How do you encourage someone who is depressed?

If you extend your soul to the hungry

And satisfy the afflicted soul,

Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,

And your darkness shall be as the noonday.

Isaiah 58:10

We shall return to the book of Joshua again, however during my quiet time a few weeks ago, The Lord laid on my heart a topic which I would like to share with you, and that is how to satisfy the afflicted soul.

In Isaiah 58 we learn that when we fast, among other things, The Lord expects us to satisfy the afflicted soul.

What is an afflicted soul?

According to Strong’s Concordance the afflicted soul is a person who looks down on themselves or are depressed or even hurt themselves. We all know people who are depressed, and it is likely that some of us are even now going through depression or have suffered from depression at some point in our lives.

I recall suffering from depression in 2011 when I was going through intense spiritual attacks. It led to me being unable to sleep for a period of three months.

What is Depression?

The Bible calls depression a spirit of heaviness. It is something you cannot see however it can have a significant impact in people’s lives. There are emotional and physical effects of depression.

Emotionally it can leave its sufferers with feelings of sadness, hopelessness, crying, anger, constant pessimism, feelings of inadequacy and self-loathing, and being socially withdrawn.

Physically it could lead to lack of appetite, over-eating, erratic sleep pattern, headaches, lethargy, self-harm etc. In severe cases it can even lead to suicide.

Did Bible characters suffer from depression?

There are Bible characters who suffered from depression at some point in their lives. Elijah was a great Prophet who could command fire to come down from heaven however when he was being pursued by Jezebel he prayed that he might die: “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” (1 Kings 19:4).

King David, the great Psalmist, was depressed after he committed adultery with Bathsheba. He was so depressed that he groaned all day long until he confessed his sin before God:

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night, your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Psalm 32:3-5

There are other Bible characters who also suffered from bouts of depression: Abraham (Genesis 15), Jonah (Jonah 4), Job (Book of Job), King Saul (I Samuel 16:14-23), Jeremiah (Book of Jeremiah, Lamentations).

Does God care about those who are depressed?

God cares so much for those who are depressed that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to heal the broken-hearted (Luke 4:18).

We have seen that depression is nothing new and it goes right back to Bible times.

Next week, we will look at how to encourage someone who is going through depression.

Prayer

Dear Lord, please show me how to encourage those who are going through depression in Jesus name, amen.

Listen to the Message

You can also listen to this message on YouTube here:

How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

Do you know God’s purpose for your life? If not, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and listen to the audio version of: How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

God bless,

Blessing

Are You Prepared for War?

The men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh obeyed Moses. These men crossed the river in front of the other people. These men were prepared for war. They were going to help the rest of the Israelites take the land God had promised to give them. About 40,000 soldiers, prepared for war, passed before the Lord. They were marching toward the plains of Jericho.

Joshua 4:12-13

In this story we are told that the children of Israel were about to cross the river Jordan to go into Jericho, to take the first city that God had promised them.

Even though the men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh had already secured their land on the other side of the river, they did not just sit and wait for their brothers to capture their promised land alone. Instead these men were prepared for war.

As Christians, we also have a promised land ahead of us that we have to reach. Our promised land is not made by human hands, for its architect and builder is God Himself (Hebrews 11:10); it is the New Jerusalem which is coming from heaven down to earth:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared. Now there was no sea. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride dressed for her husband.

I heard a loud voice from the throne. It said, “Now God’s home is with people. He will live with them. They will be his people. God Himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain. All the old ways are gone.”

Revelation 21:1-4

This New Jerusalem, just like the promised land of old, is not easy to attain, we also must be prepared for war in order to reach it. Just like the children of Israel had to destroy the inhabitants of the land before they could possess their land, we too have spiritual giants that we must destroy in order to possess our promised land.

However unlike the Children of Israel who fought a physical fight using natural weapons with their enemies, the Bible tells us that our fight is not against human beings but spiritual forces:

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 host of wickedness in the heavenly places

Ephesians 6:12

What Does It Mean To Be Prepared?

To be prepared is to be ready “standing by,” ready to meet the opportunity (challenge) at hand; ready because the necessary preparations are done (or are sure to happen as needed).

What Is The War About?

War is a conflict between opposing forces.

You will see from the scripture we are about to read that the war is between God and Satan, and the war started in heaven however it has moved down to earth and we human beings are caught in it, whether we like it or not:

And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,

but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

Revelation 12:7-12

So, the forces involved in this war are:

1. Two Kingdoms – the Kingdom of God with Jesus Christ as its King and the kingdom of darkness with the great dragon, that old serpent called the Devil and Satan as its king.
2. Two opposing Angels – Michael, the Archangel and his angels and Satan and his angels.
3. The battlefield – the war started in heaven however the battlefield is now the earth and people in the earth.
4. Battle strategy – Satan is out to deceive as many human beings as he can so that he can drag them down to hell. He continually accuses the children of God day and night. Satan’s strategy is to steal, kill and destroy but Jesus has come that we may have life in its fullness:

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly

John 10:10

God in His love has provided salvation, strength, Kingdom of God and the power of His Christ to all humanity who choose to believe in Jesus Christ His Son:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

How Do We Overcome Satan?

We overcome him by:

1. The Blood of The Lamb – we apply the blood of Jesus Christ when we accept that we are sinners and ask Him to forgive us and wash us clean with His blood. When we accept Him He becomes our sacrificial lamb (Hebrews 10:10).
2. The Word of our testimony – we testify when we confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead (Romans 10:9).
3. We do not love our lives to the death – this means that we will be willing to lay down our lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are also encouraged to die daily to our flesh or natural desires (1 Corinthians 15:31).

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Matthew 16:25

Next week we’ll be looking at how you can prepare for war.

Prayer:

Dear Lord please help me to be prepared for war as the men from the tribe of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. Please help me to always be ready to fight the good fight of faith and lay hold on eternal life, in Jesus name.

Listen to Message

You can also listen to this message on YouTube here:

Do you know God’s purpose for your life? If not, please download your free book: How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams