How to Battle Against Depression
by Drenda Keesee
When I heard the news a few years ago that fashion designer Kate Spade had committed suicide, leaving behind her husband, thirteen-year-old daughter, and a 2.4 billion-dollar fashion empire, I was heartbroken.
My daughters and I have loved her designs for years, often carrying her purses and phone cases. My youngest daughter always referred to her as a “girl boss.”
Kate Spade had what many women dream of—a thriving career, a powerful brand, money, notoriety, and success. Maybe that’s why the news of her suicide came as such a sad shock to the world.
How could a woman who had so much success be so unhappy? According to news reports, Kate Spade battled with depression and anxiety for years, and surrounding turmoil in her marriage made the decision to end her life alone one night in her apartment.
A couple of days later…
…news of another suicide was announced—TV show host Anthony Bourdain’s.
Stories like this grieve me. God has a better plan!
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV).
God had a hope and a future for Kate and Anthony, just the same as He has one for you.
It’s time to WAGE WAR ON SADNESS.
God has a plan of restoration, hope, and joy for you… Depression doesn’t have to hold you, hostage, any longer!
A BATTLE PLAN
Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy; and he often uses depression and anxiety to slip in through the back door.
Depression is an attack by the enemy in the same way sickness or spiritual warfare is. It’s something we have to stand against with the Word of God!
Too often, we live our lives with the mindset that if “I only had something else, I’d be happy.”
“If I only had more money… more success… more talent… a better body… better friends… more time… a better marriage… calmer children… THEN I’d be happy.”
Happiness depends on our MIND-SET, not our CIRCUMSTANCES.
Kate Spade’s death is a sobering reminder that money can’t complete us; people can’t complete us; fame can’t complete us; only God can complete us.
You can have all of the riches in the world, but it won’t make you happy.
You can have the highest success in your dream job, but it won’t make you happy.
You can have fame and notoriety, but that won’t make you happy either.
There is nothing apart from God and His joy that can truly make us happy and complete. When we renew our minds with His Word and hope for our lives, we can rediscover our happiness and purpose in Him. Depression and sadness have no legal right to speak into our lives!
I want to encourage you today that if you’re battling depression, wage a war on sadness by starting with your thoughts. Take negative thoughts captive, and start meditating on positive words every day!
You may not notice the difference at first, but don’t quit. An AMAZING spiritual principle is in the works!
Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV) tell us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
I promise that if you begin to change your focus, your whole life, attitude, and perception will change!
YOUR SECRET WEAPON…
SCRIPTURES TO OVERCOME DEPRESSION AND SUICIDAL THOUGHTS:
- The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10, NIV)
- You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4, NIV)
- Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. (Psalm 55:22, NIV)
- Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2, NIV)*
- The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. (Psalm 34:18-19, NIV)
- The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. (Deuteronomy 31:8, NIV)
- He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3, NIV)
- He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Revelations 21:4, NIV)
- My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26, NIV)
- Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6, NIV)
- And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, NIV)
~Drenda
ps…Are you looking for a good church? Be sure and listen on Saturday evening or catch the 3 services on Sunday for Faith Life Church!
Drenda Keesee’s contagious zeal and humorous personal experiences help make her ministry of spiritual, emotional, and relational wholeness one that will bless your life and spark a new fire in your spirit.
A wife of over 30 years and a mother of five children, Drenda has ministered at churches, seminars, and conferences, and through the mediums of television and radio, for more than 20 years.
Her books, The New Vintage Family, Better Than You Think, and She Gets It are available wherever books are sold. In these heartfelt books, Drenda shares her personal journey and the life lessons that have brought her to where she is today, as well as practical answers that all people need to live a joyful life.
Drenda and her husband Gary founded Faith Life Now, a ministry designed to spread the message of freedom in the areas of finances, faith, marriage, and family. Tune in for their weekly messages here. Faith Life Now hosts conferences worldwide and sponsors both Fixing the Money Thing, which Drenda co-hosts with her husband Gary and Drenda.
Through their own life experiences, the Keesee’s have found the principles from God’s Word to be powerful and effective. At one point, Drenda was a young, suicidal feminist with no hope of ever being “good enough” for her own standards of perfection. She never wanted the “inconvenience” of a husband or children, and she was on her own path to success. But the stress of trying to achieve perfection and perform for love left her broken and used. She had success, but it was nothing compared to the pain and loneliness it had also brought.
That’s when God got a hold of her heart. It was there—at her lowest point—that she found the One who accepted and loved her, faults and all. Since that transformation, Drenda has had a passion to reach women who find themselves where she once was.
She married Gary after attending college, and there she found herself in a personal boot camp of sorts. She says, “I cried and told God, ‘I can do anything but be a wife and mother.’” She committed to learning how to do it God’s way. Through the many years of raising their children and struggling to make ends meet, Drenda learned from their mistakes. “I didn’t know how to be a wife and mother, but God saved our marriage, taught us how to parent our children for success, showed us how to have financial success, and then the irony of all ironies, He called us to ministry.” It’s truly because of these life experiences that Drenda can now share so many insightful principles for people who are now going through the same struggles.
