Category: Soul Care

1622535547.7417831-0093C32E-07FF-4AA8-9E48-279DF29A4701

June 1 2021

Overcoming Spiritual Anxiety and Depression

A. Scott Ingram Christian Life, Soul Care Bible, fear, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Old Testament, Scripture, Spirit of Heaviness 1

In the recent series on God’s Kingdom, we talked about the many evidences that Jesus was, in fact, the promised Messiah who was to come. In Luke 4, He stands in the synagogue in Nazareth, and reads a well known passage from Isaiah 61, before announcing that He was the fulfillment of this promise:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor…
^{Isaiah 61:1-2a}

For the Jewish hearers in Nazareth, there would be no doubt that Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah, as this was one of the most famous passages concerning the work Messiah would do. They were so shocked by His proclamation, in fact, that they drove Him out and attempted to kill him for blasphemy!

Much to their surprise (and disdain), the gospels and history record that Jesus did all these works, and more. It is this “more” that I’d like to focus on today.

As you continue reading in Isaiah, the prophet goes on to give another very big promise, which I believe many of us need, today, more than ever. This promise was to give

…the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit…
Isaiah 61:3

Or as the old KJV says,

…the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…

Mental Health is in Focus

I am truly glad that we live in a day where the mental health of an individual is a priority in western culture. While I don’t agree with the over use of medications for every problem a person may have, I do fully support counseling and therapy for our issues. Still, I want us to understand that these emotional “diseases” are not new, and that the Bible does address them.

For those of us who follow Jesus completely, we would do well to understand that He promised to heal us mentally, as well as physically. With that in mind, I want us to understand what a “spirit of heaviness” is — a problem many of us face — and then look at the solution we have in Christ to overcome.

A Spirit of Heaviness

When the Bible uses this word “faint” or “heaviness,” it is actually the Hebrew “keheh,” which best translates to English as “colorless,” “dull,” or “dark.” This “spirit” has been associated, throughout Christian history in many scholarly works, with a number of mental disorders including depression, anxiety, and a constant feeling of overwhelm.

I agree with this connection, but I think it will be most helpful to understand why this understanding has come about. To do that, we must dig a little deeper.

The word “keheh” is taken from a root word (“kahah”) which means to “grow dim, faint, or go blind.” We must understand this root, so we are not just thinking of “fainting” feeling heaviness.

In other passages, we see the Bible using “keheh” in situational contexts¹. It is first used to describe the “dimming” of the High Priest, Eli’s eyes.

At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to [keheh] so that he could not see…
1 Samuel 3:2

In another passage, the word is used to refer to a candle whose flame was going out.

a bruised reed he will not break, and a [keheh] wick he will not quench…
Isaiah 42:3

It is with these examples in mind, that I believe we get to the core effects of “a spirit of heaviness.” Namely, when a spirit of heaviness comes, it takes away your ability to see clearly in regards to what the Lord is doing in your life.

Spiritual Depression and Anxiety

When we talk about depression and anxiety in a spiritual context, I cannot think of a more clear picture of the fruit of these things than to say they make it impossible to see God’s hand at work.

Anxiety is blinding to what God is doing in our life. Whether its caused by work, relationships, finances, or any other number of issues, anxiety pulls us into the place of worrying about and working to overcome these issues. Rather than trusting God in these moments, when anxiety takes root, we begin looking to and trusting ourselves. Our view of God is diminished, and we are blinded to His hand at work.

For me, seasons of anxiety are often followed by depression. It is connected to a feeling of sadness, when the reality sets in that I am unable to control all the things going wrong.

I believe this is true for most people who deal with depression. It is situational. (I am not ignoring the cases of chemical imbalance, but that is not the majority of depression in the world.) For most people, depression usually stems from the feelings of overwhelm and being out of control of your life, until hopelessness sets in. Depression, at its core, robs us of the security and joy of knowing and trusting that the Lord has our best intentions in mind, and is working for us!

When we get lost in depression and anxiety, the effects are the same. We are blinded to the Lord’s work and leading in our lives. We “go dim” in our spiritual vision.

God’s Answer is Praise

When Isaiah talks about overcoming the spirit of heaviness, He doesn’t talk about it in terms of a process or learning acceptance. Instead, he writes that in the Messiah, we will have a complete replacement take place. He will remove the spirit of heaviness by giving us a “garment of praise.”

Literally, this Hebrew phrase means that we will be wrapped in “the mantle of songs of praise.” That means to overcome the spirit of anxiety, we cover our lives with out-loud, active praise for all that God has done and is doing in our life.

Praise takes the dullness in our spiritual eyes, and does replacement surgery by fixing our focus back on the hand of the Lord at work. Praise is the defense for the blindness that allows anxiety and depression to take hold!

When we cease to cover ourselves with praise — focusing on what God is doing — we lose our correct sense of vision. What we should see spiritually (God working on our behalf) is replaced by a hopelessness and overwhelm as we feel the need to work for ourselves in God’s place. However, when we reestablish ourselves in the garment of praise, that heaviness leaves!

This Is Not a Process; It Is a Habit

Since we are used to thinking about mental health issues in terms of disease and treatments, most of us default to looking for incremental change. That is not how things work when dealing with the spirit of heaviness. Remember, when we draw close to God, resisting the enemy, he flees (see James 4:7). It is an immediate release from bondage! Praise will bring an immediate breakthrough to our “dimness.”

Freedom from the spirit of heaviness is not a process of overcoming. Rather, it is a process of remaining free by building a habit of praise into our lives!

So what does that look like?

It could mean many things!

For some people, this means surrounding themselves with praise-reminders. It could be keeping worship music on in the background throughout your day, so those songs will remain on your lips. It might mean posting scriptures or other items around your office or home, that draw your heart toward the Lord, and bring you into a posture of thanksgiving.

For other people, writing their praises down is the most effective way to build the habit. We see this habit in David, as he wrote so many of the Psalms in scripture. Song writing or writing poetry are great ways to write out our praises to the Lord. If you aren’t that artistic, it may simply mean keeping a journal, recounting every blessing God has given you throughout the day. Beware, though, the list will be loooong, once you get started!

I think the simplest way to wrap yourself in the garment of praise, is to make it an ongoing part of your daily prayer times. Tell Jesus “thank you,” out loud, for every single thing that comes to mind to be grateful for. This is especially true if you are in a season of anxiety and depression right now.

When God really began to teach me this lesson a few weeks ago, I was dealing with the spirit of heaviness, and after studying and praying and doing everything else, I realized the necessary step was to just get started. I stood up, lifted my hands to the Lord, and just began to say “thank you.” My breakthrough came quickly.

Praise Him for the Anxiety-Inducing Items

When I find myself in anxiety, it is usually wrapped up in a lack of finances for our missionary works in East Africa. There is always so much to do that our bank accounts usually remain near $0. So to do away with the spirit of heaviness, I must praise Him for the fact that He has always provided for us when we have a need. I thank Him for the opportunities we have to minister to people, churches, and communities. I thank Him for our donors and financial partners. Not in a vague way, but by name! I go through the list, and say “thank You” for as many people as He has allowed us to serve or to partner with us.

Other times, my anxiety comes with family issues — my wife and I arguing or my kids being disobedient and not listening to us. I can either let the frustrations take hold and the heaviness build, or I can turn my gaze back on the Lord, and begin to thank Him for my wife, my kids, our home, our friends, the fact that we have electricity, running water, hot water! (Remember, I live in East Africa). I thank Him that we are healthy, that my kids are growing, are smart, are learning to love Him, and more!

My point is that when a spirit of heaviness attacks, the quickest way to overcome is to praise God, immediately and out loud, and specifically for the areas of our lives where the heaviness is attacking!

Rebuke the Enemy

As one final reminder, after you have put on the garment of praise, don’t forget to take authority in the name of Jesus, and rebuke the spirit of heaviness (spirit of depression, anxiety, etc.) and command it to leave you alone. It has no place in your life, and you have the right, in Christ, to command it to go.

The Lord does not want you to live under the oppression and heaviness of the enemy. He doe not want you to live blindly, oblivious to the ways He is moving and working on your behalf. You simply must become more aware of it, moment-by-moment, day-by-day, and you do that by clothing yourself in praise.

Don’t wait. Do it now…

Let’s Connect

If you are enjoying what you are reading, you can make sure never to miss a post by signing up to receive my weekly newsletter below. I promise never to SPAM your inbox or share your information with others.

You can also join me on various social media platforms for more #ChristianLife and #GospelLeadership insights throughout the week. I can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Parler, and LinkedIn, and would love to see you there.

¹ Note: although some people try to bring a connection between the “spirit of heaviness” and the “harmful spirit from the Lord” placed on Saul (1 Sam 16:14), there is no connection in the Hebrew language.

If you’re enjoying the content I produce, a little caffeine to keep me going would be appreciated!

Photo by Stormseeker on Unsplash

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Please note that I do get a small kickback from Amazon for any purchases made using the links on this post. Should you choose to purchase from them, I just want to say thank you for further supporting my work in ministry!

March 28 2020

3 Ways To Build Your Relationship With God in Times of Isolation

A. Scott Ingram Christian Life, Personal Discipleship, Soul Care, Spiritual Disciplines quarantine, social distancing, worship 0

Right now, the world is in isolation and quarantine due to the COVID-19 outbreak, causing a lot of unrest in the world. One of the more deadly side-effects of this mandatory social distancing is the feeling of loneliness which consumes too many people. As I have been praying for many people who are feeling isolated and alone in this season, I felt the Lord’s presence stirring in me the greatest promise Jesus made when He left this earth. That is, “I am with you always…” (Matthew 28:20).

Personally, as an introvert, I was social distancing before it was mandatory. However, I know that many of you need personal interaction and relationship to keep you going. So I do pray that you are not being led into depression and anguish during this season of isolation. However, I want to remind you that you are not alone. The Holy Spirit is with you, and is ready to engage with you as a friend if you will give Him the opportunity.

With this in mind, I want to share three ways we can build our relationship with God during this season.

1. Get Comfortable in the Secret Place

One of the topics I talk about most is having relationship and hearing God’s voice. That is because I strongly believe that Christianity truly is, as the old cliche says, a relationship, not a religion. Over the years, my own relationship with the Holy Spirit has grown incredibly personal, and I have learned to discern His voice speaking to me on a daily basis. That is not only a promise for “prophets.” Jesus said that all of His sheep would know His voice and follow Him (John 10:27).

While I have coached many people in hearing God’s voice for themselves, too many people miss the most important part, and that is to take time to practice hearing Him. There are many great teachings on how to hear Him speaking. There are many books that give keys to grow in your ability to hear. There are many leaders who can lead in times of activation, allowing you to have the experience yourself for the first time. Yet, none of those things will make you any more effective at hearing the Lord speak, if you do not take time daily to sit down in a quiet place and listen.

Years ago, I read the book “Four Keys to Hearing God’s Voice” by Mark Virkler. The simple principles he shared shaped my ability to hear the Lord speaking to me personally, in ways I never imagined possible. One of the things he shares is the need to write down everything God tells you in a practice called “two-way journaling.” Basically, you ask God a question, then write down what you feel the Holy Spirit speaks. Since 2012, this has been my habit of prayer journaling, and it has allowed me to focus on the Lord, and to hear Him speaking to me on a daily basis.

Again, these keys I learned would not have made any difference in my life, if I didn’t take the time to practice them regularly.

Right now, as you are staying home, limiting social interaction, and trying to balance your sanity with social media and binge watching television, I don’t want you to miss this great opportunity to spend time with the Lord in prayer, and to get comfortable in the secret place with Him. He is right there with you, and ready to speak. Take the time to listen. Even if you have never been able to sit in a position of prayer for more than 10 minutes, you have ample time to try, again and again, until the secret place is somewhere you don’t want to leave.

I promise you, once you learn to fellowship with Him in private, and the joys of knowing Him so personally, even the return of normal life in a couple of months will not keep you from returning to the prayer closet again and again.

To learn more about hearing the Lord speaking, you can find my four-part blog series on Hearing God’s Voice here, here, here, and here.

2. Dig Deep in the Word of God

Another aspect of Christian life that too often gets neglected in our busy routines, is engaging with the Word of God. I know that many of you do spend time daily in the Bible, and that is great. Yet, what I have found in this season of isolation is that God has given us time to go deeper in the Word of God, and learn from Him the principles of the Christian life.

Of course we should be reading our Bibles continually, and seek to know what is there from cover to cover. Some of you read through the whole Bible every year! Our ministry, Sozo Ministries, just shared a Bible reading plan that will take you through the entire New Testament in 21 days, as a free resource during this time. Those things are great, but I am talking about going deeper in our understanding of the Word of God.

Surely there are things the Holy Spirit has whispered to you, that have made you think, “I really need to look into that.” Maybe it is a deep doctrinal truth debated for ages, or it could simply be a small personal curiosity about something in the Word. Either way, you have now been given ample time to dive into the Word and find out. I am talking highlighters, Bible dictionaries, concordances and commentaries! It is a great season to put on your Bible-nerd glasses, and get moving.

The good news is, you don’t have to have a study full of wall-to-wall books. In the days of internet, you can find many commentaries and bible study resources available online for free!

I don’t know how deep you want to take your Bible study, but what I want to encourage you in your journey in the Word is to go in prayerfully and trust that the Holy Spirit will guide you and teach you in this time. This, too, should be a relationship-building time with the Lord, as He speaks to you personally through His Word!

You can find my post on the R.E.A.P. Bible Study Method here, as well as my two-part series on keeping a Scripture Reading Journal, here and here.

3. Become Your Own Worship Leader

The third thing I have found necessary in times like these, is to create a routine of worship by yourself. With churches closed down to the public and now broadcasting online, it is easy to just watch the worship, rather than engage in our own. However, when we realize that worship is an activity which should invade all that we do, then we can learn to be our own worship leaders.

This doesn’t always have to be singing, although singing is one of the easiest ways to engage in worship. That is why King David filled the tabernacle with musicians and singers who praised the Lord 24/7.

For me, I have taken time in the last few weeks to pull an old hymn book off the shelf, and sing through some of the songs I learned when I first joined church as a teenager. I have also taken up the hobby of learning to play a penny whistle, which I ordered from Amazon over Christmas last year. Playing songs that stir my heart toward the Lord in my solitude has been an enjoyable experience, and I can feel His presence surround me as I play and sing.

The truth is that worship is a form of spiritual warfare, and it changes the atmosphere around us. If you are isolated in this season, and feelings of loneliness and depression are taking hold, worship may be the easiest way to remove yourself from that funk and be drawn into His presence afresh.

Don’t hesitate to switch off Netflix and turn on a YouTube worship channel. Sing along. Lead your family or your kids in praises. Just because we cannot “go to church” does not mean that we cease to be the church. Let’s learn to worship the Lord, even more, in our private lives now, as a way to build that relationship with Him, which will last for years to come!

You can find an Apple Music playlist I created called, Warfare Worship, here.

We Have Time To Engage

To be sure, there are many other ways you can seek to engage with the Lord and deepen your relationship with Him in this season. You might decide to fast. You might spend time creating prophetic works of art or writings. Perhaps you still lead small groups or video chat sessions for intercession. All of these things are great, and there are so many more ways that I can’t even begin to give a complete list.

No matter how you engage with the Lord, my prayer for you in this season is simply that you do. Do not miss the opportunity you have been given, to give the Lord time! I have never met a Christian who lives with too much time on their hands. Busyness always seems to pull us away from relationship with Him. In this season, however, you have been given the gift of time to spare. Let’s choose not to squander it!

If you are enjoying what you are reading on my blog, I would also be honored if you would subscribe to my weekly email below. You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram for regular blog updates, and other ongoing #ChristianLife and #GospelLeadership advice!

Photo by Jose López Franco on Unsplash

February 25 2019

No Shame

A. Scott Ingram Christian Life, Soul Care Alone, Forgiveness, Holy Spirit, Jesus & The Gospel, Shame, Sinner 4

Hi, my name is Scott, and I am an analytic…

I am also an introvert, and a perfectionist. And while none of these characteristics are completely negative in and of themselves, when they work together for long periods of time, it can sometimes go badly.

I used to drive an 18-wheeler, overnight, in the oilfields of west Texas. Most of my waking hours were spent in the cab of that truck, out in the middle of nowhere, not seeing another person for hours on end. As an introvert, it was a kind of oasis for me a lot of the time. As I look back on my relationship with Christ through the years, I also realize that I had some of my most intimate times with God sitting behind the wheel of that truck. It gave me a lot of time (12+ hours a day) to engage with the Holy Spirit in prayer and private worship. At the same time, as anyone who has spent time in the presence of God knows, when He shows up in such powerful ways, your sins and shortcomings are also, always exposed.

Being an analytic, I overthink everything. So what would happen in those moments is that as I engaged with God, I would often have an amazing time of worship and prayer, and then God would lovingly expose the negative things in my life, to correct me and lead me in His perfect plan for my life. (This is good, and necessary for the Christian life. This season was a great time of sanctification in my Christian journey!) I would finish the workday on fire! It wouldn’t simply stop there, however. I would go home, shower, go to bed, and then usually wake up the next day still feeling the conviction about those things. And this is where things could get problematic.

As the new day would roll along, still analyzing what God was revealing to me the night before, one of two things could happen. Either I would continue to engage with God in worship and ask Him to continue to root out the things I need to deal with, or it would go negative, and I would begin to dwell on the failures that God exposed in me, with self-loathing.

In addition to being an introvert and an analytic, I also have those perfectionist tendencies. So being the over-thinker that I am, and having a high level of expectations for myself, I would usually find myself in this second position. In God’s amazing grace, He would lovingly expose my flaws, but instead of dealing with them in repentance, I would obsess on the failures in myself with shame and disgust. The result? Self-condemnation, depression, and even a feeling of being unworthy of the intimate time God granted me the night before. This positioning would inevitably be followed by ‘avoiding’ God for a while; hiding in my shame like Adam in the Garden of Eden.

When this happens, it is the old orphan spirit rising up inside, forgetting who Daddy is.

The God Who Doesn’t Shame Us.

The great thing about God is that He will not leave us sitting alone in our shame. He is faithful to show up and push us toward a response to His love (repentance); offering forgiveness in Christ. There is no greater feeling for me than when God breaks in on my self-loathing with His love! In the times I am feeling unworthy of God and hiding, it amazes me how He shows up, calling me out.

What every Christian needs to realize about our God is that He loves us. He finds pleasure in His children, even the ones who aren’t the best at following directions. Psalm 149:4-5 tells us, “For the Lord takes pleasure in his people…” Possibly the greatest lesson for every believer to learn is, “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). He doesn’t shame us, He rejoices over us?

To my brothers and sisters in Christ: I just want to offer you a reminder of the love of God today. I don’t know what you are struggling with right now. I don’t know what your emotional state is telling you about God. But I know this. God loves you, and through Christ, He is pleased with you. No matter how you feel right now, look to Him and let Him break in on you. Meet Him intimately wherever you are at. Sing for joy. God is near. He doesn’t come to condemn you or leave you in shame. He wants to spend time with you, showing His love to you, more than you can ever know.

(This post was originally published August 1, 2011. It has been revised and edited for reposting.)

Photo by Kevin Jesus Horacio on Unsplash