Struggling with mental weight? I believe you must lift heaviness off your spirit before you can release it from your body.
Why do I believe this?
When I weighed 240 pounds, I felt as if I had the weight of the world on my shoulders.
It was like the mental weight I felt inside translated into physical weight on the outside.
As believers in Jesus Christ, it is important that we recognize the enemy's destructive schemes; his goal is to weigh us down (depress us) to hinder our ability to fulfill our purpose in the Lord.
Let's take a look at the 'spirit of heaviness' meaning, the influence of a weighty spirit and then discover the strategy to combat it.
The topics we will cover include:
- The Meaning of 'Spirit of Heaviness'
- Does a Heavy Spirit Cause People to Be Depressed?
- How to Break Free from a Weighty Spirit?
The Meaning of 'Spirit of Heaviness'
The Hebrew word for heaviness is keheh, which means "dim, dull, or faint."
Since Jesus calls Believers in Him as the "light of the world (see Matthew 5:14)," then it is clear the enemy wants to extinguish our light and cause us to "faint" during life challenges!
While Isaiah 61:3 warns us that a heavy spirit exists, the scripture also gives us hope about the exchange that believers can make through our relationship with Jesus.
Here is what Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would do and why:
"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.”
The goals of these exchanges are to establish believers in righteousness and to glorify the Lord.
However, 1 Peter reveals that we will also face opposition on the path to glory and that a humble attitude is the key to overcoming it.
Humility is recognizing that you serve a King who is greater than yourself and He has resources that can help you in any situation.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
1 Peter 5:5-8
When we feel a weighty spirit is on us, let us submit ourselves under the Lord's care each day through prayer and trust Him to do the heavy lifting!
Does a Heavy Spirit Cause People to Feel Depressed?
A demonic spirit can deceive us through lying thoughts, leading to depression.
A psychiatrist once said that people who struggle with neurotic disorders, such as depression or anxiety, almost always have a habit of fault finding.
Either they focused on faults within themselves or faults with other people.
No matter what was good in their lives, they always focused on what was wrong and what was lacking.
When I suffered from depression years ago, I was like that.
Now I know how critical it is to practice discerning of spirits, which requires awareness of the thoughts that are directing our focus and ensure they line up with God's word.
For example, if I have thoughts that are focused on complaining, then I know that attitude is not of God because 1 Thessalonians 5:18 gives us guidance on God's will in every situation:
in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
Notice the scripture doesn't say that we give thanks for everything, but in everything; that means whatever the situation, we can always focus on thanksgiving, even as we seek God's wisdom for a solution.
So once again, pay attention to your thoughts and ensure they are consistent with God's word. Godly thoughts yield the fruit of the Holy Spirit:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."
- Galatians 5:22-23
How to Break Free from a Weighty Spirit?
Within Isaiah 61:3 is the prescription for lifting a heavy spirit:
"The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;"
Reading this scripture reminds us that a garment is something that we must put on intentionally; after all, our clothes don't put themselves on!
The following are 3 ways to put on the garment of praise every day:
1. Listen to praise and worship music, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord regularly.
Hum praises to the Lord as you perform routine tasks, like washing the dishes or sweeping the floor.
Sing praises as you take a prayer walk and practice thanksgiving for the ability to move during your exercise session.
Since you have chosen to do these activities anyway, you might as well cultivate a merry heart while doing them!
I also recommend having moments of stillness in your day, putting on worship music, and reflecting on or journaling about God's character of faithfulness.
As you recall how the Lord has been faithful in times past, you have confidence that He is with you now and in the future!
2. Create a gratitude list. When I suffered from depression, I used this scripture as a prescription:
Psalm 119:164 - "Seven times a day I praise You, Because of Your righteous judgments.'
God led me to write down 7 things for which I wanted to praise Him each day for 31 days.
Toward the end of those days, that depressive spirit left me.
It became a habit to start looking for things to be grateful for in my life.
Even in the midst of the most trying times, you can always find reasons to praise!
3. Write a 'Thank You' note to all the people on your gratitude list. Buy some 'Thank you' notes, then write a brief note to a person on your life about how much you appreciate them.
Because tomorrow is not promised to you, wouldn't it be best to let the people you care about know how much they mean to you while they are still with you?
It doesn't matter if they thank you in return. All you want to do is make sure they know you appreciate them!
If you end up with 10 people on your list and commit to writing 1 note per day, you'd have this done in 10 days.
But I'd suggest you do this sooner rather than later.
In summary, cultivating a practice of praise and of "good finding" rather than fault finding each day will help to lift the spirit of heaviness right off of you.
And I believe that will help lighten your load on your Christian weight loss journey as well!