¶ Introduction to Doing Life Podcast
Hey , welcome to Doing Life with Ken and Tabitha . We are so pumped that you're tuning into this podcast . It has been designed for people just like you . We wanna do life with you , share our wins , our defeats , our ups and our downs , in hopes that you'll grow closer to God and to the people that you love in your life . Sit back and enjoy today's podcast .
Healing is not occasional . It should be normative . Healing is a part of your salvation package . Jesus was not just your sin offering . He was also your sickness offering . When the Bible talks , about healing , it's not just physical healing , it's emotional healing .
Healing is actually a promise from God that we get to stand on and claim , and so I think it's very important for people to understand that healing is a part of the sozo , wholeness is a part of salvation just going to heaven , but bringing heaven to the earth .
Absolutely .
¶ Tabitha's Journey Through Depression
Good day mate .
What .
Yeah , we're gonna start this one different Cheers friends .
Aye , aye .
Captain , what up everybody ? We're so pumped to have you joining us For another episode of Doing Life with Ken and Tabitha . What's up , guys ?
We have a special to have you joining us for another episode of Doing Life with .
Ken and Tabitha . What's up , guys ? We have a special show for you today and we want to help you kick depression out of your life and out of your loved one's life . This is a must-share episode . It really is , for those of you all who are battling depression or just sadness and despair . We're going to share some personal testimonies .
We're going to pray for you at the end , to help you get free . We believe that God's going to heal some of you all , even as you watch and listen to this podcast today . That's just what he loves to do , and so welcome everybody .
That's right . Welcome everyone , Especially if you're new to this podcast . We're so glad you're joining us today . We are praying for you . We always pray that God would send people to this podcast that actually need the information , that can use this information to enhance their lives . So we pray that this is a blessing for you today .
Yeah , we don't feel like you found us on accident .
That's right .
Those of you all who are subscribers , thank you for being a part of our online family . For those of you all who are new , hit the subscribe button or the icon on YouTube where you get downloads . Just hit the download button .
We want you to be the first to get the content when it's released every Thursday at 3 pm , but we just feel like we're building an online community to help you grow closer in your relationship with God and closer to the people that God has placed in your life . So we're your hosts . Ken and Tabitha .
We've been married for 25 years and you have battled depression . Back in the day .
Back in the day when I was young .
I'm not a kid , and have been free now for 23 years . Okay , yes . And I want to jump into your story very quickly . So today is called how to Help your Depressed Spouse Practical Tips for Tough Times . Okay , and so the premise is that there are people who are married to someone who's battling depression .
Yeah .
And we want to help them on what to do with their spouse . So this was a part of your life for 10 years . Yes , it was actually something that really hurt our marriage in the beginning . Yeah , just share with us what it was and what it is .
Yeah , absolutely Well , I was diagnosed with depression when I was 12 years old , and so I was depressed all the way up into my teenage years , my young adult life , and I got delivered from depression at the age of 24 . So it was 12 years of my life , and so depression for me started in my background I was my dad died when I was six years old .
I was then raised by my grandmother , who died when I was 12 years old Now . Previous to that , I'd been in an environment with sexual abuse , verbal abuse , physical abuse , alcoholism and domestic violence .
So all of those things between the ages of six and 12 were a lot for me , and I just didn't know how to cope , and so the result was depression and anxiety . I was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety disorder at the age of 21 . And so throughout my young adult life and my you know , a lot of my childhood , depression was a thing .
It became a part of who I was .
And how did it manifest itself for you Was that like sadness or ? Was it suicidal thoughts ? Was it really heavy ? Was it light ?
All of the above . I was a little bit now . I would have cycles of times where you know , sometimes I would be great and I would fight out , my fight myself out of sadness and um and depression and things like that . But then other times I would become very , very sad and intense feeling of sadness that would manifest in um .
Sometimes I would get rashes on my body , um , sometimes I would get I had migraine headaches , severe migraine headaches , right , I couldn't get out of the bed . Um , just so bad . Um , it would manifest in panic attacks . That was the anxiety disorder that was attached to it and that I would , just out of nowhere , like I can't breathe .
I would just have an attack where I felt like I couldn't breathe and , um , I would just sweat and shake .
Now very quickly how long has it been since you've had a panic attack ?
It's been . I mean I , when I was 24 years old and got delivered
¶ Understanding Depression vs. Sadness
from depression . That's how long it's been . Panic attacks left , left 24 . Left , so you're 49 .
So 24 , 25 years it seems like Okay , when is the last time you've had a migraine headache ?
It left with depression .
So migraine and panic attack left .
That's good news , meaning that if God's done it for you , he can also do it for others , and that's what I want people to know it is possible for you to be healed of depression .
It is possible for you to be healed of anxiety , fear , the migraine headaches , whatever other , like autoimmune diseases , things that are attached to depression , things that manifest from the depression . You can be healed , it is possible .
Okay . So when we first started dating , I remember you going to hypnotherapy , going to therapy . There was different therapies that we were doing and I remember your migraine headaches . It was like debilitating , can't get out the bed , consistent , it almost felt every week , every other week . It was like this migraine headache thing .
And for you to be free for over two decades and not have one , there's a real spiritual connection . What would you say to the person where the doctors say one , there's a real spiritual connection ? What would you say to the person where the doctor say well , depression is a chemical imbalance , there's nothing you can do about depression .
You're going to be depressed all of your life . It's just , and they just say it's a chemical imbalance . Matter of fact , some people get upset . When you talk about the healing power of God is almost to talk about the natural side of depression even more so they elevate the chemicals and the natural side and they kind of bring the spiritual side down .
What would be your perspective ?
on that I would say there's no reason to be upset because the depression it may be a chemical imbalance , but that doesn't deny the fact that it's still able to be healed by God , like it's okay . So if depression is an a chemical imbalance and if it is a spiritual , my depression was being caused by a spiritual concern , a spiritual matter .
Um , and even though that my I could have taken tests and they could see physically that it's manifesting in a chemical imbalance , which now they're telling me that it's depression . Well , that's all true , it doesn't matter .
It was still something that once I dealt spiritually with the spirit of depression , I was healed when the spirit of depression left , the chemical imbalance left . That's how God , that's how healing takes place .
Okay , okay . How would you define depression , like I'm sure that there's like a clinical way to define depression . I feel like we live in a day and time where this depression label is getting put on everybody . They put it on children , I mean . You feel bad , you feel sad , you're depressed .
And I think that there's a difference between sadness and , like depression . Talk to that a little bit .
Yeah , I think , you know , I don't know how I would . I mean , I would define depression . I wouldn't define it as sadness . You know , I think most people misuse that word depression and they say , well , how are you feeling today ? Well , I'm a little depressed today . That's not really . That's not my definition of depression .
That's kind of , oh you just you're sad , or you just feel a little down , or bored , and that's a natural emotion .
Yeah , and so it's okay for us to feel sad . Yes , like a little while ago my mom passed away .
Yeah .
And so I was sad for a couple of weeks . That was natural . My therapist said lean into that emotion , embrace that emotion , process it .
Don't try to medicate that emotion , don't try to medic it out of your mind .
Right , don't act like it didn't happen . Deal with it . All right . So there was a divorce . You're going to feel a little sad . You lost a job . Going to feel a little sad , a deal didn't go through , that's a natural emotion . Sadness , happiness , joy , those are natural emotions . Depression is something else .
Depression to me is like when you get stuck , you stuck you know , you're stuck in that sadness , you're stuck in that pain , right , um , it's debilitating , it's almost . It's like , uh , depression . They call it a disease .
Um , and you know , I would call it a disease because if you had a like a sickness , as far as like a virus , or it's debilitating , you stay in the bed , it's , it's hard to cope and manage your life . That's what depression does . It debilitates your everyday life .
Is that how it was for you ? Yes , absolutely , in which ?
way it didn't start out like that because , again , I was depressed as a child . It manifested in ways of just being afraid . At night , you know , I would have nightmares , horrible nightmares . I had insomnia several times where I couldn't sleep for months at a time .
I was just struggling to sleep because I , you know , it just was a manifestation of that depression . Um again , panic attacks , like I said , uh , withdrawing and just wanting to be alone . I can't face people I would .
There were times , you know , as a young adult I was in college I dropped out of all of my classes cause I just couldn't face , I couldn't handle the responsibility , I couldn't pass a test , I just withdrew from classes .
ROTC to Fort Knox , Kentucky , and you came back and I think that Fort Knox triggered some trauma and whatever . You broke up with me and that was probably a manifestation of that depression as well . So depression is not cool . It'll cause you to ruin your life .
You isolate , you , self sabotage Absolutely .
Tell me about your freedom encounter , though , and I want people to hear this as if , if God done it for you , he can also do it for them . Yeah , tell me , how did you get set free ? What , what exactly happened ?
Um , I'll , I'll tell you a couple of steps before the actual freedom , because it led up to it , and so , um , the first thing I did was um , well
¶ Spiritual Healing and Deliverance
, I got saved about two years before I was depressed . Now , when I got saved , I was contemplating suicide . I was really deeply depressed . In the moment , I was taking antidepressants . I was really cycling into , in and out of alcoholism , drinking way too much on a daily basis .
And when I got saved and Jesus Christ became my Lord and Savior , there was a spirit of suicide that just broke off of my life , so that one left immediately it just immediately . And I say spirit because it was a spiritual , it just immediately .
So that spirit of suicide was always like you shouldn't be living you deserve Always thoughts in my mind .
Do you really want to be here ? Would anybody know if you disappeared ? Okay , okay , so that immediately I was delivered from the spirit of suicide . I never had another spirit suicidal thought . I didn't have it in my , in my dreams . I wasn't tempted , none of that .
Okay , um , but I was still depressed and still struggling as I walked out , so you've made Jesus the Lord of your life but you're still struggling with depression .
For how long ? Yes , two years .
Okay , in those two years I was going to a church , you know , kind of on and off . I didn't know about God , I didn't know the Bible , I didn't even read the Bible . Really , two years into my salvation , we join another church . They start teaching me the word of God . The day that I joined the church I get filled with the Holy Spirit .
Okay , baptized in the Holy Spirit , where the Bible says that's when power comes upon you . Okay , so I get baptized in the Holy Spirit . I start learning scripture . At the same time I'm going to this church , they teach me about healing . They said that , you know , anything could be healed .
I'm hearing testimonies of how people got healed from different diseases and you never believed that before or heard . I didn't know .
I didn't know the gospel . I knew that Jesus died for my sins , but I didn't know that he died by his stripes . I'm healed that he took my sickness and disease on my body .
Very quickly . Let me interject . I think that there are some here that they don't have your experience , so you came in with childlike faith . There are other people who are listening that they've been taught that healing is not for them or healing is not for today or healing is occasional , and those are not truths . Healing is not occasional .
It should be normative . Healing is a part of your salvation package . Jesus was not just your sin offering , he was also your sickness offering . When the Bible talks about healing , it's not just physical healing , it's emotional healing .
Healing is actually a promise from God that we get to stand on and claim , and so I think it's very important for people to understand that healing is a part of the sozo . Wholeness is a part of salvation Not just going to heaven , but bringing heaven to the earth Absolutely .
Oldness is a part of salvation , not just going to heaven but bringing heaven to the earth , absolutely . But anyway , you didn't approach that from a doctrinal standpoint , as if you've been taught that God doesn't heal . You just never heard it . As an unchurched person , I never heard it . Yeah , okay , then what ?
happened . Well , I considered , because so this is 25 years ago , right , depression wasn't popular . Depression was something that I was embarrassed of in the moment , though I kept it a secret like no , a lot . Nobody knew that I was depressed , and I kept it a secret because it was like this thing that people wanted you to just snap out of it and it's okay .
And what do you mean ? You're depressed , get up , and you know . So I was embarrassed and I thought to myself between me and God if God could heal people's physical bodies , why can't he heal me of depression ? And so it was a secret thing that I just said God heal me of depression . And then so I started that journey .
But then I was learning the word of God . I started to pray and quote scripture , and what I did was I took specific scriptures to where I could stand on and , actually , breaking the spirit of depression , I would speak in the mirror .
Because then I learned , well , I have power and authority and I can say , in the name of Jesus , you , spirit of depression , go and leave me . And so I just started doing it . I would look in the mirror and I would look into my own eyes and say you are not depressed . I command that spirit of depression to leave you .
And it was very , very much childlike faith . I just did what I need to do . I wasn't sophisticated , I would just use the name of Jesus and then also within that , yeah , again , I was just doing everything that I knew to do and I was desperate because life was not good .
But then I started , I learned about forgiveness and I'm like , oh my gosh , if I need to forgive because I've been forgiven for so much , and so I would just begin to pray for the people who abused me and hurt me and I would just pray and pray for them and release forgiveness toward them . And in the midst of all of that , one day I came downstairs .
I woke up in the morning and I usually had Bible study and I would come down and make breakfast . I had Bible study . I came downstairs and I felt the spirit of depression . And I saw the spirit of depression kind of like a dark shadow . It was a spiritual discernment lift off of my body .
It kind of just left me and floated through our home and out of the exterior wall of our home . And that was me being delivered from the spirit of depression .
I knew it the moment it happened I say this as a joke , but it's true I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz when every everything was black and white and she got into you know , the new land and everything was in color , like that's what I felt . Like I felt like the blindfolds had been removed .
It was just like I was a new person and that was the beginning of me walking out the rest of my life and how you see me today .
So from that moment you've been free from depression Absolutely , and that was like 24 years ago or so approximately . What would you say to the person who've been a Christian for a while and speaking the scripture for a while , but they haven't had that experience yet ?
I would say it is possible for you . I would say don't quit . And I think the Lord is even speaking to you right now of , like you know , that building that faith and that encouragement to go forward in it .
Sometimes , when you do things for a long time and it doesn't manifest , you kind of feel like , well , you know , this is what's you know , this is my journey , this is what you know God wants for me , and I don't believe that . I believe that God wants you healed now .
I believe that it's available now . Yeah , I think some people have accepted depression to where they baked it into their personality . This is how it's going to be for me , and I would ask you to stand up and say devil , you are a liar . I command you to get up out of my house .
In Jesus , name and so and here's the thing , because I believe now my faith is you know , I had that faith toward depression , but my faith is like , let's say , I was born with a limp . My faith is I believe that you know Jesus , you know healed , paralyzed people . I believe that one day I'm going to wake up and just that limp is going to be gone .
That's my faith . You might not have that faith , but I can believe that , based on the Bible , I believe that if I had an eye that was blind , I would believe one day , every single day , that one day I'm going to open up this eye and I'm going to be able to see from it , I'm going to be able to hear from this ear .
I believe one day I'm just going to stretch forth my hand and it's going to grow back . That is Bible , biblical faith , and we can use that kind of faith for depression .
Well , I mean , there's a lot that you said there . I think a lot of people , or some people because it's taken longer than what they thought , they get discouraged or because they see someone else who had it all their life and maybe passed away and didn't see a healing .
They were so good their grandmother or somebody , that she prayed every day but she still died of the element . So good their grandmother or somebody that she prayed every day , but she still died of the element . And what I've learned is we can never bring our experiences um , um , uh , our experiences above God's word .
We always have to bring our experiences like down to the word you know what I'm saying Like we can't um exhort our experiences over the word of God . The word of God is forever settled in heaven . And the things that I don't understand .
I'm not going to get prideful or get bitter , I'm just going to say , god , I don't understand it but , I , still believe your word , but I wanted to ask this Do you see a link between unforgiveness and depression ?
I do .
Why is that ? You think , what is that ?
about . I think that the Bible says that we should forgive others so that our Father in heaven can forgive us . I think sometimes I think there's a lot of bondage that we are held in or prisons that we are held in because we refuse to forgive Right .
And was it Joyce Meyer that said forgiveness said unforgiveness is like you drinking poison and expecting the other person to die . That is very much what unforgiveness is . In my own experience with depression , when I forgave the person who hurt me the most , that's when I was delivered from the spirit of depression .
So for me and countless others that I've ministered to , that is a major key , not only depression , autoimmune diseases . You know , we pray for people to be healed all the time , and one of the biggest things that I encounter , even in deliverance , one of the biggest things I encounter , is when you choose to forgive .
That's when you see those demonic spirits leave . That's when you see anxiety . That's when you see autoimmune diseases , sicknesses they leave .
Autoimmune disease . A lot is also grace to self . It's you forgiving yourself .
Yeah .
And people who are really hard on themselves , like you used to are the ones who are more susceptible to autoimmune disease . You have to start to love yourself , have peace with yourself , give grace towards yourself .
Many times people give grace to everybody else but just rip yourself apart and then you cause your immune system to turn and attack parts of your body , and so we want you to forgive yourself .
You know , a lot of times we talk about your depression , but you know I had my own bat battle with it .
It wasn't as long as yours and maybe not as deep as yours . But I think that it was a thing , and for me I didn't even feel like it was depression . Now that I've been removed from it 10 years or so , I think you think it was about with depression , I wouldn't have recognized it as that , but I think you're right . So there were so many things .
I was in the ministry and I was building church and I felt like the Lord was asking us to change the name of our church and kind of go a different direction and I really felt like everybody who was close to me that I'd spent about 10 years pouring into would be like yeah , pastor , I'll follow you wherever you know . If you lead , I'll follow .
I'll follow you as you follow Christ . But it was the opposite in many cases . I remember one person that was very close to us said I don't like this church and I don't , I'm not following you anywhere .
Basically , I used to say this thing where hey , um , even if I was preaching behind the Kmart , I would hope our church would be behind the Kmart with me . And this person literally said I wouldn't follow you behind the Kmart and , um , I was amazed and shocked at the people who said they believed on the God on the inside of me . But then I realized
¶ Ken's Experience with Depression
they only believed as long as it was in accordance with their agenda , their comfort level and it was convenient for them , and the amount of people that I saw who attacked what they did not understand .
Now , 10 years later , multiple campuses , multiple cities , we've seen thousands of people come to Jesus and now we have a church culture where people come from around the world to study . They could not see what I saw 10 years ago .
So instead of just saying we believe now , there was some great people that did there was tons of great people that said , pat , and they're still with us today . I was not ready for the amount of hurt , betrayal , abandonment , ridicule and misunderstanding and it left me in a dark place to where I lost my love for ministry and you know I love ministry .
I know .
It hindered my relationship with the Lord . I think I allowed it . It hindered . I remember coming to church and I didn't want to come to church .
Like it was my church and I didn't want to come to church . Like it was my church I didn't want to come to church .
I did not want to come to church and I remember I would have leadership meetings and people be over my house and I just wanted to be in the room by myself . I'm a natural introvert , so when going through that kind of pain which we call leadership pain um , you know my , um , you know my .
My background is I always was kind of the cool kid , just a little bit , not like just a person that knew how to get along with everybody .
You weren't used to that rejection .
You could be black , white , yellow , polka dot . I could be your friend . You could be Christian , atheist , agnostic . I figure out a way to be your friend . I am just historically a friendly , let's hang out kind of guy . But when it came to the gospel and the calling , I started seeing relationship after relationship , relationship after relationship relationship .
And then the Bible says things like blessed are you when people don't say good things about you , or if everybody says good things about you , you know something's wrong . And then I found out that there's a part of leadership , like if you're really going to lead , somebody ain't going to like you .
If you're really going to lead , like if everybody loves you , you ain't leading . You are not a leader unless you got haters . You are not a leader unless somebody got a problem with you . And I did not know that because I'm not a PK and I wasn't raised in ministry like that . I was in church but not in ministry . I wasn't raised in ministry like that .
I was in church but not in ministry . And it just put me into a bad place and it was just like it was hard to cope . It was , like you said , debilitating a little bit . I just felt I was sad . I didn't really look at it as a depression . Why would you say it was depression ?
for me . I mean , it was depression , because I think you know I'll add this part to it too you were being obedient to God . You could have stayed the way our church , we could have stayed like that , and you would have been disobedient it would have been better for me personally to stay like we were .
And it would have been better for the people who did not like what you did and how you changed . They wanted to stay like that because they would stay in power .
They would stay in positions and I was flipping it around making servant leadership . Yeah .
You dethroned yourself and you dethroned everyone else and everyone else didn't like it , right , but you thought I'm serving God , this is wonderful , let's go . And it was a slap in the face . It really was . It was just a betrayal .
And so , having doing that for God , I think I knew that it was depression for you and I didn't tell you while you were going through it . I kind of didn't . I mean , we've grown this , you know we're . We're way past this point now .
Yeah , but at the time I didn't tell you because I mean that was going to be too much for you to deal with or whatever . But I would see you . I mean you just stayed secluded . You were in your room a lot . You were in your office a lot . I mean you didn't turn to sin , praise God , but you preached on Sundays and Wednesdays , you know .
So you were always just studying , preparing for the next message , or you would be in our . We had a sitting area in our bedroom . You would just always be in that sitting area , either watching TV or just reading . You just have a book open and you'd just be reading and just very withdrawn .
You weren't Ken the life of the party , you weren't you like , you know , my husband , daddy , out there playing with the kids and stuff . You were just very much just sterile and I knew that you were dealing with a spiritual battle . I knew that you were dealing with a spiritual battle . I knew that this was like depression .
It wasn't like most people who go through depression they're going to experience what you experienced , like this is a really hard . You got stuck in a moment like , okay , how am I going to get through this kind of thing ? Um , my depression , the what I had , the depression that I had , um it . Most people , thankfully , aren't going to go through that .
That's a lot Not to minimize what you went through and what a lot of people go through , but I think that's what we're facing today . A lot of people are facing that kind of like rejection , let down , don't know what to do , don't really know how to handle this , where to turn to do , don't really know how to handle this , where to turn .
Yeah , yeah . I think that now that we've built a foundation , it's depression . It doesn't matter if it's because of abuse or a divorce , a foreclosure , a bankruptcy , an unanswered prayer , the death of a parent , the death of a child , a miscarriage , a business deal that went awry , the betrayal of a friend , it's depression
¶ Supporting Your Depressed Spouse
. It's a spiritual thing . It's a war against your soul that makes you feel like I don't know if I want to go on . Can I go on ? It's like getting punched in the gut . It knocks the wind out of you . But there is a better day that's ahead . Now , the topic that we're talking about is how to help a depressed spouse .
Now I will say that you helped me in that season by loving me in spite of praying for me , and you actually did me a favor you went into the office and you became the executive pastor for a season and you carry the operations and built the church until I could resume my space .
I was there , I was still preaching , but you really was that boss , lady , woman of God that just stepped in because and I don't know why you did that . What were you thinking when you did that ? Did you know that ? You know ?
I think I had just the grace to do it . I think you know I had the grace of God to do it . I knew the vision that you had in your heart . I knew what God told you . I was the closest person that could know anything about the church and how to build it , and so I said , okay , let me go do it .
Why didn't you jump on me with everybody else , though , or why didn't you doubt me ? It was a lot of turmoil , but I didn't never felt that you doubted me , you know .
I understood what you were going through , yeah , and just like I know you , I believed in you . I came from DC with you . You know , I know what you're building , I know what you want and what you don't want , and I don't know .
I just Not only that , you went out and got the answers . Like you , you knew that there was a difference between where I was and where I wanted to go . And I didn't know how to get there .
And because I didn't know how to get there , you went out and you went to other churches and other ministries and began to pull in information and say , Ken , this is what I found out , this is what I found out . You actually are the one to help build the church into what it was today .
Because I didn't even know how to get from point A to point B , you had to take the initiative to go and get certain things and bring them back to me . So the principle for me , if you're going to help your depressed spouse and all depression is different don't kick them while they're down .
Yes .
Don't get discouraged for them . Speak life over them and try to figure out why they're down and what can you do to help them get out of the rut .
I mean , I'm just looking for principles you know , and I think you know , and so what I was doing was just giving you hope . I knew that in this moment , I knew it wasn't going to last forever . I know you're a fighter , I know you're going to overcome this , so let me just give you a moment to breathe , okay .
And so what I did was I knew , especially with you , you have vision . You know what I mean . I knew what you wanted . There was a gap , like you said , I just started going out and getting pieces of the bridge . Okay , I'm going to build this bridge for you , and with every piece I got , it gave you more hope , your vision , you started to see your vision .
You started to see oh , I'm not in this alone . Oh , there is a light at the end of the tunnel . Oh , there is a pathway . So , if you're believing for your spouse , just do your best to just pick up pieces of the bridge .
But you know , what was probably challenging is that sometimes you would bring me a piece of a bridge and I would get upset with you at that piece .
Yeah , see , because in the church context .
I was so loyal to the style of ministry that we came out of . I was loyal , so loyal to a fault , to where , even if I had this vision , I was going to be so loyal that I would never accomplish the vision .
So sometimes you would go out and you would go to this church , that church , this conference and bring it back and I would almost get upset with you . Be , mad at me . Well , that ain't what we do , that's not how we do it . But you knew something that was in my heart that was trying to get me unstuck .
That's a hard thing for a spouse to do , and it wasn't like I was doing it all the time . I would just kind of be like but yeah , she's probably right , let's give it a try . But there was something that was so strong about you in that season that , even though I might not be like oh , thank you babe .
And I was like I don't know about that , that ain't how we do . I don't know what church you've been going to , you know all that religious stuff , but you were giving me the exact keys that I needed and , um , I just don't know like how did you do that ?
You just obviously had a grace of god and was like no , I know even better than what you know right now , because you're being blinded by depression and where we come from .
Yeah , I didn't . Um , you know , you let it be like water off a duck's back . You don't take things personal . I you know if I'd come on to you and I mean we did get into arguments and things like that , but it was , you know , at the end of the day I had to let that go .
I had to be the one to say okay , you , I need to give you space and grace . Okay , you said something . I'm not going to let that get to me at all . I'm not even going to bring this up in a family meeting . You don't need this right now . I can't .
I got to ignore that and give you space and grace , and there was a lot of that , but honestly it was a pleasure . I mean it was hard , don't get me wrong . It was hard to see my husband struggling it .
You know it hurt my heart but I had to just have faith , like I knew that you would overcome it , maybe because I had overcome , you know , depression in the past . I knew that you were going to come out of this , and so it . It becomes that servant . It's my privilege to serve you in this manner , um , and to support you in a time that you need it .
Right , Well , thank you for doing that . Can we just help the people that are tuning in today and just only have a few more minutes ? But , I want to give them . If they have a spouse that's depressed , what would you say do ? What are some keys ? Depression needs to be dealt with spiritually and naturally . Talk about that .
Depression needs to be dealt with spiritually and naturally . Talk about that .
Spiritually and naturally , naturally counselors . You know therapists . I
¶ Prayer for Healing and Deliverance
would recommend a Christian , a good counselor's therapist , someone that someone recommends to you .
You know they're just good and bad at everything and make sure your Christian therapist goes to church and is involved in the church , so they'll give you fruit .
So yeah , the natural side , making sure that you are going to the doctors If you are suicidal in that deep , deep depression where you're not getting out of the bed . There needs to be some type of medical intervention in that as well . But then you also so I'm talking to you about your spouse you want to be aware and you take authority over that situation .
So you want to Spiritual authority . Yes , spiritual authority . So you want to wage like , okay , the natural is happening here . The doctors say , maybe medicines , antidepressants , you know all of these things .
And there's a spiritual side as well , because sometimes the spiritual when you deal with the spiritual , you don't even need the natural , and sometimes you need a little bit of the natural , more of it , but you always need the spiritual side , um and so , spiritually , I would say you need a community , you need a community of people .
Um , your , your spouse , needs the community and you may be the only community for your spouse right now , and that's probably how it is . If they are depressed , there's not too many people getting into their personal space like that or they're letting close to them . So you are their community . But you need a community .
Like you , I needed support around me , you needed support around you . So you need someone a pastor , a mentor , a brother , you know someone who is a believer , who will support you through this .
Because you staying well yourself is very important in this .
The last thing the last thing we need is for both of you to be depressed , right ? You know , like the spouse is depressed , and now you so stressed out and anxious and , yeah , now you want medication , trying to take care of your spouse , and you know the enemy is just winning at that point . We don't want that .
So you need a community yourself , you need to stand on scripture yourself and then spiritually , I think , just recognizing and taking authority over the spirit realm , demonic activity , generational curses , go to the root .
Ask God to lead you and help you and if you're a part of a good church , I know , like here at our church , you can come up for prayer and we will lead you into renouncing whatever you need to renounce breaking curses , casting out demonic spirits , and then also just praying for that . Physical healing , emotional healing .
Those are all spiritual transactions but they are very real and very effective .
So good . Hey , I want to pray for people who are watching and also listening , who've been battling depression or have a spouse that is battling depression . We have a very high rate of seeing people healed of depression . It's something that we have a lot of faith for there are some things that we have a lot of faith for .
There are some things that I don't have the faith for as much , but then there's other things that we see such significant breakthroughs that we just have a lot of faith for People getting healed of depression is a high grace for us .
It's a high-level anointing , and I just feel like there's going to be hundreds of people get set free from depression even right now , and so , whether it's you who needs the power to help with your spouse , or you've just been battling yourself , I just want you to take a moment , lead them through some renouncing prayers .
Let's prophesy over them and see what God's going to do .
Absolutely . And so if that's you and you're dealing with depression , I just want you to , right now , even while I'm speaking and saying a couple of things , go ahead and begin to renounce things that you need to renounce . For me , I needed to renounce the spirit of fear .
I needed to renounce that spirit of depression and the label that I had accepted that it was my depression and this is what I have to deal with . No , in the name of Jesus , we renounce that spirit of depression . We break up with the spirit of depression .
We don't want you , we don't identify with you , but we identify as children , sons and daughters of the most high God . And so , right now , in the name of Jesus , I just pray , father , for everyone listening , and I come against the spirit of depression . I come against the root of depression shame and guilt . I command you to go .
In the name of Jesus , I command fear and anxiety . I break your power . Right now , in the name of Jesus , and I command you to leave . In the name of Jesus , and I just pray for the peace of God to fill every empty space . I pray for the joy of God to fill every empty space . Holy Spirit , fill every negative space . In Jesus' name .
I come against traumatic experiences in the name of Jesus . I come against hurt and trauma in Jesus' name and I just release the blessing of God . The blessing of God , the empowerment of God to be healed , the empowerment of God to be prosperous in their mind and in their soul , in Jesus' name .
And so , right now , I declare everyone who is praying this prayer right now free from depression , depression . I command you to go .
I command you to go right now Leave .
Right now , in Jesus' name , every chemical imbalance . I call you balanced right now in Jesus name , body , do what God has created you to do . In Jesus name , I thank you , father , for freedom , freedom from depression .
I want to pray for those of you all who've been stuck in unforgiveness . We want to take a moment as well to remove that Um . Someone who has abused you left as well to remove that someone who has abused you left you hurt you yes . And what I want you to do is repeat after me say Father , in the name of Jesus , I release , and say their name .
Whoever it is , say their name and to the power of my forgiveness , they don't owe me anything . I hereby release them . I hereby forgive them because I've been forgiven myself . Now healing flow right now . In Jesus' name . We declare you Hereby release them . I hereby forgive them because I've been forgiven myself . Now healing flow right now .
In Jesus' name , we declare you be healed from depression , sadness , deep grief , despair . To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord . There's a lady named Kim . Okay , I heard the word handed down . I believe that there's been some things that's been handed down to you .
I don't know if it's been a generational curse , generational mindsets , philosophies . There's been something that's been handed down from prior generations and the Lord wants to deliver you from those things now . So if that's you , kim , if you could just lift up a hand in Jesus' name , we call you healed and whole right now . The Lord gave me a man named Steve .
I see , steve with back pain . I believe God wants to heal your back pain . I think the back pain has to do with the weight that you've been carrying and you've been carrying something that you should be casting .
God wants you to cast your cares to him and I believe he's healing your back pain and he's removing those things that you've been carrying , those weights . So , steve , be healed right now in the name of Jesus . And I also saw the Lord healing people of vertigo .
You've been dizzy and your room and your world spins every once in a while and I think there has been a trigger of anxiety . That's there and we just command anxiety , suicidal thoughts , and what was the other thing you dealt with ? It was anxiety , and you've been free from migraine headaches .
We command them to leave your life right now as well , because whom the sun sets free is free indeed , and so we call you free from depression .
Now we want you to go into Thanksgiving believing that you received , that your depression days are over with , and every day get up and say I have the supernatural joy of the Lord for my happiest happy and I'm free every day of my life from the spirit of depression . Every chemical imbalance is healed .
I'm healed every day of my life from the spirit of depression . Every chemical imbalance is healed . I'm healed and whole . In the name of Jesus . We want you to talk like that and share with us your testimonies , because we would love to hear them . Well , we're out of time for today . We hope that you were blessed by this podcast .
If you have a depressed spouse , don't leave them . They need you , they need your faith , they need your commitment , they need your loyalty . You , they need your faith , they need your commitment , they need your loyalty , and what you see right now is not everything . There is to be seen . You're not alone . We're praying with you . We're for you .
Share your testimony with us . If you're new to our podcast , hit the subscribe button or the icon . We release content every Thursday at 3 pm . We would love for you to be a part of our family . Don't make this a monologue . We want a dialogue . Talk to us , use the comments , share this podcast , write us an email
¶ Final Thoughts and Invitation
, send in your questions . We'll do the best we can to kind of put them in the information that we're sharing with you . Guys , if you're ever in Florida , come worship with us . We have a conference coming up in November .
If you want to come to a live conference 2025 , even if you don't see it in 2025 , it could be another year the beginning of November we have a conference where people come from around the world to encounter God . Get your tickets today .
You can jump over to our website to get that , along with a lot of devotionals and bootcamps and other information that we have as well . You'll find more about that in our show notes . Just know that we love you . We look forward to seeing you real soon . Peace .