How to Find Hope When Depressed

Healing Ancestral Wounds

Hope is Possible

Gena Barnhill @BarnhillGena

We can learn how to find hope when depressed by asking God for healing and victory over depression. The root of depression may be in the lies we have believed or accepted about ourselves. Ask the Lord for His truth. Then, we speak these truths over ourselves repeatedly.

While working as a psychologist and counselor, I often heard doctors say depression was the common cold of mental disorders. They cited genetic, chemical, and environmental causes for depression and indicated stress could trigger depression if a person inherits a genetic potential for the condition. Depression does run in families. Even if depression runs in our family lineage, we do not need to accept that we will inevitably succumb to depression.

How to Find Hope When Depressed #depression #hope #encouragement Share on X

Let’s dispel the following four myths about depression.

Myths about Depression

  1. A Christian cannot have depression.
  2. Depression is a sign of weakness.
  3. All depression is caused by sin.
  4. To conquer depression, you need to have more faith, pray, and read your Bible.

We are adopted into God’s kingdom when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We are spiritually changed. However, we still have our personalities and are still Christians with emotional baggage. Therefore, Christians can be depressed. But this is not a permanent condition, nor is it our identity. We can renounce depression and ask the Lord to heal our emotional wounds.

Some forms of depression may be a consequence of sin, but not all depression. We can inherit a tendency for depression. The enemy can take advantage of this tendency and attack these families because they are more vulnerable to depression. Remember, Satan uses lies, fear, and intimidation to kill, steal, and destroy. He works to convince us we are spiritually weak and deserving of condemnation.

The Enemy’s Plan

Depression disrupts relationships. The enemy wants to keep us isolated from each other and God, leading to a loss of hope when depressed. But Romans 8:37 reminds us we are more than conquerors through Christ.

To exacerbate the situation, people who are depressed have difficulty concentrating and find it difficult to pray, worship, and read the Bible. Well-meaning friends and family may tell them they need to do these disciplines to combat depression. This advice adds to their feelings of worthlessness, condemnation, and failure.

Don’t Lose Hope When Depressed

We can take hope from stories of restoration in the Bible. Men with deep faith, such as Elijah, Job, and David likely battled depression. After Elijah defeated all of the prophets of Baal, Queen Jezebel threatened his life, and he became overwhelmed with fear and wanted to die. God spoke to Elijah and restored him. God restored Job and gave him twice what he lost when tested. David experienced victories and was considered a man after God’s own heart, and yet in Psalm 13 1-2, he wrote, How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Unnecessary Suffering

Careless statements by other Christians have caused unnecessary suffering in Christians who have depression. One of our former pastors told the congregation he had advised people who said they were depressed to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. He believed depression was a spiritual weakness and indicated the person needed more faith and time spent in prayer and reading the Bible. His belief changed when he suffered from clinical depression for the first time in his fifties. He publicly apologized to the church and asked for forgiveness for hurting anyone with his previous advice.

People with depression have added guilt when they condemn themselves because they cannot snap out of it. That was me thirty years ago. I erroneously believed I should not be depressed because I was a psychologist and should know how to snap out of agitation and anxiety. I later realized that I probably allowed a spirit of pride to influence me when I held on to that belief.

My Diagnosis

I could not fathom how I could be depressed. I thought people who were depressed typically were fatigued, slept a lot, gained weight, and cried frequently. That was not me! At that time, I could not sleep more than three or four hours at night before waking up anxious and shaking. Anxiety overwhelmed me during the day causing problems with concentrating. A decreased desire to eat led to weight loss. My focus was on keeping the intense anxiety at bay, so I did not realize I was suffering from agitated depression.

I learned symptoms of depression could include:

  • Gaining or losing a significant amount of weight without dieting
  • Loss of appetite or increased appetite
  • Depressed mood most days
  • Diminished interest or pleasure in most activities most days
  • Decreased ability to think or concentrate
  • Fatigue or loss of energy
  • Feeling worthless or having inappropriate guilt
  • Recurrent thoughts of death1

I felt ashamed when it became apparent I qualified for a diagnosis of depression. No one in my family admitted to having depression. Mental conditions were not discussed. When I sought help, the doctor asked me if I would take insulin if I had diabetes. When I said I would if it was the recommended treatment, he asked why I was hesitant to take medication to treat depression. He reminded me that although I was not aware of anyone in my family diagnosed with depression, several members self-medicated with alcohol, drugs, and food as ways to cope and live with an undiagnosed mood disorder.

I don’t know when depression first impacted my lineage, especially since this was never discussed. Admitting depression or any mental illness was considered shameful. Fortunately, medication for a season did alleviate my symptoms and helped me recover spiritually. Years later, I received inner healing prayer, and the Lord revealed more to me about the root of depression.

Where to Find Hope When Depressed

God does not waste our hurts and pain. I countered shame from admitting depression with Romans 8:1, which says, There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 40:31 encourages us by saying, but they who wait for the Lord 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. We can trust God to restore us.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul wrote, But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. We do not need to be ashamed of our perceived weaknesses, including depression.

I Can Find Hope When Depressed Because I Now Know:   

  1. We are not alone in our suffering. Forty-eight of the 150 Psalms speak to depression.
  2. God can use our suffering for good when we surrender it to Him and allow Him to heal our emotional wounds. Your story and healing may help another person seek the Lord for healing. God will not waste your hurt.
  3. We can ask Jesus to place His cross between us and our ancestors to block any negative influences, including depression.
  4. We can ask the Lord what He would have us do about depression. The Lord can heal instantly, but many times healing is a process. He may suggest a medical intervention to correct any chemical imbalances along with inner healing prayer, and possibly deliverance. It may be necessary to take medication for a season or longer to correct chemical imbalances so our spiritual life can recover.
  5. We can ask the Lord to reveal the root of depression in an inner healing session so it can be broken at the root. The root could be a lie we have believed, unresolved, repressed, or improperly expressed rage.

I Also Know:

  1. We can forgive our ancestors who opened the door to depression and repent for any part we played in agreeing with this spirit. Then ask the Holy Spirit what He would like to give us in place of depression.
  2. We can read God’s Word for encouragement and trust in His timing.
  3. We can forgive our ancestors who opened the door to depression and repent for any part we played in agreeing with this spirit. Then ask the Holy Spirit what He would like to give us in place of depression.
  4. We can be armed to defend against enemy attacks by remembering our adversary often attacks after we have experienced an emotional high or victory to instill doubt and fear. He did this to Elijah. We can ask the Lord to help us.

What thoughts do you have regarding the spirit of depression? Be sure to share them on our Facebook Group Healing Prayer Discussion.

We are all stronger when we learn from each other. Looking forward to your input.

Blessings,
Gena

1https://www.psycom.net/depression/major-depressive-disorder/dsm-5-depression-criteria

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on December 5, 2022, and revamped for comprehensiveness on October 19, 2024

In case you missed the rest of the Ancestral Influences Series, here is the link to the Archives:

https://simpleeffectiveprayer.com/category/healing-ancestral-wounds/