Nothing is more like an unwanted visitor or a past you want to forget. It comes knocking when you least expect it. However, it doesn’t come alone. The past often comes with the pain, guilt, and regret of a transgression or mistake. Sometimes it drags along the effects of a traumatic experience. Indeed, there are many causes of depression. But none is more self-sabotaging and limiting than being stuck in the loop of your past.
It shows up to expose you, even though you’ve tried to move on with your life and become a better person. Your past says you’re a liar; you’ll never change. It said you’re not to be trusted or forgiven. Worse, it tells you’re unworthy of love and undeserving of the success you worked hard for. Consequently, you retreat into your shell and lose interest in life, totally overwhelmed by the weight of your past.
Friend, you must know that God doesn’t hold your past against you. Life so you can move forward. Therefore, you don’t have to surrender to those dark memories and feelings of guilt. Sometimes, healing from depression is as simple as knowing what God has done concerning your past. Isaiah 43:25 (NIV) says, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”
In her book, “HEALING YOUR DEPRESSION,” Apostle L’Tanya C. Perry, MDiv. said, “The devil has depression on the top list of his master plan against 21st-century believers. He makes it look like we are condemned for guilt, shame, and problem. And this is the main objective of depression; it’s a deadly missile in the devil’s arsenal. Depression and anxiety cause us to become self-obsessed and self-centered. It frequently makes you want to do contrary to what gives you joy, and life appears much gloomier when you’re sad.
Our despair worsens when we’re overburdened. Things we’ve forgotten to do or poorly done cause us to feel worried when we think about them. You’ll be unable to get motivated as long as the washing pile is too big. In any situation, it’s tempting to believe you’re the only one going through it. Somebody you know may be suffering from depression. Depression and anxiety impose a heavy burden of guilt on us (both false and genuine guilt), crushing our spirit and preventing us from speaking.”
Often the devil uses the weight of the past to plunge us back into old destructive habits and patterns. So, you need to be alert and have the good sense to casting every heavy burden on Jesus. 1Peter 5:7 (AMP) says, “Casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection and watches over you very carefully].”Let go of the past and embrace the great joy and beauty that God has promised in the future.
Do you want to learn more about how to overcome depression and live a life full of laughter and fulfillment? Then get this life-transforming book, HEALING YOUR DEPRESSION by Apostle L’Tanya C. Perry, MDiv.