Overcoming depression

S:“by his stripes, you are healed” (Isaiah 53:5) O:why? • Lack of knowledge. Many people do not realize that God wants them healed from depression and that His Word promises freedom. • Rejecting God. If you depart from the Lord in your heart, depression can easily move into the vacant room in your heart. T • Sin. Sin opens the door for the devil to attack. • Unbelief. In Mathew 9:22, Jesus told a woman who had been sick 12 years, “Your faith has made you well.” • A broken heart. Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” A broken, hopeless heart is ripe for depression. “The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.” (Ps 29:11) Strength and peace are blessings God promises His people, but you must receive them by having faith in God’s Word. A: 1. Believe that Jesus Christ is your healer. 2. Decide that you don’t want to live with depression any longer. Choose to Forgive them. you forgive because God has forgiven you. 5. Repay evil with good. 6. Repent. If you have sinned, confess your sins to God and receive His forgiveness and cleansing. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 7. Exercise your God-given authority. In the name of Jesus, rebuke spirits of depression and despair that may be tormenting you. Command them to leave in Jesus’ Name and they must go. 8. Release all these things to God and receive His healing now! “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV) Stay Free 1. Don’t revisit the old places in your heart and mind where hurt has come. Demons are territorial; they live in those old places. Don’t rehash the issues that opened your heart to depression. You’ve given them to God; now leave them with God.5. Renew your mind every day. God’s Word is your manual for everyday living; you need to read it everyday because, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17) God says you should, “keep them (His Words) in the midst of your heart for they are life and health to your flesh”Proverbs 4:20-23. 6. Guard your heart. Proverbs 4:23 cautions us to diligently keep our hearts because all the issues of life flow from them. Also, Philippians 4:8&9 tells you to guard what you think about. Think about what is true, honest, pure, just, lovely, or of good report, then it says that the God of peace will be with you. 7. Watch your words. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” You are going to eat the fruit of what comes out of your mouth, so don’t let words of darkness, death, sin or instability come out of your mouth. 8. Finally, make a concerted effort to keep your eyes off yourself. Isaiah 58:10 says, “If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” We trust that you will experience freedom from depression and despair as you apply these truths from God’s Word! 2. Pray constantly. P: