Summary

Have you ever wondered how to battle depression and suicidal thoughts from a Christian perspective? When a heavy, dark cloud settles over your mind or the mind of someone you love, it can feel like you are sinking into a pit of total despair. It is a heavy situation because you desperately need a solution that addresses both the clinical reality of mental health and the spiritual warfare of the adversary.

You belong here, and you are not alone. In this vital episode of the Arise Women of God podcast, host Tamara K. Anderson is joined by Licensed Clinical Social Worker Wendi Christensen to tackle this exact battleline. Wendi exposes the enemy's dark whispers that try to strip away our hope and shares expert advice on tackling the biological side of depression—reminding us that our brains can lie to us, and seeking medical help is crucial.

Tamara also pulls back the curtain on her raw, personal experiences sitting in doctor's appointments with her own children as they fought this exact battle. Discover how God uses modern medical tools (like DNA testing for medication) as the "ropes" to pull us out of the miry pit, just like the prophet Jeremiah. Learn how to boldly issue a spiritual eviction notice in the name of Jesus Christ, call down angels for clarity, and reclaim your light today!

National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call or Text 988

Episode Takeaways

• Your Brain Can Lie to You: The thoughts that you are a burden or that you don't need to be here are absolute lies from the adversary. About 90% of suicidal ideation is linked to an underlying mental health condition like depression or anxiety. You must seek clinical and medical support to balance the chemicals in your brain!
• The Spiritual Eviction Notice: Suicidal thoughts are a form of spiritual warfare. Satan wants to strip your hope because he knows the importance of your mission on earth! You have the authority to say: "In the name of Jesus Christ, I command the spirit of depression and suicidal thoughts to depart my mind."
• The "Ropes" of Rescue (Jeremiah 38): When the prophet Jeremiah was stuck in a muddy, dark dungeon, cords and ropes were used to pull him into the sunlight. Modern clinical tools, therapy, medication, and DNA testing are the literal ropes God uses to fulfill Psalm 40:2 and pull us out of the miry clay!
• No Spiritual Shame: If your family is fighting depression, you do not need to feel any spiritual shame. It is a biological glitch mixed with an adversarial dart. Jesus Christ has overcome the world, and He can overcome the dark cloud suffocating you.

Free Resource: A Woman's Guide to Spiritual Warfare

Get our free A Mother's Spiritual Defense Guide: 6 Empowering Steps to Fortify Home & Family downloadable pdf here: https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/A-Mothers-Spiritual-Defense-Guide

Reflection Questions

• When dealing with depression, do you find yourself leaning entirely on the spiritual side (prayer) while ignoring the biological side (medical help), or vice versa? How can you yoke them together?
• Have you ever audibly commanded the spirit of depression to leave your home and then explicitly invited angels to bring clarity and hope?
• If you or your child are struggling to find the right medication, how does it help to view modern tools (like genetic testing) as God's "ropes" to pull you out of the pit?

Host & Guest

Tamara K. Anderson @tamarakanderson

Wendi Christensen @wendichristensencounseling

Transcript

https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/blog/how-to-battle-depression-and-suicidal-thoughts

Hey my friend, have you ever wondered how to battle depression and suicidal thoughts from a Christian perspective?

Because when those heavy, dark thoughts settle over your mind or the mind of someone you love, it can feel like you are sinking into a pit of total despair.

Oh my friend, this is a heavy situation because you want to find a real and lasting solution that handles both mental health and spiritual warfare without you feeling overwhelmed. Well, you are in the right place.

And by the end of today's episode, you'll know how to spot the enemy's lies, how to yoke physical clinical support with spiritual authority, and how exactly to call down heaven's backup to reclaim your light.

Not only do we have a licensed clinical social worker on the episode today, but later on I'm going to pull back the curtain and share my raw personal experience sitting in the doctor's appointments with my own children, fighting this exact battle. Stay tuned. Ordinary Women Extraordinary Faith When God calls, we say yes. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Arise Women of God Podcast.

I'm your host, Tamara K. Anderson, and I'm so incredibly grateful to be joined today by my dear friend, the co founder of Women warriors of Light and a mother who happens to be a licensed clinical social worker with over 30 years of experience as a Christian counselor who also happens to be the founder of the Hope Squad in Utah, Wendy Christensen. As we tackle this big topic, how to battle depression and suicidal thoughts.

If you are a loved one or standing on this intense battle line, go ahead and hit that subscribe button right now and leave a comment letting us know how we can pray for you and your family today. Here's what you can expect from this episode.

First, we're going to talk about the lies of the enemy, exposing the dark whispers that try to strip away our hope.

Second, we're going to talk about the blueprint for Physical and clinical healing, where Wende's going to share expert advice on tackling the biological side of the battle. Third, we're going to talk about the spiritual eviction notice. How to command the dark clouds to pack up and depart in the name of Jesus Christ.

But first we're going to have Wendy share what you should do the moment those suicidal thoughts hit.

First of all, if someone is listening that may be having suicidal thoughts, I would highly encourage you to talk to somebody about it.

We do have resources available, like for example, 988 is where you can call and talk to a crisis worker or a therapist, but make sure you're reaching out and telling someone about those thoughts and what is going on because our brains lie to us. And sometimes we feel like we aren't needed and we're not necessary and we don't need to be here. And those are lies. They are not from God.

We do need you here. We need you here. And you matter and we care about you. And I just want you to know first and foremost that you matter. Suicidal thoughts are hard.

You're not alone in having those thoughts. They can come to anyone if something pops into like, I don't need to be here, I am a burden, I'm a bother. Those thoughts, they don't come from God.

But you're not a bad person for having them.

And often Satan will throw those thoughts at us because he knows the importance of the mission that you're doing and the things that you're accomplishing. Even if you're not being productive, you still have worth and value. And he knows and he sees your worth and value.

And so this is really especially when you want to walk arm in arm with Christ and try to hold on to hope. And that's probably the biggest thing when you're having suicidal thoughts is you, you start losing hope.

And I do believe that Satan takes that hope from you. He doesn't want you to have hope for a better world, hope for better things to come.

But just like the sun sets and rises every single day, I can promise that days are going to get better. But when you're sitting in the middle of that depression, sometimes it's hard to feel or hope or think that days are going to get better.

And I think that's when those suicidal thoughts come in. Are they warfare from Satan? Absolutely, they are warfare from him.

Like I said, he doesn't want you to stay here and accomplish your mission and do what God has called you to do and to remember who you are and that there are things still here that are worthy of you and your time and your energy. So what do we do when those thoughts come? You can continue working on them.

Most, about 90% of suicidal thoughts and thinking comes along with, with a mental health disorder, whether that be depression or anxiety or even substance abuse or something. You need to get the mental health treated. You need to seek the help for it. Seek help for that depression, seek help for that anxiety.

Whether that's talking to a therapist or talking to a trusted person around you, somebody that you can reach out to, whether that's even a primary care physician, and talking to them, possibly medication, I know medication isn't the end all, be all. There are a lot of other things even outside of medication. But that is a possibility as well, to talk to them about that.

Because your mind has chemicals in it that are also adding, yes, to the spiritual side of things, but even just the practical, physical side of things.

And it's not a bad idea to go in and just get a physical checkup with a physician and tell them where you're at, making sure your body is where it's where it needs to be. Because physical health problems can actually add to suicidal thoughts and thinking. They can come from lots of different sources.

So rule out any physical health problems. Make sure that's not the cause of it, continue seeking treatment and then cast Satan away.

Tell him, in the name of Jesus Christ, I command the spirit of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and thinking to leave and depart my body, my mind, and to cast it all away and get rid of it. And then call in angels. Call in angels that can help you to see your purpose, to see your role, to give you hope.

Just in the name of Jesus Christ, I invite angels to come and help me with clarity of mind, to strengthen me, to buoy me up, to protect me, to shield me, to help me, to see what. Why it's important to stay here. Because you are meant to be here. You are meant to stay here and it will get better.

It doesn't feel like it now, but it will get better. So please make sure you're seeking for help. If you need to, call that 988 number, there are tons of resources around.

You can even go to an emergency room and talk to a crisis worker. But make sure you're seeking help and you're not crazy for having suicidal thoughts.

Sometimes those do come when you're overwhelmed and you're having a hard time.

But keep pushing through and get a plan in place and make sure you've got some good people that you're surrounding yourself with that do know and understand where you're at right here, right now and can be on this journey with you so that you can get through it and see some light.

Well, my friend, you belong here. You are meant to stay here and it will get better.

I want to step into the room with you right now and tell you that if your family is fighting this depression and suicidal ideations, you do not need to feel any spiritual shame. This has been an incredibly real battle for me in my own home and with my extended family.

I have several siblings and children who have been diagnosed with depression.

I know exactly what it feels like to be on a sibling shortlist of people to call when they are experiencing suicidal thoughts, and that's hard both for them and for you because you weep as you watch them go through it. I had another sibling struggle severely with postpartum depression, and I also did my best to help in that situation.

And I've sat with a couple of my own children as they told me how darkly they had spiraled and about their suicidal ideations.

I prayed with them, battled with them, and even walked with them into the doctor's office so they wouldn't be alone as they bravely talked to medical professionals to get the help that they needed. One of my kids got a prescription that helped immediately.

Another struggled with a couple of years trying different prescriptions that didn't work and honestly made things a lot worse. This child had basically given up on trying any medications, and it wore on them and on the entire family.

I was so thankful when one day a different doctor told me about genetic DNA tests that they can do that can help reduce negative reactions by showing exactly which medications are biologically a successful match for their unique body. This was an answer to prayer, and that tool totally changed the game and helped us dramatically.

This reminds me of a beautiful story in the Old Testament with the prophet Jeremiah. He was cast into a deep, dark, muddy dungeon. There was absolutely no water, only a thick, sinking mire. He was entirely helpless to rescue himself.

But a man named Ebed Melech stepped up.

He went directly to the king to secure permission, walked to that pit and lowered old rags and strong cords down into the dark, slowly pulling Jeremiah back up into the sunlight. My dear sister, my dear friend.

Clinical tools, therapy and things like modern DNA testing are the ropes God uses to pull us and those we love out of the mire.

It is how he fulfills his promise in Psalm chapter 40, verse 2, where he says, he brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and he set my feet upon a rock and and established my goings. Let's wrap today's episode up with a promise Jesus Christ expressly gave in John, chapter 16, verse 33.

These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.

If Christ could overcome the world, he can absolutely overcome the dark, heavy cloud trying to suffocate you or those you love. To help you build an impenetrable shield for your family, Wendy and I want to give you our completely free rescue.

Download a mother's spiritual defense guide 6 Empowering Steps to Fortify Home and family, and it's free at the link below. When you download your workbook, go straight to the section titled Is It Mine? The Three Step Mental Health Diagnostic Hack.

It provides a clear visual map to help you and your children differentiate instantly between a biological glitch that needs physical support and an adversarial dart that needs to be vocally cast out. In the name of Jesus, you are a defender of your home and have the power to create. Claim the Savior's peace.

Thank you for standing on the front lines with us and Jesus today. And until next time, may you arise. Do it God's way, God's strong.

If today's episode helped you feel a little closer to God, please like and subscribe. It helps us grow and ensures heaven's whispers. Stay at the top of your feed whenever you need them most.