God's Way out of Depression - The Truth and Freedom Series
Why did you decide to write this book?
Having been involved in the healing ministry of Jesus for nearly thirty years, I have had the joy of seeing God at work in many lives, bringing remarkable restoration, not least in the area of depression. I began to wonder if I should write down some of these experiences and offer a book to help those struggling with this painful disorder. I put out a fleece, asking the Lord to send someone at a particular time to encourage me to write the book, and it happened! On a teaching visit to France, an elderly Christian intercessor, through translation, almost ordered me to write a book on healing from depression. She said that God would help me from start to finish, and I can truly say that He did.
In your opinion how will this book help people who are struggling with depression?
I thank God for the medical profession who have been doing amazing work over recent years in finding ways to alleviate the symptoms of depression, but they would be the first to say that the root causes remain something of a mystery. For Christians, there is an area of understanding not available to the secular world – the issues of spiritual damage which can lie at the heart of disorders such as depression. By exploring these issues under God’s direction, there is opportunity to find restoration at a depth unreachable by secular medical practice, despite their very best intentions. This book is intended to take those affected by depression, together with those caring for them, on a journey of understanding and divine healing for the unresolved inner places of despair that can be the cause of today’s symptoms of depression.
Who is the book written for, Christians or non-Christians?
The book is clearly written from a Christian perspective, in the belief that it is only through a relationship with Jesus that there can be true restoration from the spiritual damage which has affected all our lives to some degree. There is much advice within the book that would be pertinent to those who are not followers of Jesus, but it is God’s ability to bring healing in miraculous ways that is the central theme of this approach to depression. The book includes testimony from twelve Christians, from very different backgrounds, who have known without doubt God’s hand in their journey out of depression. I am not intending in any way to disregard the important and often vital medical treatment available to those suffering with this debilitating condition, but simply to show that there is even more that God wants to do.
What is the message behind the title of the book?
Through talking to, and praying with, people who have sought God’s healing from depression, I have seen that it is journey of recognising and facing truths about what has happened in their lives, and then responding to those truths. Sometimes this response has meant forgiving those who have been the cause of bad childhood experiences. Sometimes it has meant confessing that the ways they have coped with inner pain have not been God’s ways. The book is intended to take people step by step through the likely issues in their lives, past and present, that may be contributing to the problem of depression today. Each of these steps is like facing a crossroads, where decisions have to be made in order to follow God’s way, slowly but surely, out of the darkness of depression into the freedom that Jesus has promised His followers – life in abundance. There is no technique here, just a recognition of powerful biblical principles that God has given us for seeking His restoration in our lives.
Can you give an example of how God has helped someone?
The twelve people whose testimonies are in this book have very different life histories and healing journeys, but each story affirms the biblical principles for God’s restoration . It’s hard to pick out one as being more significant than any other, but I particularly remember sitting with Lucy and witnessing a breakthrough moment for her. God reminded her that, as a little girl, whenever there were times of family violence she would hide under a particular small blanket and somehow disconnect from all that was happening around her. God showed her that this place of disconnection was very dark and despairing, and had remained a part of her, even as an adult. As Lucy walked through this truth with the Lord, she experienced a remarkable breakthrough in her journey out of years of struggling with depression.
David Cross is Regional Director for Ellel Ministries in Western Europe
Together Magazine
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