Rewriting History: Overcoming Depression’s Legacy in a Family

We can see the fingerprints of our Father’s grace in the pages of scripture. God’s family story begins in Genesis when He formed Adam from earth’s dust and continues to the end of Revelations. God continues to extend righteousness and truth in our world today, just as He did with the families noted in Scripture.

The enemy also seeks to work through the generations (Psalm 100:5) through cycles of sin and dysfunction. He causes us to repeat the patterns of those who preceded us to destroy the destiny of those who come after.

Deconstructing Devastation

When we consider his evil intentions, we must recognize that some of the trauma imposed in our lives was designed to destroy us and the families we love. Each family’s trauma history will vary, but the unresolved pain that results in depression and other mental health challenges universally disrupts our lives.

We can plug in our own family’s unique variables and still find a common element; every family in humanity encounters suffering at some point. The odds we thought we’d beaten appear again, and hopelessness hits close to home.

Despite the war waged against our bloodlines, our faith cuts its teeth in darkness and despair. It locks its jaw, sinking a bite into the promises of God. When grounded in the Word, faith refuses to cut our families off from God’s goodness, despite every ominous threat. We may feel like abandoning ship, but God has anchored a hope within that keeps us and those connected to us from detaching from His purpose (Hebrews 6:19).

Inevitably, storms will rage and impact us differently, but God remains steady, enabling us to weather impassible waters with Him. It’s bewildering how quickly trouble can spiral in our lives. It’s often in hindsight that we see God’s plan working together. It looks and sometimes feels like we are shipwrecked.

Despite appearances, we can cling to faith in the unchanging God, while the winds of life swirl. We need only look as far as Joseph’s experience to recognize that the opposition that feuds against God’s dream for us and our family, actually feeds it. Whatever is meant for evil, God consistently turns for our individual and collective good.

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive. – Genesis 50:20, NASB

Job’s life revealed total devastation and loss of support from his friends and his wife (Job 1-3). He was left with his integrity and a deepened humility to see God, himself, and others from a new perspective. The turbulence of change had demolished his family and possessions, but as those winds blustered through his life, they altered him in the process.

Eventually, those same tempests stirred again, to restore and increase all the enemy had touched and taken. These examples highlight trouble and trials that develop the spiritual muscle, mental tenacity, and emotional bandwidth for us to bring God glory, despite our affliction.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. – 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, ESV

God of Generations

Pay attention to your bloodline. Recognize and note any patterns in your family. If possible, talk with older members to learn your family’s identity, and its repeated troubles. Realize this is not coincidental. Often the enemy works through each generation to debilitate, influencing cycles of dysfunction and sin.

Rewriting Family History

Just because your family line has a history of depression doesn’t mean it determines your future. Genetic predisposition informs us of our family challenges. Some learned behavior that has been perpetuated through our ancestor’s influences. We can’t ignore the facts, but rather shift our focus to include the larger picture.

The truth of God’s comprehensive plan is greater, revealing a more complete reflection of God’s heart, beyond facts and data alone. We belong to the King and His kingdom. As children, we are empowered to speak the authority of scripture over our lives. When we address the roots of depression, we can embrace both the natural and spiritual tools from the life Jesus died to give.

Revising the Genetic Blueprint

While this information is an important part of your arsenal in navigating and overcoming the effects of depression, it doesn’t have to block you from realizing what God has written concerning the days of your life. Know your history.

Although you have a human bloodline, you belong to the Body of Christ, where the blood of Jesus declares better over your family’s history of depression (Hebrews 12:24). You demonstrate your authority over the principalities assigned to your loved ones when you exert godly authority as a child of God.

Ask and invite the Lord to reveal destructive cycles. Renounce the patterns and verbally sever the partnership between you and the sin that has governed your family. These are often formed through agreements with limiting beliefs and acting out destructive behaviors. Welcome the Lord’s forgiveness, return to Him, and reset your heart to align with His.

Finally, search scripture and rehearse relevant verses, releasing God’s power in the places where you and your family need it most.

Restoring Identity

When we begin to armor ourselves with what the Lord says about Himself, it opens us more fully to what He thinks, feels, and says about us. Jesus’ disciples questioned in awe the God that quelled storms by rebuking the spirit behind the turbulent winds and speaking to the waves battering their ship (Mark 4:41).

The same God spoke through the psalmist to ask and underscore God’s mindfulness of humankind (8:4). His thoughts toward you are more abundant than the grains of sand in every ocean (Psalm 139:18). When we recognize this truth, it causes us to see everything through a fresh lens.

Requesting Support

It doesn’t mean that we don’t have to get treatment for depression and the mental health challenges that we experience. Our authority in Christ is reinforced through submitting to the Lordship of Christ, resisting the downward pull of the enemy, which causes him to flee (James 4:7).

The Great Physician works through the earth’s resources, including counseling, to walk us through challenging times and seasons. The Holy Spirit consoles us with its presence and practical strategy to navigate emotional distress.

Help from a trained professional equips us with what we need to heal, grow, and change. Furthermore, through counsel and treatment, we enlarge our hope of an eternal future with Christ, and one devoid of the suffering caused by depression.

Receiving a Remedy

Partner with your counselor and your physician to find the appropriate pharmaceutical support for your depression diagnosis. People’s needs vary, so release any shame or guilt about the decision to pair counsel with pharmaceutical treatment.

Pay attention to the side effects and communicate with your comprehensive health team. Note changes in your physical being as well as disturbing thoughts or mood changes. Advocate for yourself by bringing your needs and concerns to the professionals equipped to support you.

Know God, Know Self

The enemy comes against you, and he opposes everything that is of God. However, you don’t have to quake in fear. Christ’s finished work seals your nature and destiny as more than a conqueror. While Satan wants to persuade you to believe in a lesser identity, he only succeeds if you entertain the lies and limiting beliefs.

You can partner with God, the true architect of your family and personal destiny, to revive His original intentions and plans for you. The Word of God speaks the truth that sets us free and soothes the wounded places marred by trauma and depression (John 8:32). You are filled with the Spirit, even when you feel that you are in despair.

On your so-called worst day, you are victorious over the enemy who fathered lies from the beginning (John 8:44). His end will culminate in torment in the lake of fire; whereas your future is full of hope, where you will reign and live eternally with Christ (Revelation 20:4-6, 10).

Next Steps to Overcome Depression

Although you have experienced the depth and darkness of depression, it cannot eclipse the light of Christ in you (John 1:5). If you have received a diagnosis of depression or think you may be suffering from depression, seek out a counselor.

Reach out today to our office. We will schedule you with one of the Christian counselors from our directory. They will eagerly walk with you on your path to restoration. God is waiting to co-author, with you, new chapters of freedom, peace, and joy in your family history.