DEFEATING DEPRESSION PART 4
Depression- from Webster’s New Unabridged Dictionary
Low spirits, gloominess, dejection, sadness, a decrease in force, activity, amount, and a decrease in functional activity. An emotional condition either normal or pathological characterized by discouragement, a feeling of inadequacy, the act of humbling abasement as a depression of pride. Abasement, reduction, sinking, fall, humiliation, dejection, melancholy.
Disappointment and Depression
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick” Proverbs 13:12
One of the major causes for depression is deep disappointment, the Word of God calls it- “hope deferred”, in other words a certain hope that never becomes a reality or that delays in materializing. Depression is exactly the opposite of expectation. In most cases depression is accompanied by a sense of hopelessness or “what’s the use”. This feeling is normally based on experience, for example: “I have been praying for 18 years for my family to be saved and have seen no answered prayer” or “my husband has promised me thousands of times that he will change but he never does” or “God promised me through a prophetic word that I will do great things for Him but I am still working as a simple clerk”, “I believe that by His stripes I am healed and yet my physical condition is not improved”, “I was hoping to have a great family life and my marriage ended in divorce”, “I have done my best to reconcile with my parents and yet they still reject me”, etc… These are some of the many complaints of someone that has been deeply disillusioned by God, people and life.
When the disappointment goes deep enough, it causes a feeling of deep hurt, bitterness and then despondency; the attitude will be of great mistrust in YAH {God}, His Word and people. There is a point where there are no more expectations of life and thoughts of death begin to plague your mind, some people even contemplate suicide and all this is caused by DISAPPOINTMENT. You expected something to happen that:
A} did not happen and will never happen
B} did not happen in your time frame and you believe therefore that it will never happen
Your mind then decides to either cope with this reality in a positive way or to quit expecting anything at all. When it decides to quit- this is DEPRESSION and it can be dangerous.
Disappointments, Disappointments, Disappointments
First of all let me make a statement here: Disappointments are part of life as much as breathing and eating, all of us at one time or another will suffer some disappointments. The question is our choice of reaction when they come. There are some disappointments that need more processing than others, in every case PROCESSING IS NEEDED and DENIAL IS A KILLER.
A disappointment is like walking through a dead end street. You expected to find an exit and you can’t go on lest you TURN AROUND AND FIND ANOTHER WAY.
Disappointment from people
Since we are all imperfect humans, we will all disappoint someone at some time. So, we need to take into consideration that as much as people have disappointed us, we most probably have disappointed some people. In that sense we are all in the same boat! However it is necessary to process and to acknowledge the disappointment, the broken promise that have caused your heart to become sick. If you went through a divorce, there is a broken promise there, if your father or mother committed suicide, they have broken their promises to you, if they abandoned and rejected you, it is the same. Then disappointment and mistrust will set in.
Important exercise: Write down a list of all those that have disappointed you, broken their promises or broken your trust. Acknowledge your pain first and even mourn for the lost relationship. Then go ahead and forgive and begin your healing process!
Forgiveness
Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Y’shua said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Matthew 18:21,22
The only way out of depression due to the disappointment of people is FORGIVENESS. Complete forgiveness and being willing to trust again. Unforgiveness and mistrust are a lot more dangerous than taking the risk of being disappointed again. Y’shua said if your brother sins against you forgive him 70 times 7, in other words endlessly! He knew that our loved ones were going to disappoint us and the antidote was CONTINUAL FORGIVENESS. Choosing to trust again is pivotal for recovery! It is better to take that risk than to live in the emptiness of constant mistrust. This is possible only if you trust God above men, because then you will know that He is able to heal you every time that people break your trust. What can keep us sane when people fail us is the humility to realize that we have also failed people many times and so we need constant mercy and forgiveness and second and third chances, so we are willing to extend that to others. Some people are too prideful, thinking that they are a lot better than others and they fail to see that they too have acted sinfully against others, so they do not forgive and refuse to trust again. Pride and unforgiveness will keep you depressed!
Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14
Disappointment in yourself
If you are disappointed in yourself, you need to process it, acknowledge it and forgive yourself.
Important Exercise: Write down a list of all the people that you have disappointed, including yourself and God. Write down all the promises that you have broken to yourself and to others. Go ahead and REPENT by,
A} Asking God’s forgiveness
B} Asking people to forgive you
C} Making a new commitment for change
Do not ever be afraid to TRY AGAIN. only found the formula for electricity after trying 10.000 times and failing. He never gave up and he did not see the 10.000 futile attempts as failure but as “10.000 ways how not to do it!”, finally due to his tenacious perseverance, he succeeded and due to that we enjoy electricity today!!! Had it not been for his positive attitude you could not use a computer, or read by a night light, there would be no high tech to speak about. Just imagine how much your life depends on electricity! So, yes maybe you are not going to succeed right away but NEVER quit trying!
FORGIVE YOURSELF AND TRY AGAIN, NEVER STOP TRYING UNTIL YOUR LAST BREATH! LIFE IS WORTH LIVING TO THE FULLEST EVEN IF THERE ARE MANY OBSTACLES!
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10
Disappointment in God
For the vision is yet for an appointed time. But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come. It will not tarry. “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:3,4
Many, many people are angry and disappointed with The Almighty. The reasons for this are:
A} Expecting the Almighty to do things our way
B} Expecting Him to do it in our time frame
Both of them are called PRESUMPTION
Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, “He did not make me”? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? Isaiah 29:16
Presumption is rooted in pride and in our own interpretation of Elohim-God and of His Word and Ways. We need to separate between the written Word of YAHVEH and His revealed Word. When He speaks a Word to you in your innermost being and even confirms it through a prophecy, then you can stand on it and believe for it, obey His instructions and wait UNTIL it comes to pass. Take into consideration that waiting on this word will test your patience and perseverance and it will most likely not come to pass when you expect it. It will probably come as a “suddenly” when you least expect it!
His written Word gives us many promises and most of them are conditional, in most cases you will see the word IF.
“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of Yahweh your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that Yahweh your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of Yahweh your God: “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Deuteronomy 28:1-3
In other words, you cannot expect them to come to pass unless you fulfill His requirements, and even when you do {at least in your own eyes}, it will still happen in God’s timing and not yours! If you do not understand these principles early in your walk with YAH {God} through Y’shua, you will have built up frustration, anger, disappointment and mistrust in Him and eventually you will also suffer from some type of depression.
This is the dead end street I had mentioned before; it really leads NOWHERE, so the only option is to TURN and to find ANOTHER WAY. This other way is the way of humility and trust
Important exercise: Write down in what manner has YAH {God} disappointed or frustrated you. Forgive Him, ask His forgiveness for your pride, presumption or mistrust, forgive yourself, forgive others and begin a new lifestyle!
“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19
Word Medication: Write down for yourself a WORD PRAYER about the faithfulness of God of at least five scriptures and declare them day and night until they become part of you!
The prophet Habakkuk knew the secret of trusting Elohim at all times, even during the painful time of banishment and exile,
Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— Yet I will rejoice in Yahweh, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Yahweh God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments. Habakkuk 3:17-19
When you choose the way of trust, though you may not see anything encouraging with your natural eye, you will enjoy His strength and His joy!
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, Yahweh, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on Yahweh Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31
As you choose to trust your Father in Heaven against all odds, you keep persevering, forgiving and loving you will never fail and depression will flee!
Trusting Elohim unconditionally is closely linked with the Fear of God. When we fear Him, we will not consider breaking His commandments as an option and we will know that we cannot exercise manipulation to make Him act, however true faith and even desperate faith and trust will move Him. A person that fears YAHVEH can also trust Him FULLY, thus he can walk completely WHOLE in the midst of all circumstances!
“For you who fear My name the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings” Malachi 4:20
May His healing break forth speedily for you as you apply these instructions!
We love you and care for you
Your friends in Israel
Bishop Dominiquae and Rabbi Baruch Bierman
© Bishop Dr Dominiquae Bierman 2006 - Permission is granted (and we encourage you) to distribute these writings.
http://www.kad-esh.org/Shabbat%20letters/July0706.htm
DEFEATING DEPRESSION PART 5
Depression- from Webster’s New Unabridged Dictionary
Low spirits, gloominess, dejection, sadness, a decrease in force, activity, amount, and a decrease in functional activity. An emotional condition either normal or pathological characterized by discouragement, a feeling of inadequacy, the act of humbling abasement as a depression of pride. Abasement, reduction, sinking, fall, humiliation, dejection, melancholy.
Family Curses, Demons and Depression
In the first four chapters, we touched on depression due to fear, lies, pain, traumas and disappointments, however there are depressions that are “inherited” due the sins of our ancestors and family curses. In this case we will see “familiar spirits” at work, those are spirits of darkness that plague entire families. Medicine calls it “genetic diseases”. If the father or the mother suffered from depression and we see the same happening to the children, then it will be labeled “genetic” and thus “inevitable”. The Word of God calls it SINS OF THE FOREFATHERS.
You shall have no other gods before Me. ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; Deuteronomy 5:7,8
If your parents or great, great grandparents up to the 4th generation before you worshipped other gods than Yahveh, The God of The Bible, then the INIQUITY which is the outcome of their sins will be visited upon the children. One of the most common expressions of what I will call “family curses” due to idolatry,{Occult, witchcraft, membership in secret societies, Free Masonry, Kabbala, etc..} is in the form of mental sickness and depression. In this case the children are paying for the sins of their ancestors! This is a very painful but Y’shua gave us a way OUT! He became a curse for us and paid the price for all our iniquities, however receiving this marvelous gift is not automatic, it requires us to put our faith and trust in His finished work of sacrifice at the Roman Cross! In other words we need to turn from worshipping other gods to worship The God of Israel only through His Son, Y’shua whom He sent to redeem us from all sin, iniquity, curses and mental illness!
All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And Yahweh has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6
There are other depressions that are a result of the sin of witchcraft and idolatry in your own life. If you have been involved in any form of occult, witchcraft, paganism or secret societies such as New Age, Kabbala, Free Masonry, Wica, etc., you need to repent and to cleanse from all its unrighteousness as there are demons that have been given legal rights into your life and one of them is depression! Idolatry also functions through the use of supersticious objects, good luck charms, charms against the evil eye or the like. Also whenever you worship or pray to any other but YAHVEH, The God of Israel through His Son and Risen Messiah Y’shua. Prayers to Elohim through mediators like dead rabbis {a very common practice among Jews} or the Virgin Mary in all her forms {a very common practice among Catholics} are all forms of idolatry.
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man the Messiah Y’shua, 1 Timothy 2:5
How to deal with family curses?
There is only one way to escape the vicious circle of family curses. It is putting our full trust and faith in the ONE that paid the price and was made a curse so that we could be redeemed from the curse that has befallen us for breaking God’s Holy Commandments. Y’shua became a curse Himself in order to rescue us from this terrible predicament!
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23
To sin is to break Elohim’s Commandments and we have all broken them and so did our forefathers! Escaping the curse due to us or to our forefathers is totally impossible without the amazing Love Sacrifice of God Himself, when He sent His only Son to be our Kippurim-our Atonement or Expiation Sacrifice.
The Messiah has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” Galatians 3:13
The only way of escape out of a family curse is through faith in Y’shua, that is the NUMBER ONE step and there is absolutely no way around it! I believe that every physical or mental illness that is called “genetic” diseases, is an outcome of the family curse due to the sins of our ancestors. While medical science can help relieve some of the symptoms and even make the condition somehow tolerable, it has absolutely NO CURE for it. Yet the Blood Atonement of Y’shua brought radical healing to this impossible situation!
He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:3-5
TOTAL FAITH
Since Y’shua completely redeemed us, saved us and rescued us from the curse that we inherited due to the breaking of His Father’s Commandments, we need to trust His finished sacrifice and BELIEVE in His Word. This is our inheritance as believers in Y’shua- TOTAL REDEMPTION. We need to understand that He did not do this work half way, when He was hanging on the Roman Cross in Jerusalem, He said “It is finished” and then gave up his spirit. Everything needed for us to be freed from BOTH sin and the outcome of sin {the curse!} was completely accomplished, there is nothing else to do, besides put our TOTAL FAITH in His finished work!
Please do not believe for a moment that “genetical diseases” are your inheritance, however real they are and however bothersome and even dangerous, you have a better inheritance. You do not have to suffer the same fate as your ancestors! You can begin a new blood line through Y’shua’s atoning blood, and the inheritance that Y’shua left for you is a SOUND MIND and a CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH. King David anticipating the Blood Atonement of Y’shua declared 1000 years before He came,
Bless Yahveh, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless Yahveh, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Psalms 103:1-3
The only reason that you will claim “genetic diseases” as your inheritance is because of IGNORANCE of Y’shua’s finished work or/and because of fear. Fear will keep you depressed and sick. The opposite of fear is a SOUND MIND,
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
Practical steps to take
Acknowledge, confess and repent of your sins and accept Y’shua as your Master, Saviour and Healer. Forsake all other gods, religions, superstitious objects, good luck charms and mediators. Remember that there is only one that can mediate between you and Elohim, The God of Israel, that is Y’shua, The Son of God; who left His Divinity to become as a sinless man. He gave Himself for you and paid with His own blood for you to be forgiven. Pray the following: Dear Heavenly Father I ask your forgiveness and repent for breaking your Holy Commandments. I also ask forgiveness on behalf of my ancestors up to the fifth generation for worshipping other gods in any way shape and form. Yes, Yeshua, I put my trust in you as my Master, Savior and Healer. Thank you for reconciling me with the Creator through your Blood Atonement and becoming my only mediator to Yahveh-God. You rose from the dead on the third day and you are alive, I will walk with You all my days and hereby forsake all other gods, religions, mediators, good luck charms and superstitious objects. I am Yours forever! Thank you for redeeming me from the curse due to my and my ancestors breaking of Your Father, Yahveh’s Commandments. Thank you for removing from off me all family curses and the so called “genetic diseases” including depression and mental illness. Through You, I will praise YAH {God} forever! If you have done this in faith-Congratulations you have passed from death to life and from the curse to the blessing!
Begin to confess His Word on this matter. Make for yourself a “Word Prayer” with at least 5 scriptures on this subject {some of them are mentioned in this article and you can also use a concordance of the Bible}. Speak these words out loud to yourself, pray them, sing them, etc. Until you believe nothing else but what He said, this is the Truth! Then Y’shua said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31,32
Cleanse your home from all idolatry, superstition and ungodly religious objects, including books, jewels, home ornaments and clothes. You may need the help of someone that is more mature in the faith in order to recognize these. Ask Y’shua to guide you and to lead you to the right person to help you.
Go to a trusted minister of deliverance that is baptized in The Holy Spirit, so he/she can pray with you against “familiar spirits” and/or spirits connected with occult, witchcraft, idolatry and the like. This is very important! The majority of Y’shua’s Ministry in Israel was about casting out evil spirits and healing those that were oppressed of the devil. He left us, His believers the same ministry, He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; Mark 16:16, 17
Ask the above ministers to lay hands on you to be baptized/immersed in The Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues {Heavenly Languages}, like the Jewish disciples were in the Book of Acts. Exercise your new prayer language very often. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit Jude 20
Follow the instructions given in Defeating Depression Chapters 1-4{www.kad-esh.org Shabbat Letters}
Submit to YAH {God} and resist the devil and he will flee from you {James 4:7}. Exercise authority in the name of Y’shua against all spirits of confusion, depression and fear! Be FIRM! Pray the following: In the Mighty name of Y’shua, I forbid any spirits of confusion, depression and fear from operating in and/or through me, I bind you and command you to leave me now! I command all my thoughts to be captives to Y’shua The Messiah, His Spirit and His Word. In Y’shua’s name. Amen. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Luke 10:19
Lead a life of prayer, study of YAH’S (God’s} Word and obedience to His Will.
By faith, obedience, forgiveness and holiness keep all the doors to the devil and the kingdom of darkness tightly shut.
Go ahead! Be free from depression and live an abundant life as Y’shua promised!
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 John 2
We love you and care for you
Your friends in Israel
Bishop Dominiquae and Rabbi Baruch Bierman
http://www.kad-esh.org/Shabbat%20letters/July1406.htm