The Spirit of Heaviness

08 Apr The Spirit of Heaviness

April 3, 2022

The Spirit of Heaviness

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.  Isaiah 61:3

Before you decide not to read this devotion today because of the title, think again and read it as the spirit of heaviness has a way of creeping in to our lives unaware. Some of the characteristics are depression, despair, rejection, insomnia, inner hurts, broken heartedness, sorrow, grief and even suicide.

This past week I ran into many of these characteristics through conversations and interactions with people. From boyfriend break-ups, problems on the job, too bad news from the doctor, unexpected death by violence/ illness and the anniversary/birthday of a departed loved one.  Moreover, by the end of the week I felt myself feeling real off too. As I begin to write this message, I realized that the spirit of heaviness was trying to creep in on me because of things going on in my own life and the compassion for the things that were happening with others.

The spirit of heaviness tries to take our joy away. It gets us so caught up with the situation(s) that we start to drag around, close others out… neglect praying, reading our Bible, and missing church service… Snap Out Of It and get your praise on!  Praise is the most effective weapon against the spirit of heaviness. 

Matthew 18:18 says “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Bind the spirit of heaviness and Loose the spirit of joy.  Invite the Holy Spirit to take His rightful place in your heart and bless the Lord.

In addition, Isaiah 26:3 says “You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation].

That is what the woman did this week when reminded of the anniversary of her daughter’s death the Lord told her to praise him and that is what she did and she said she felt 1000 times better. That is what I was doing when I could not stop playing that Israel and New Breed CD.   

If you need counseling/professional support, get some. Major Depressive Disorder MDD affects more than 16.1 million American adults, or about 6.7%of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. Source: Internet.

Prayer – Father in the name of Jesus we thank you that you are a God that is at hand and not a far off Jeremiah 23:23. That the joy of the Lord is our strength Nehemiah 8:10. You told us if we submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 Thank you that the spirit of heaviness is far from us God and that as we have already bound it and it is bound. Father we speak life, we speak joy, we speak peace, we speak happiness and even though we don’t understand everything God we know that all is well because you are with us and for that we Rejoice in you always. In Jesus Name Amen! 💕

Theresa Woodard