I Can Tread on Serpents, Scorpions, and Depression!
Let me start by saying I had never experienced severe or clinical depression. The extent of my depression had always been along the lines of feeling bad or disappointed when a situation didn’t go my way. (What can I say? I prefer to get my way, like, ALL the time.) Maybe I planned for a particular event that didn’t pan out and I felt great disappointment or sadness because of it. It’s been known to happen. Yes, I had experienced the heaviness of doom and gloom (and hopelessness) on occasion, but it always lifted on its own within a few days and, again, was tied to an event.
There’s a point to this.… (I really try not to reveal too much about myself. I’m a very private person. I know … I haven’t demonstrated this at all, have I?) My point is that I want to reveal a period of time when I experienced doom and gloom for no particular reason. I was sad when I had nothing to be sad about. My life was happy and fulfilling, yet I felt miserable and, oh, so unfulfilled.
Why do I feel so sad? I questioned myself repeatedly, but, for the first time in my life, I had no answer. I even went to my husband, repeatedly, hoping he could help me figure out the reason for this darkness that hung over me like a thick black cloud. I asked him again and again, “Why do I feel so miserable and sad? My life is good and happy.” And he kept giving me the same answer every time, “I don’t understand it. You have nothing to be sad about or any reason to be miserable.”
Guilt started to set in. Daily, I thought: My prayers have all been answered. I have a great marriage. I’m living out my dream career. I can see God’s favor all over my life. I have so many blessings I didn’t even ask for, such as going back to school and furthering my career. I never imagined I’d ever have that opportunity, yet here I am … doing it!
The reason guilt started haunting me was because I started viewing my sadness as an attitude of ungratefulness. I felt as if I didn’t appreciate what I had. Even worse, I was being unappreciative of all God’s blessings on my life. Shame. Shame. Shame. This, naturally, made me even sadder. How could I be so ungrateful? So spoiled? So discontent? But the guilt and shame didn’t relieve me from the sadness, it just compounded it.
It was my birthday! Toby and I had made HUGE plans. We were going to drive to Charlottesville, Virginia to visit my childhood home. I had dreamed about this home since I’d left it thirty years ago. I have the most beautiful memories of this home, the neighborhood, my friends, and especially of the holidays. My happiest holidays were spent in this home. I never thought I’d have the opportunity to visit it again. To see where I played, walked, went to school … and lived a happy life.
Toby and I had just moved to Greensboro, NC and were only three hours from the home that held my most beautiful memories. Visiting my old stomping grounds on my birthday should have been a time of happiness and celebration. It SHOULD have been, but it wasn’t.
My husband came home early from work that day to surprise me, and instead of finding me antsy and anxious to go, he found me in bed crying. He found me curled up in a fetal position sucking my thumb. Okay, I made up the part about sucking my thumb. BUT I FELT LIKE IT! If it would not have guaranteed me a trip to the psyche ward, the thumb would have been in the mouth!
Again, I looked to my husband for help. “I should be happy right now. Why do I feel so sad? Why do I cry for no reason? What’s wrong with me? What happened to my happy life?” Then that little lightbulb went off in my head (ping). “Is this depression? Do I have depression?” All my husband could do was shrug his shoulders and name off a list of reasons why I should be happy.
This went on for several months. It wasn’t a fleeting thing, and actually quite unbearable. Was it here to stay? I couldn’t live like this. I found no joy in anything. I was completely discontent and complained about everything. I want my joy back!
Then the HEALING came!
Stress always beats up my body. During this time of doom and gloom, Toby and I moved (yes, again) to Louisiana and, like any move, it was stressful and took its toll on my body. I started some meditative techniques to help me de-stress. Basically, I needed a Calgon Moment! I was experiencing headaches, body aches/pains, stomach issues … the usual stress related ailments. One night, I decided to look up some healing Scriptures that I could recite in the morning.
The reason I chose to recite them in the morning was because that was the hardest time for me. I would wake up so depressed that I found it hard to get my day going. I wanted to lay in bed in the dark instead of facing the day. Friends, this is soooo NOT ME! I am a breakfast and coffee kind of gal. A “Get out of my way, it’s time for my workout” mad lunatic. I do yoga on my patio at 5:30 in the morning. Lying in bed in the dark was for someone else … not ME!
I went through my Bible app and highlighted numerous healing Scriptures, getting them ready for the next morning.
When morning came, I left the shades drawn. I had quit opening the curtains during the day. For some reason I had grown more fond of the dark. It seemed to suit me better … as if it matched my mood. I started to pray. With authority I rebuked the Spirit of Infirmity and declared physical healing over my body. I rebuked sickness, illness, aches, pains, and declared I was whole by the blood of Jesus.
It was at this point in which I realized something strange was taking place. My room was lighter. I looked around and my room was no longer dark. Had the shades somehow been lifted? Nope, two layers of shades were still drawn tight.
Why is it lighter in my room? But that’s not the only thing that was lighter. I felt lighter. Not in weight (oh, how I wish), but in spirit. I immediately “floated” out of the bed. I kid you not, that’s what it felt like. I now understand the expression “spring in your step.” I had a spring in my step!
As I lifted the shades I heard a voice say “It’s a new day.” Yes, I heard God speak these words to me. “It’s a new day.” I also had a couple of other words floating through my head: Light and bright. Immediately I was aware the depression had been lifted. I felt like a new person. No, wait … I felt like ME!
There are several things you should take away from this story. First, we have the power to speak into fruition what we want (or don’t want) in our lives. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead indwells us. USE IT!
Second, call out that Spirit of Infirmity. Rebuke it. Bind it and loose the Spirit of Life! Matthew 18:18 assures us, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” The Message version puts it like this, “Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven.” Bind it! Loose it! Use your power in the name of Jesus!
Now, recall the conversation between Jesus and the seventy-two: “The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!’ And he said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.’” Luke 10:17-19.
Note that as I was declaring the authority of the healing Scriptures over my BODY, my mind was focused on physical ailments, not emotional ones. I wasn’t trying to rebuke the depression because I wasn’t sure I had depression. Yet, my authority was such that the depression spirit could not withstand the power of the Scriptures! It had to flee! It could not stay in the name of Jesus!
Ever since that day, I’ve been back to my normal, happy, bubbly, funny, grateful, interesting, wonderful (well, you get it) self. And just to confirm what I experienced was from God, He sent me that phrase, “It’s a new day” for a whole week. What I mean is that everywhere I went, I heard someone say, “It’s a new day.” I even happened upon a program on TV called, “It’s a new day.” God loves to send us messages, so watch for them! They’re actually very plentiful.
Again, I don’t like to write personal things about myself (believe it or not). It’s actually really hard for me to do this, but if my testimony helps even one person rid themselves of this Spirit of Infirmity and a life of depression then I’ll endure the pain and embarrassment. (Wink.)
Use your AUTHORITY!
There are many healing Scriptures in the Bible. Google "Healing Scriptures" and then make a list and keep it handy. Recite them with authority. Be persistent. The Spirit of Infirmity will try to make you believe you can’t get rid of it. This way you will give up, thinking you’ve been defeated when in reality it must flee. You have the POWER to defeat it!
Here are some of the Scriptures I recited that morning:
Philippians 2:9-10 - ...God has highly exalted Jesus and given Him the name which is above every name {your disease has a name. Now speak to that spirit of infirmity in Jesus’ Name and it must leave. It will stay until it is sure you will not give up through weariness or unbelief}.
Isaiah 53:4-5 - Surely He has borne my griefs (Hebrew: “pains”) And carried [away] my sorrows (Hebrew: “sicknesses”); ...And by His stripes I am healed.
Luke 10:19 - Behold, I have been given the authority to advance by setting my foot upon snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will in any case harm me.
James 4:7 - I resist the devil [I stand firm against him], and he will flee from me.
Psalm 107:20 - He sent His word and healed me, And delivered me.
2 Timothy 1:7 - For God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Psalm 103:2-3 - Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all my iniquities, Who heals all my diseases.
Deuteronomy 7:14-15 - I shall be blessed above all peoples... And the Lord will take away from me all sickness...
Romans 8:11 - ...the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in me, He who raised Messiah from the dead will also give life [healing] to my mortal flesh through His Spirit who dwells in me.
There’s a point to this.… (I really try not to reveal too much about myself. I’m a very private person. I know … I haven’t demonstrated this at all, have I?) My point is that I want to reveal a period of time when I experienced doom and gloom for no particular reason. I was sad when I had nothing to be sad about. My life was happy and fulfilling, yet I felt miserable and, oh, so unfulfilled.
Why do I feel so sad? I questioned myself repeatedly, but, for the first time in my life, I had no answer. I even went to my husband, repeatedly, hoping he could help me figure out the reason for this darkness that hung over me like a thick black cloud. I asked him again and again, “Why do I feel so miserable and sad? My life is good and happy.” And he kept giving me the same answer every time, “I don’t understand it. You have nothing to be sad about or any reason to be miserable.”
Guilt started to set in. Daily, I thought: My prayers have all been answered. I have a great marriage. I’m living out my dream career. I can see God’s favor all over my life. I have so many blessings I didn’t even ask for, such as going back to school and furthering my career. I never imagined I’d ever have that opportunity, yet here I am … doing it!
The reason guilt started haunting me was because I started viewing my sadness as an attitude of ungratefulness. I felt as if I didn’t appreciate what I had. Even worse, I was being unappreciative of all God’s blessings on my life. Shame. Shame. Shame. This, naturally, made me even sadder. How could I be so ungrateful? So spoiled? So discontent? But the guilt and shame didn’t relieve me from the sadness, it just compounded it.
It was my birthday! Toby and I had made HUGE plans. We were going to drive to Charlottesville, Virginia to visit my childhood home. I had dreamed about this home since I’d left it thirty years ago. I have the most beautiful memories of this home, the neighborhood, my friends, and especially of the holidays. My happiest holidays were spent in this home. I never thought I’d have the opportunity to visit it again. To see where I played, walked, went to school … and lived a happy life.
Toby and I had just moved to Greensboro, NC and were only three hours from the home that held my most beautiful memories. Visiting my old stomping grounds on my birthday should have been a time of happiness and celebration. It SHOULD have been, but it wasn’t.
My husband came home early from work that day to surprise me, and instead of finding me antsy and anxious to go, he found me in bed crying. He found me curled up in a fetal position sucking my thumb. Okay, I made up the part about sucking my thumb. BUT I FELT LIKE IT! If it would not have guaranteed me a trip to the psyche ward, the thumb would have been in the mouth!
Again, I looked to my husband for help. “I should be happy right now. Why do I feel so sad? Why do I cry for no reason? What’s wrong with me? What happened to my happy life?” Then that little lightbulb went off in my head (ping). “Is this depression? Do I have depression?” All my husband could do was shrug his shoulders and name off a list of reasons why I should be happy.
This went on for several months. It wasn’t a fleeting thing, and actually quite unbearable. Was it here to stay? I couldn’t live like this. I found no joy in anything. I was completely discontent and complained about everything. I want my joy back!
Then the HEALING came!
Stress always beats up my body. During this time of doom and gloom, Toby and I moved (yes, again) to Louisiana and, like any move, it was stressful and took its toll on my body. I started some meditative techniques to help me de-stress. Basically, I needed a Calgon Moment! I was experiencing headaches, body aches/pains, stomach issues … the usual stress related ailments. One night, I decided to look up some healing Scriptures that I could recite in the morning.
The reason I chose to recite them in the morning was because that was the hardest time for me. I would wake up so depressed that I found it hard to get my day going. I wanted to lay in bed in the dark instead of facing the day. Friends, this is soooo NOT ME! I am a breakfast and coffee kind of gal. A “Get out of my way, it’s time for my workout” mad lunatic. I do yoga on my patio at 5:30 in the morning. Lying in bed in the dark was for someone else … not ME!
I went through my Bible app and highlighted numerous healing Scriptures, getting them ready for the next morning.
When morning came, I left the shades drawn. I had quit opening the curtains during the day. For some reason I had grown more fond of the dark. It seemed to suit me better … as if it matched my mood. I started to pray. With authority I rebuked the Spirit of Infirmity and declared physical healing over my body. I rebuked sickness, illness, aches, pains, and declared I was whole by the blood of Jesus.
It was at this point in which I realized something strange was taking place. My room was lighter. I looked around and my room was no longer dark. Had the shades somehow been lifted? Nope, two layers of shades were still drawn tight.
Why is it lighter in my room? But that’s not the only thing that was lighter. I felt lighter. Not in weight (oh, how I wish), but in spirit. I immediately “floated” out of the bed. I kid you not, that’s what it felt like. I now understand the expression “spring in your step.” I had a spring in my step!
As I lifted the shades I heard a voice say “It’s a new day.” Yes, I heard God speak these words to me. “It’s a new day.” I also had a couple of other words floating through my head: Light and bright. Immediately I was aware the depression had been lifted. I felt like a new person. No, wait … I felt like ME!
There are several things you should take away from this story. First, we have the power to speak into fruition what we want (or don’t want) in our lives. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead indwells us. USE IT!
Second, call out that Spirit of Infirmity. Rebuke it. Bind it and loose the Spirit of Life! Matthew 18:18 assures us, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” The Message version puts it like this, “Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven.” Bind it! Loose it! Use your power in the name of Jesus!
Now, recall the conversation between Jesus and the seventy-two: “The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!’ And he said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.’” Luke 10:17-19.
Note that as I was declaring the authority of the healing Scriptures over my BODY, my mind was focused on physical ailments, not emotional ones. I wasn’t trying to rebuke the depression because I wasn’t sure I had depression. Yet, my authority was such that the depression spirit could not withstand the power of the Scriptures! It had to flee! It could not stay in the name of Jesus!
Ever since that day, I’ve been back to my normal, happy, bubbly, funny, grateful, interesting, wonderful (well, you get it) self. And just to confirm what I experienced was from God, He sent me that phrase, “It’s a new day” for a whole week. What I mean is that everywhere I went, I heard someone say, “It’s a new day.” I even happened upon a program on TV called, “It’s a new day.” God loves to send us messages, so watch for them! They’re actually very plentiful.
Again, I don’t like to write personal things about myself (believe it or not). It’s actually really hard for me to do this, but if my testimony helps even one person rid themselves of this Spirit of Infirmity and a life of depression then I’ll endure the pain and embarrassment. (Wink.)
Use your AUTHORITY!
There are many healing Scriptures in the Bible. Google "Healing Scriptures" and then make a list and keep it handy. Recite them with authority. Be persistent. The Spirit of Infirmity will try to make you believe you can’t get rid of it. This way you will give up, thinking you’ve been defeated when in reality it must flee. You have the POWER to defeat it!
Here are some of the Scriptures I recited that morning:
Philippians 2:9-10 - ...God has highly exalted Jesus and given Him the name which is above every name {your disease has a name. Now speak to that spirit of infirmity in Jesus’ Name and it must leave. It will stay until it is sure you will not give up through weariness or unbelief}.
Isaiah 53:4-5 - Surely He has borne my griefs (Hebrew: “pains”) And carried [away] my sorrows (Hebrew: “sicknesses”); ...And by His stripes I am healed.
Luke 10:19 - Behold, I have been given the authority to advance by setting my foot upon snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will in any case harm me.
James 4:7 - I resist the devil [I stand firm against him], and he will flee from me.
Psalm 107:20 - He sent His word and healed me, And delivered me.
2 Timothy 1:7 - For God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Psalm 103:2-3 - Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all my iniquities, Who heals all my diseases.
Deuteronomy 7:14-15 - I shall be blessed above all peoples... And the Lord will take away from me all sickness...
Romans 8:11 - ...the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in me, He who raised Messiah from the dead will also give life [healing] to my mortal flesh through His Spirit who dwells in me.
No comments have been added yet.
