Healing for Veterans and Their FamiliesSample

Depression Is Not Part of God’s Plan

Depression is a common attack from the enemy. It sneaks in and settles on your shoulder. Then it slowly convinces you that it is your friend as it whispers into your ears, mind, and heart. 

When you find that you can no longer do what you used to do, it is quite common for signs of depression to manifest. Whether older, injured, discharged from the service, or retired, your abilities and opportunities seem very different. Perhaps you once were a CEO, a teacher, a nurse, or a decorated member of the armed forces. Now suddenly, your identity has dissolved into something you don’t recognize. The familiar proverbial door has closed and the door to depression can swing wide open.

But God doesn’t want you to live with depression’s chains paralyzing you. He tells us to fear no evil no matter what. Even if you are walking through the valley of depression, He is there with you. You may have periods of despair, pain, and loss during your life, but never set up camp and stay there! 

Many times, trauma will bring on depression. Trauma can come from a variety of areas, such as divorce, death, financial ruin, loss of a job or career, traumatic injury, or loss of bodily function. When trauma comes in, the body produces a stress hormone that attacks your immune system, your joy, and your life. Don’t let it! Pray, “Father, give me a spirit of joy. Father, in the name of Jesus, I command what the enemy has stolen to be restored. Right now, I want my joy and my life to be restored.” 

Depression is not God’s plan for you. Instead, He has an awesome plan for your life, a good and hopeful future. Get up and get moving. Like King David, confidently declare to the Lord that you’re not afraid. Run through the valley of the shadow of death and come out on fire in Jesus’s name. God wants you completely free from fear, anxieties, and other emotional chains. 

Job lost everything. He had the opportunity to get depressed. His wife said, “Curse God and die” (Job 2:9). But Job didn’t listen to her. And in return, the Word says in Job 42 that Job received twice as much as he had before.