“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

– Isaiah 61:1-3 emphasis added

According to dbsalliance.com, depression affects 17.3 million American adults (7.1% of those aged 18 and above) a year and 1.9 million children (ages 3 – 17) have depression.

As someone who has suffered from depression myself, I can tell you this is no joke. Unfortunately, many people will never know that depression is caused by a demonic spirit. Therefore, they will have no choice but to fight it with worldly means. Don’t get me wrong, my counselor helped a bunch when I was depressed. However, it wasn’t until I became born again that I was able to kick depression to the curb.

Symptoms Of The Spirit Of Heaviness

“Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance.“

– Psalm 42:5

Unbalanced Emotions

It’s normal for people who are struggling with the spirit of heaviness to experience waves of sadness. Something can happen and trigger negative emotions. It’s also not uncommon for depression to cause someone to have suicidal thoughts or expressions.

Feeling UnImportant

One of the worst feelings in the world is a feeling of worthlessness. Even if it’s not true, it can be downright defeating if one assumes they are unloved. This was my biggest struggle and one of the reasons I love God so much. He gave me the love I was looking for my entire life.

If you ever feel unwanted or forgotten, then you’re under attack from the enemy. God loves us and remembers us. Anything other than that does not come from God.

Dissatisfaction

When someone is struggling with depression, it’s incredibly difficult to break through and enjoy something. When I was battling with this demon, things that would normally make me happy didn’t anymore. They just made me a little less sad.

If you know someone who is struggling with this symptom, be sure not to take their unhappiness personally. It’s very easy to do when you’re trying everything you can to bring joy to someone and they still seem ungrateful. However, this is not a fleshy fight and you cannot judge it by what you see.

Oppression

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.“

– Matthew 11:28-30

When someone is under the spirit of heaviness that’s exactly what it feels like- heaviness! After living with it for quite a while, people can start feeling like they’re being crushed. All their ailments, struggles, and stress begins to feel like too much.

I know all too well that feeling of suffocation. It makes you want to give up on life because you don’t see how things will ever get better. Your current situation seems to outweigh any possibility of a better future. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed when dealing with this spirit.

Fortunately, this is not what God says about us. God has a wonderful future for us. Jesus tells us His yoke is easy and His burden is light. The trials and tribulations that God gives us are not to break us, but to build us up and make us stronger.

Related: Satan’s Goals For The Church

Giving Access To The Spirit Of Heaviness

Just like with any other spirit, there are ways you can invite the spirit of heaviness into your life. Let’s take a look at those triggers.

Bad Habits

There are many Christians who struggle with bad and sinful habits well after they’re saved. It’s not easy to let go of sin, especially those that have become habits in our lives. These sins can keep us feeling down and depressed because we begin to feel like a failure.

We desperately want to do what’s right in God’s eyes and constantly do what’s wrong. Praise God for His everlasting grace, mercy, and willingness to forgive His people over and over again.

While not easy, it is possible to overcome your sins through the power of God. In my book, I Don’t Want To Sin, I cover simple and practical ways to get habitual sin out of your life. I wish I had this book in my beginning days with God. It’s definitely something to check out!

Horrible Circumstances

We all go through moments in our lives when we feel defeated and as if we’ll never be out of our current situation. While it may feel like that at the moment, nothing is permanent. Even our life here on earth is temporary and we must view it as such.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t stop circumstances from causing negative emotions to rise up within us with the hope of overpowering us. Don’t give the enemy an inch of your happiness no matter what trials you may be facing!

Losing A Loved One

It’s totally normal to feel sad and grieve the loss of a loved one. There is no easy way to get through those feelings and it’s healthy to allow yourself to go through the motions.

But the enemy never stops trying to get Christians into his trap. He can use death and loss to trap people into a never-ending cycle of depression. While mourning is normal, it shouldn’t become a way of life and paralyze someone from moving forward with God. So many people get trapped by the enemy and begin to fight with God, not understanding why He would take their loved ones away.

While no one truly knows the answer to why people die the way and moment they do, we still have to trust God. We cannot allow the enemy to wipe us out of our purpose or destiny even if it feels justified.

Sickness Or Disease

Many people find themselves in challenging situations where their bodies get sick or contract a deadly disease. Whether that illness is caused by a demon or not is irrelevant to this article, but the illness itself can lead to someone getting depressed. They may be physically limited or have to depend on someone else to take care of them.

Either way, no one enjoys being sick and it can begin to wear on the mental state of joy for someone.

Strongholds Of The Mind (Thoughts)

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.“

– 2 Corinthians 10:4-6

A very effective tactic of the enemy is to hit people which an array of ungodly, unbiblical thoughts. Unless someone understands this concept, then they are at high risk of coming under attack in this manner. If a person does not understand that their thoughts aren’t always their own, they will not fight at all.

The Bible tells us that the enemy will use this strategy and our job is to replace his thoughts and images with the truth of God’s Word. However, many people let thoughts fester and eventually they take over the person’s mind.

Examples of ungodly thoughts the enemy could use are:

• Bad things always happen to me.
• No one loves me.
• I’ll never get ahead.
• There’s something wrong with me.
• I’m so ugly.
• I’m so stupid.
• Everyone is out to get me.

As you can see, the enemy could use any thought he wants to attack someone. If he tells a lie enough times, a person may begin to believe it. If it enters into the subconscious, then the enemy has effectively set up a stronghold and it will be harder to remove it. Protect your heart and mind. Get rid of every thought that sets itself up against the truth and Will of God.

If you’re struggling with ungodly thoughts and casting down demonic strongholds, check out this post!

Not Understanding Your Purpose

It’s surprising how many people I’ve met live their lives wandering around without a clue of their true purpose and calling in life. However, it’s no surprise that this would cause a person to get depressed. I believe that one of the most important things for a person to discover is their purpose in this world.

Whenever I meet someone new, I love to ask what their current goals are and where they want to end up in life. Many people do not have an answer to this question. I don’t ask this question to make someone feel bad. Instead, I ask because those who do know where they want to end up need all the encouragement and care they can get.

Whatever their goals are, I want them to feel reassured that they can achieve them and understand that I care for them. Unfortunately, wandering around with no real direction can cause a person to come under attack from the spirit of heaviness.

In this case, be proactive. Seek God and find out His purpose for your life and begin to make it your reality.

The Feeling Of Rejection

If there’s one thing we’ve all experienced, it’s rejection. Let’s face it- rejection hurts, especially when it comes from someone we truly value. It’s something that we have to learn to get over. Yet, there are people who never learn to get over rejection. Because of this, they can come under attack and become depressed.

A very big contributor to my depression when I was younger was the fact that my father left the household when I was at such a young age. It sounds ridiculous, but I felt rejected by him and worthless in a sense. How many other kids go through that experience? It wasn’t until I found the truth that God loves me as His child and will never leave me that the pain of rejection went away.

Experiencing Failure

I’ve learned in life that there really isn’t any such thing as failure unless you stop trying. Nevertheless, falling short of a goal or being unable to reach for a better tomorrow takes a toll on someone’s mental attitude. When it gets tough, it’s important to refocus and continue trying. That doesn’t make it any easier, though.

When experiencing setback after setback, a person may begin to wonder what God is doing. Why is He allowing them to struggle? Does He hear their prayers? In these moments, one must cling to the Word of God and trust in His timing.

Related: Lies About Spiritual Warfare That Christians Believe

Fighting Depression

The spirit of heaviness can attack anyone. The enemy knows how effective this tactic is. All he has to do is find a believer who has let their guard down for just a second. Many people suffer from this spirit.

It’s important to remember that the enemy can’t possess a believer, but he can certainly oppress the believer to the point that their walk with God is ineffective.

When fighting this spirit, you must take action. It will not go away on its own. Therefore, you must fight in the way God tells us to. You must use the power God has given you to cast out this unclean spirit. Speak directly to your enemy in the name of Jesus and command it to leave.

“Spirit of heaviness! I command you to get out my life in the name of Jesus. I’m a child of God and I proclaim that my body is a holy temple. You have no power over me and have no legal right to have an influence on my life. Through the power of God, I declare you must leave!”

In my experience with unclean spirits, I’ve realized that a spirit may be stubborn in leaving. Don’t lose your ground and continue to demand, in the name of Jesus, that it leaves. Also, don’t make the mistake of assuming that it won’t come back. However, you’ll get better at recognizing this demon and acting more quickly.

Conclusion

Depression is a tactic of the enemy and it’s important to recognize it as such. Once you do that, you can apply God’s Word in commanding this spirit to leave.

I pray you found this article helpful. If so, please share this content and leave a comment below. As always, thanks for reading!

While I may write posts on the topic of “health” or “healing”, I am not a doctor, nor do I claim to be giving health or medical advice. In no event will I be liable for any loss or damage including and without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this blog. Read our full disclosure and disclaimer page here.

Thanks for sharing!