I started this article off by quoting a very familiar passage of scripture. This scripture speaks to the force that comes against a spirit of heaviness. For we must understand, even though depression is a medical term, this is still a spiritual condition. Depression is a manifestation of the spirit of heaviness. The spirit of heaviness comes to dim your vision. It does not allow you to see truth clearly. The scripture says that the garment of praise counteracts that spirit. In the Old Testament, clothing was usually symbolic of a mindset or a way of thinking. It is a mindset of praise, thanksgiving and gratefulness that combats this beast.

In the midst of hardship, what do I have to be grateful about? As cliché as it sounds, the fact that you are still breathing is something to be thankful about. Every moment you are still around gives God another opportunity to do just what He has said concerning your life. It is an insult to the enemy when you begin to give praise to God after an attack. It speaks of God’s Lordship in your life. It boldly says, “whatever you did may’ve stung but He is still God.” With this realization intact, the realization that He is still God, you can begin to see clearly. Your thoughts began to shift from hopeless to hopeful. You began to remember that “greater is he that is in me.” (1 John 4:4).

Sustained gratefulness is often that is something that is greatly overlooked in our teaching. Learning how to continuously be grateful connects with so many other principles. One of these principles is stewardship. When you have wrapped your mind around sustained gratefulness, you are likely to become a better steward. Why? The definition of gratefulness is being appreciative of benefits received. When you are continually grateful, it means that you continually acknowledge His benefits. Psalm 103:2-5 speaks of his benefits: forgiveness from iniquity, healing, redemption from the pit, a crown of steadfast love and mercy and the satisfying of your soul with that which is good. When you understand His benefits, you refuse to waste your life being upset about what you don’t have. You also begin to value the things that you do have. Depression often finds its roots in a sense of diminished value. When you begin to understand the riches that have been afforded to you through Calvary, you will see how much God thinks of you. You will clearly understand how much you are worth to Him! Be Grateful! Walk in joy! Stay on The Path!

ALSO READ: Unlocking Potential by Overcoming Depression Pt. 1

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 About the Author: Path contributing writer Calvin Walker has been writing editorial content for Path MEGAzine since 2007.  Calvin’s ability to break down the word of God with thought provoking analogies and real life analysis makes an impact on Christians seeking a closer walk with God.  An accomplished author, Walker released his debut book titled “The Gallery” early 2010.  Click here to read excerpts and purchase Walkers’ book.

It was from that point that he began to let me know that evil is sometimes not a matter of moral good and bad. Evil will always find its roots in disobedience. Regardless if the tree was good for fruit, the command of God to Adam was not to eat it. This is where a lot of us get in trouble on our walk. We look at evil from a moral and ethical standpoint. Evil is robbery, killing, molesting and things of a criminal nature. However, we don’t consider pasturing, wearing a pair of shoes or sowing a seed at a service evil. The thing is all of these things, in and of themselves, are good but become evil when they are done out of a disobedient heart. The truth is your best intentions have nothing to do with God’s righteousness. For too long, we have based righteousness on an outcome and not obedience. Since something ended up working out, we deem it righteous. However, your perception of a situation’s success and God’s could be totally different.

Let’s look at Adam and Eve, they ate the fruit and now they were well learned. However, from God’s vantage point they had all of the knowledge and no understanding. This was not a success. Don’t allow perversion to cause you to walk in disobedience. Just because you think something is good does not make it good. In Proverbs 16:25, it says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” There are things that seem morally correct. There are things that seem sound business wise. There are things that seem sound family wise. However, if any thing that seems right goes against the command of God it is evil. The command of God tells you how you should live. So anything that causes you to do otherwise is the reverse, evil. It really is that simple. Evil is found in disobedience. Regardless of what you think, you must learn to obey the command of God. In his commands, there is abundant life.

When the disciples were learning to pray, Jesus was telling them to ask God to deliver them from disobedience. Evil is an undisciplined mindset that rebels against the righteous standard of God. We should make this a part of our standard prayer time as well. Lord, deliver me from my nature that would cause me to disobey you. Stay on the Path!

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 About the Author: Path contributing writer Calvin Walker has been writing editorial content for Path MEGAzine since 2007.  Calvin’s ability to break down the word of God with thought provoking analogies and real life analysis makes an impact on Christians seeking a closer walk with God.  An accomplished author, Walker released his debut book titled “The Gallery” early 2010.  Click here to read excerpts and purchase Walkers’ book.

Some of the symptoms of eating food too fast are: tendency to overeat, poor digestion (having to use the restroom immediately after you’ve eaten food), indigestion/heartburn, and weak digestion leading to a weak immune system. These things can be seen spiritually as well, when we tend to stuff ourselves with life in a hurried fashion. I think all of us have been the victim of heartburn because of our lack of patience. Another thing that I think some of us can relate to is poor digestion. A symptom of eating food too fast, as noted previously in the paragraph, is poor digestion. This means that the food that you have eaten goes right through you and you don’t give your body the chance to absorb the nutrients. So many times, some of us find ourselves trying our best just to stuff life’s trials down; in hopes that the quicker we eat it, the quicker it will be over. However, when we don’t chew it appropriately we will not absorb any of the lessons that it was sent to teach us. Then, subsequently, we are forced to eat that course over again.

I have been trying to work on this eating slowly thing for a second. It has been extremely difficult because I am so used to eating quickly. Now, chewing is something that I must consciously do to make sure that I am taking my time. Sometimes I do forget, I won’t lie to you. However, I do find that when I take my time and chew my food, I am satisfied on far less than I thought I needed. In Matthew 6:11, as Jesus was instructing the disciples to pray, he told them to ask for their daily bread. In the scripture, daily means subsistence or the minimum necessary to support life. Lord, give me what I need for today. However much or however little, teach me to process what you have given me in a way that will be beneficial to my life and growth.

For a very long time, I had been dissatisfied with the life that I found myself living. I was not in poverty or extreme lack, I just couldn’t seem to be content with what I had. I have found that my dissatisfaction had nothing to do with life itself. It had everything to do with how I took life in and allowed it to either benefit or hinder me. I had given the cares of life too much power and started looking at certain relationships in an unhealthy manner. Paul said it best in Phil 4:11-13; he learned how to be satisfied in any state because he realized who his source was. That is the key to being satisfied; knowing who your source is and having full faith and dependence on Him alone. Worrying, impatience and misguided wisdom never got anyone anywhere that they desired to go. Learn to chew slowly and enjoy the life that God has given you. Whether times be good or bad, our satisfaction comes only through the strength we have found in Christ. I think that Trident slogan should be the new mantra for believers everywhere, “Chew on This.” Stay on the Path.

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 About the Author: Path contributing writer Calvin Walker has been writing editorial content for Path MEGAzine since 2007.  Calvin’s ability to break down the word of God with thought provoking analogies and real life analysis makes an impact on Christians seeking a closer walk with God.  An accomplished author, Walker released his debut book titled “The Gallery” early 2010.  Click here to read excerpts and purchase Walkers’ book.

It can hit you so hard, so fast, that you can swear that you have seen, felt and heard it. Just like Chicken Little our reaction is rational, if not totally understandable, we will take it to the king. On our journey to the king, we come in contact with other things that think like us. So, we add more negativity and fear. Then Foxy Loxy comes along , he hears our story. However, he can clearly see that the sky is not falling but he will prey upon the negative thoughts you are already thinking. He will act so concerned that he will lead you astray and devour you. All it takes is the wrong reaction to one thought.

So, what do we do? Chicken Little purposed to go to the king. Isn’t this the answer, shouldn’t we immediately go to God in prayer? While prayer is always the answer, if you don’t discern the issue then you will pray amiss. So, you must first know what hit you and where it came from. This is essential in learning how to pray purposefully. You must know what you are up against in order to fight it effectively. If not, you can end up devoured by the enemy. The enemy will prey upon your confusion. He will make you feel ineffective. He may even condemn you, if the thought that hit you was a thought that fell straight from the limbs of your past. So you must take captive that thought, exhaust all the knowledge from the captive then strategize on how to gain victory! Don’t let a vain imagination take you out! Take it captive! The sky is not falling and victory is soon to come! Stay on The Path!

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 About the Author: Path contributing writer Calvin Walker has been writing editorial content for Path MEGAzine since 2007.  Calvin’s ability to break down the word of God with thought provoking analogies and real life analysis makes an impact on Christians seeking a closer walk with God.  An accomplished author, Walker released his debut book titled “The Gallery” early 2010.  Click here to read excerpts and purchase Walkers’   

As I stated in the first paragraph, servicemen at war usually have something of worth that keeps them fighting. In the fight against depression, the thing that will best keep you fighting is a true picture of you. What does this mean? The first step against truly battling depression is seeing your self-worth. As I was getting ready to write this article, the Lord reminded me of a product slogan. L’oreal, a company that produces hair and make-up products, has a line for kids. The slogan for their children’s line is “Because, we’re worth it too!” This is what you must understand and grab hold of first. You are absolutely, positively worth it! You are a child of God. He is worthy, valuable, and because you are His child, you are too.

So, how do I go about seeing a true picture of myself? Well, I am glad you asked. You go about seeing a true picture of yourself by getting closer to God. The more you know about Him, the more you will find about you. As you build your relationship with God, you will begin to understand His purpose for you. As He begins to reveal his His purpose for you, you will find that some of the very things the enemy used to make you feel bad about yourself are things God intends to use for His glory. As you really begin to take this journey, journal, write down things that the Lord has revealed about His character and His plan for you. This way, when the enemy comes in like a flood, you can simply remind yourself of what God thinks about you and the things that He has in store.

Before I leave you, I want to give you this scripture, Philippians 4:8. Philippians 4:8 is a great scripture for meditation when dealing with depression. This scripture lines out what you should spend your time meditating on. Depression is usually fed by a constant cycle of negative thoughts that feed into your already torn down self-worth. By shifting your thought-life, you are no longer feeding the beast. Now, I will not act like this process is easy. I have gone round and round with this thing. However, if you are consistent you will begin to see victory. Depression will not go away over night. However, there has got to be a start to the eviction process. We must be victorious! We have no option! The will of God must be done concerning our lives. Depression cannot be the excuse we give God for not accomplishing His will! Stay on the Path!

 About the Author: Path contributing writer Calvin Walker has been writing editorial content for Path MEGAzine since 2007.  Calvin’s ability to break down the word of God with thought provoking analogies and real life analysis makes an impact on Christians seeking a closer walk with God.  An accomplished author, Walker released his debut book titled “The Gallery” early 2010.  Click here to read excerpts and purchase Walkers’