Satan in worshipping Him, ever since, we took up this task, we have been doing it better because we have had the Holy Spirit of God guiding us. Satan well understands how much God loves us, and in trying to hurt God, he launches attacks against us; God’s favourite creatures.

[the_ad id=”9047″]

Are We At War?

We need to understand that, we are at war with the enemy, and yet our warfare is not physical. The Bible says

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places [2].

When the average person thinks of warfare, images of war stricken places are conjured up. Very seldom does a person thinks of the mind as being the battlefield. However, careful study of this verse informs us that our warfare is not with other human beings but with the devil and his cohorts.

Our enemy, Satan, attempts to defeat us with strategy and deceit, through well-laid plans and deliberate deception. The devil is a liar. Jesus called him… the father of lies and of all that is false [3]. He tells us things about ourselves, about other people and about circumstances that are just not true. He does not, however, tell us the entire lie all at one time.

He begins by bombarding our minds with a cleverly devised pattern of little nagging thoughts, suspicions, doubts, fears, wonderings, reasonings and theories. He moves slowly and cautiously (after all, well-laid plans take time). Remember, he has a strategy for his warfare. He has studied us for a long time [4]..

That Thought Is Not From You

When the enemy speaks to our minds in an attempt to derail us from following a path that leads us to the fulfillment of purpose and destiny, he never speaks to us in the second person (“you”). He uses the first person (“I”) to deceive us into believing that the thoughts running through our minds are our thoughts and not suggestions, projections, promptings, or urges emanating from him.

He begins his warfare strategy by bombarding our minds with a cleverly devised pattern of little nagging thoughts, suspicions, doubts, fears, wonderings, reasonings, and theories. He moves slowly and cautiously, deliberately and patiently. He will never say, “You are sick,” “you are poor,” “you will die,” or “you are never going to make it.” He will rather say, “I am sick,” “I am poor,” or “I am never going to make it,” because he really wants us to believe that the thoughts he places in our minds are ours [5]. Sadly, many people have fallen for this strategy and are entangled by the manacle of anxiety and depression.

A lot of Christians are depressed simply because they can’t bring themselves to bare the thought that even though they are staunch Christians, yet they allow themselves to think evil thoughts. The truth is that, those thoughts are not coming from you, rather, the enemy lingers in the dark and prey on your ignorance to afflict you.

Alleged Cause Of Depression

Quite a number of health consultants have listed “family history” as one of the causes of depression, even though they admit there are no specific genes that we can look at and trace to depression, what they have observed is that if your family members have had depression, you are more likely also to experience depression.

This is so because, depression is caused by familiar spirits. As their name imply, these are spirits that are familiar with their victims, they have need in the family long enough to know the weaknesses on the members of the family, their fears, they proclivities, their predisposition, their strengths, their desires etc. They know how to device a liar to be accepted by the individual members.

In Mark 5:10, when Jesus encountered the demon possessed man who called himself Legion, “he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.” Because territorial demons or familiar spirits love to linger around and oppress people in the same family or lineage. Therefore, as Science has observed, if a member of the family has depression, it is pretty easy for other members in the family to accept the liars told by the enemy. Nonetheless, if any of the people in the family hold their grounds and rebuke that devil. It will have no option than fleeing.

Actual Causes of Depression

Depression can be caused by intense frustration. If a two year old child is given a task way beyond his capacity, like say mobbing the steady. That child will first be frustrated, since he may try but never be able to do the job. Now, when pressure is mounted on him to complete the task. he will move from mere frustration to depression.

Many people get frustrated because they are overly worried about a situation. When that worry is not curbed, it can progress to depression. We have people who got depressed because they felt they had failed in life. Perhaps, they should have reached a particular milestone in their business, academics, relationship or marriage. But they saw themselves way below their expectations. And mostly, there’s nothing they could do about the situation. In such a situation, like the little boy, they can move from mere frustration to intense despair, which is depression.

Frustration That Leads To Depression

We have Christians who get frustrated because they keep failing in their piety. They have intense desire to serve God and to please Him, but they keep falling into sin and fleshly desires. Some are entangled by addictions such as masturbation, drugs, sex, smoking, homosexuality, etc. And the thought of they being Christians but still in that mess throw them into a deep state of despair. Such people must understand that God is not surprised at their weaknesses.

He knows our human frailties, that’s why He made grace available for us. But as apostle Paul said “what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? [6].”

He specifically made grace available to us, not only for the forgiveness of sins but also to empower us to overcome sin. Determine that you will stop that addiction, and the grace of God is available to you. However, understand that it is a process. Don’t kill yourself because you are not able to overcome your situation overnight. The Word of God says

For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth [7].

Satan wants control of your mind

On a personal level, Satan wants control of your mind so that when you experience a personal crisis, you also experience depression of anxiety. These feelings then become attached, in your mind, to the personal crisis or situation. If you do not rid yourself of the tormenting thought of depression or anxiety that are now attached to the crisis you are going through in your mind, then when you have another personal crisis or anxiety, you are more likely to pick up additional tormenting thoughts.

When looking at you from the outside, others may not see all the tormenting thoughts that are now attached to you and are imprinted in your mind. We don’t always see the feelings of depression, guilt, anxiety or the scars from dishonesty and lack of trust. The problem is that you can look very good on the outside, while at the same time you can be totally weighed down by tormenting thoughts that have been imprinted in your mind [8].

[the_ad id=”9803″]

How To Deal With Depression

I want to touch briefly on how to deal with depression and anxiety. I will treat this as a topic in a separate blog. I believe this subject is of great importance, therefore, we need to shed more lights on it. In dealing with discouragement and depression, it is first of all a question of what spirit controls our minds. To reaffirm which spirit should be in control of our minds, let’s look at a passage from the gospel of John. This is one aspect of what Jesus said to His disciples as He was about to leave them to return to the Father in heaven.

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth [9].

Another word that could also be used is “Encourager.” In modern English, the phrase “to comfort” also means “to encourage. I want to emphasize one fact very clearly and firmly: The Holy Spirit never discourages us. He is the Encourager, not the “discourager”. Any spirit that works in your mind to discourage you is not the Holy Spirit! You need to be renewed in the spirit of your mind and make room for the Encourager [10].

Safeguard Yourself Against Depression

One of the most powerful counterinsurgent arsenal from the Word of God against depression and anxiety is found in Isaiah 61:1, 3 (NKJV). It says

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me …to console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

“The spirit of heaviness” is depression. When the spirit of heaviness, or depression, assails us, God has provided a remedy to keep that spirit away from us—it is “the garment of praise.” When we put on the garment of praise and begin to praise and worship God, then that spirit of heaviness, or depression, cannot get at us. It is defeated.

The garment of praise surrounds us and protects our whole being against that spirit of heaviness. The best course of action is to live with the garment continually wrapped around us. A person who is always praising God does not have time to be discouraged or depressed. Anytime the spirit of heaviness comes to you, remember to put on the garment of praise [11].

Thank you for reading. Watch out for my next blog in this series. Subscribe to my newsletter from below, and get notified of new posts. You may also drop a comment or question in the comment section below.

References

[1] Isaiah 14:12-14

[2] Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)

[3] John 8:44

[4] Joyce Meyer, The Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind, (New York: Warner Faith, 1995), 13-14

[5] Cindy Trimm, The Rules of Engagement: The Art of Strategic Prayer and Spiritual Warfare, (Lake Mary, Florida: Charisma House, 2008), 141

[6] Romans 6:1-2 (KJV)

[7] Isaiah 38:18

[8] Noel Jones, The Battle of the Mind: How You Can Think The Thoughts Of God, (Shippensburg: Destiny Image Publishers, 2006), 42-43

[9] John 14:16–17

[10] Derek Prince, Ultimate Security: Finding a Refuge in Difficult Times, (North Carolina: Whitaker House, 2014), 52

[11] Derek, Ultimate Security: Finding a Refuge in Difficult Times, 54

Anxiety and Depression

Samuel Daniels