Here is a link to part 1 of this blog: Overcoming depression – Part 1 of 2 – Preparing the bride of Christ
Lesson 4: Change our way of thinking (this is called mind renewal)
How does mind renewal work:
Each time we have a thought, we create a neural pathway in our brain. And every time we repeat a thought or action, we strengthen these neural pathways until they become our “go-to” thought pattern. Just because we have thought one way for years, does not mean that we cannot redirect these neural pathways to create new ones – we actually can. We can literally rewire these neural pathways by redirecting them and creating new thought patterns based upon biblical truths.
We must be willing to break old negative thinking patterns and replace them with new positive ones. If we used to be a “glass half-empty” kind of person, we can choose to become a “glass half-full” kind of person. The reason for this is because in Christ we are not victims, instead we are victors. In Christ, we have a new identity – beloved children of the Most High God.
In essence, changing our way of thinking is called mind renewal, and it’s worth putting in the effort to do so because the bible teaches us that we can be completely transformed by the renewing of our minds:
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2 NKJV
The quickest and easiest way to do this is to be intentional. Every time a negative thought enters your mind, replace it with the truth of God’s word. The enemy might try to convince you to come into agreement with the thoughts he plants in your mind, for example: “I’m not good enough,” or, “I can’t do it,” or, “I’m tired of trying and failing.” It can be any negative thought that comes into your mind, and maybe you have come into agreement with these thoughts in the past. But, today you can make the decision to come out of agreement with them, and choose to come into agreement with who you are in Christ, and what God says about you.
Based on experience, the enemy doesn’t like it when you pick up your sword (the sword of the Spirit – which is the word of God) to start fighting back. There will be resistance! However, if you persevere, not only will you be transformed by the renewing your mind, but you will also defeat the enemy. You will also take back what the enemy stole from you. For example: If the lie from the enemy has brought you into some sort of bondage, and stolen your joy and peace – when you intentionally replace that lie with the truth, you will experience freedom, and your joy and peace will return to you.
There may be a fight. The enemy may try to bring you back into the lie which brought bondage, but hold on to the truth because it will set you free. Keep repeating God’s truth, so that you create new neural pathways based upon biblical truths. Keep going, and don’t give up!
Practical exercise:
May I encourage you to start your own journal. For the next few days or weeks, write down all the thoughts which come into your mind which cause sadness, despondency, loss of hope, negativity, or result in your joy being stolen? (Normally, these come from the enemy)
Below is just an example of what this journal could look like, however let the Holy Spirit guide you.
Just a reminder: Be intentional.
Day 1: Write down all negative thoughts and thinking patterns, intrusive (or unwanted) thoughts, as well as all thoughts which cause you to become discouraged and despondent.
Then ask the Holy Spirit for a Scripture to replace each negative thought (which is most likely based upon a lie from the enemy). Each time the thought comes in to your mind, you will have to be intentional to come out of agreement with it, and choose to agree with the Scripture given to you by the Holy Spirit.
I’d also like to ask you to include your responses to these thoughts. For example: Perhaps the negative thoughts cause you to dwell in negative moods, such as self-pity. Or maybe the negative thought causes you to give up, instead of finding a workable solution.
Then ask the Lord for His wisdom and counsel for each of these so that you can take action. Sometimes we allow ourselves to become despondent because of our circumstances, but many times there is a workable solution which can turn things around for us.
Mind renewal is an ongoing process for all of us, and should be part of our daily walk with the Lord. The more we read and study God’s word, spend time in prayer, and choose to follow Jesus in obedience – the more we will change into His likeness. If we are serious about being transformed by the renewing of our minds, God will help us every step of the way. He will give us specific Scriptures to help us renew our minds, and He will keep encouraging us to move forward. He will also remind us of His promises and He will strengthen our faith.
The final point I’d like to make about mind renewal is that Scripture tells us to keep our minds set on the eternal and not the temporary:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NKJV
This Scripture helps us understand that as long as we keep our focus on eternal kingdom matters, the hardship or affliction we are going through will actually work for us an eternal weight of glory. Meaning that while we go through hard times of pain or suffering, God uses the time to do a deep work within us. He molds and develops our character so that we become more like Jesus, so that we can reflect His glory on the earth. This change in our character is what we will take with us into eternity.
One day when we look back, we will see that the trial we went through gave us a heart of compassion for others. Maybe the trial taught us patience or humility, or brought us closer to Jesus so that we learned how to trust Him in a deeper way. We may not see it now, but in time we will understand the deeper work the Lord was doing in us. The trials we go through are temporary, however, how we respond to the trials is what really matters. Therefore, let us choose to come out of the trial with increased faith, joy, peace, and a renewed mind.
Lesson 5: Change our way of speaking
Once we have renewed our minds to align with biblical truths, there should be a change in the way that we think, speak and act. As we renew our minds to biblical truths, God takes His word from our minds and plants it deep in our hearts, so that the change in us takes place from the inside out. Having a changed heart means that we live differently and we also speak differently. Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Therefore, it is crucial that we fill our minds and hearts with God’s word, as well as with His love for others.
What are you speaking over yourself?
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Proverbs 18:21 NKJV
I used to speak a lot of negative things over myself, not realizing that our words have power. After I was born-again, I had to make a concerted effort to change how I spoke, and I had to watch my words very carefully. God also highlighted certain things that I would say out of habit – which had a negative connotation. He did this so that I could change my way of speaking.
Do we speak life or death over ourselves? Do we come into agreement with the lies from the enemy? Did you know that we can speak blessing or cursing over our lives and even over others?
But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.
James 3:8-10 NKJV
Our words matter, therefore we should use them wisely to speak life, truth, and edification to others. If we have spoken negative things over ourselves or others, we can repent and ask the Lord to forgive us. We can also ask Him to teach us how to speak in a way that is pleasing to Him.
May I suggest that you make a concerted effort to watch your words throughout the next few days/weeks. Any time you say something negative, repent, and replace it with God’s word and His promises. Also, ask the Holy Spirit to make you sensitive to His voice and leading, so that you quickly pick up on things that He is highlighting to you.
HOPE is essential for overcoming depression
For me personally, when I felt trapped in a place of despair and hopelessness, it was a promise from the Lord that unlocked the door to victory. I believe that hope is the key, and hope is always based upon a promise from God. The Lord is a good Father, and He knows what we need and when we need it. To build my hope, He gave me a very specific passage of Scripture which contained many promises, and these promises changed everything for me.
At this point, I would like to ask you: do you have hope? Remember that hope is not wishful thinking. Hope is having confidence and trust in God to fulfill His promises. If you don’t yet have hope, I would like to encourage you to pause here and ask God right now for a promise contained within His word to give you hope. Be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit as He guides you to a passage of Scripture which contains a specific promise based upon what you are currently going through. Write it down so that you can refer to it regularly. This promise will give you the strength you need to endure the trial you are currently facing.
Exercise: Ask God to give you a promise which will give you hope. Write down anything that comes into your mind, and write down a specific Scripture from the Lord. If you are not sure that it is from God, write it down anyway, because when a promise is from God, He will always confirm it to strengthen your faith in this promise.
There is normally a “waiting period” from the time the Lord makes us a promise, until the time it gets fulfilled. When I received my promise from God, there was a waiting period of about 1 – 2 years if I remember correctly. But the victory did come, just as He promised. It might sound like a long time, but the Lord gave me the understanding that during this time, He was going to teach me many things which I would not have learned any other way.
Choosing to believe God’s Word and His promises, gives us the hope we need to get through the difficult times. There is something else to take note of – whilst we wait for God’s promise to be fulfilled, we may experience spiritual attacks where the enemy tries to bring doubt into our minds as to God’s faithfulness. But, wearing the helmet of the hope of salvation protects our minds against the schemes of the enemy. It protects our minds against doubt, worry, despair, discouragement and hopelessness.
I understand that it’s not easy to wait for God’s promises to come into fulfillment, but we can choose to trust that because God is perfect in wisdom and knowledge, He knows the perfect timing for us. I believe that during this waiting period, God is doing a deeper work in us. He might be using the time to strengthen our hope in His promises. He may be building up our faith or working on our character. (For example: He may be working patience into our character.) He may also use the time to purify us as His pure and spotless bride. He may use the time to teach us many important truths, as well as how to completely rely on Him for everything. He may even want us to overcome something, or experience victory in a certain area of our lives.
I would like to show you an example from Scripture of someone who did not have hope, and as a result, fell into depression. The reason I would like to show this to you, is just to emphasize the importance of having hope during times of suffering.
Job:
The bible tells us that Job was a blameless and upright man, one who feared God and shunned evil (Job 1:1). However, when Job went through great suffering, trials and testing, he did not have foresight of what the Lord had in store for him. He received no promise from the Lord for a good outcome, and he did not know how long he would have to endure all the suffering he went through. We are only told right at the end of the book of Job that God restored all his losses double-fold, and blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning.
Because I have been in a place of heaviness, depression and suicide, I know what “depression talk” sounds like. Let’s take a look at a few Scriptures from the book of Job, which show us that Job fell into depression:
- Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, who long for death, but it does not come, and search for it more than hidden treasures; who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they can find the grave?
Job 3:20-22 NKJV
- After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
Job 3:1 NKJV
- “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope. Oh, remember that my life is a breath! My eye will never again see good.
Job 7:6-7 NKJV
- I loathe my life.
Job 7:16 NKJV
During this time of testing, Job’s health was attacked and he suffered severe losses – including the lives of his servants and children, as well as his livestock (which was possibly his source of income). Job himself said that his days were spent without hope, and that his eye would never again see good (Job 7:6-7). Perhaps if Job had known that the Lord was going to restore all his losses double-fold, and bless the latter part of his life more than his former years, it would have given him the hope he needed to endure all the suffering he went through – without falling into depression.
(At this point, I would like to be sensitive to the fact that losing loved ones can be one of the most difficult things we will ever go through in this life. I also understand that nothing can compensate for the loss of a loved one. I too have lost people close to me – I’ve experienced the heartache and pain that goes with it. But, I also know that with the Lord’s comfort, help and guidance, we can completely heal from the loss, heartbreak and disappointment.)
FAITH is essential for overcoming depression
Just as hope is essential for overcoming depression – I believe that faith is equally important. The bible actually gives us a clear definition of what faith is:
Now faith is the substance [or realization] of things hoped for, the evidence [or confidence] of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1 NKJV
From this Scripture, we can see that faith and hope work together. Faith is built upon the hope we already have. If we are lacking the faith we need to overcome depression, the good news is that we can get it from the Word of God:
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17 NKJV
Practical exercise:
Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the faith you need in order to overcome depression. Be sensitive to His leading as He directs you to a Scripture or a passage of Scripture. This Scripture will build your faith, encourage you, and give you joy and peace.
I would like to use an example from my life to illustrate the reason why I believe that both hope and faith are necessary to overcome depression.
When I went through a very difficult trial recently which caused a lot of heartache, disappointment and tears, I received a promise from the Lord which gave me hope. Just as a few people in the bible were given a double portion (including Hannah, Job and Elisha), the Lord gave me a promise that I would receive back a double portion of something that the enemy tried to steal from me. Jesus confirmed this promise to me many times, thus building my hope.
This trial I have been going through has lasted a few years, and even though I had this promise of a double portion from the Lord, I still went through times of discouragement whilst waiting for the promise to be fulfilled. The Lord revealed to me that the reason why I still became discouraged was because I didn’t have the faith I needed to persevere. I had hope, but no faith.
The Lord could see my struggle with this, and in His goodness and lovingkindness, He then built my faith so that I could endure the trial I went through. He gave me a passage of Scripture from 1 Kings 17:8-16 about Elijah and the widow, and how Elijah promised the widow that the jar of oil would not run dry, and that the bin of flour would not be used up. I immediately understood the message the Lord was giving me, and I can testify that the Lord has kept His word. The Lord also led me to pray for a miracle – which I did, and He has been faithful to provide exactly that. Thank You Jesus!
You see, hope is trusting God to fulfill His promises to us. Hope is for the future, whereas faith is for now. That is why I needed both. That is why we all need both, so that we can stand strong during times of trials, testing and hardship. The Lord is very good.
As I mentioned in the previous blog, there is no cookie cutter approach when it comes to overcoming depression. I have written about many things which have helped me overcome, and my prayer is that there might be something in this message which will help you. Ultimately the Lord knows what you need and when you need it. He knows how to set you free from depression, and if you are willing, He will take you by the hand and lead you on your journey.
May God bless you, strengthen you, and guide you in all things.
All my love
Annie