When Depression is Demonic

by Brandon Cox: As I’ve said in many other places, I’m a huge believer that Christians should approach the subject of depression and mental health holistically. That is, we must consider the medical, spiritual, physical, psychological, and emotional angles. We should see counselors, talk to our doctors, pray, stay in community, etc.

I’ve made the argument quite strongly that depression is not just a spiritual battle. It can stem from trauma, from chemical imbalances, from hereditary conditions, and it can be the result of our reaction to our circumstances.

And… it can also be demonic.

When it comes to spiritual warfare, in which I’m a devout believer, there are two extremes among believers.

Skeptics don’t see anything as spiritual and believe that everything must have a visible, physical, and logical explanation. But when we rule out the possibility of afflictions being spiritual in nature, we essentially become practical atheists.

Superstitious people, on the other hand, see a demon behind every single problem. This can be dangerous when we tell someone with a legitimate struggle with mental illness that their real problem isn’t medical or physical, but they simply need to have the demons exorcised.

As we treat depression holistically, we absolutely must consider the possibility of demonic influence. It’s biblical. Jesus and the early apostles encountered many people who were thought to be insane, but who were merely afflicted or possessed with a demon.

Thankfully, the Bible gives us a simple battle plan. James wrote it this way…

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

~ James 4:7-10 NIV

If you’re struggling with depression or mental health issues and suspect the problem may be demonic in nature, do this…

1. Surrender your life entirely to God’s authority. Hold nothing back.
2. Take a stand against the enemy, resisting temptation.
3. Stay close to God, pray, read your Bible.
4. Confess every sin and every potential source of demonic influence in your life.
5. Renounce any agreement you’ve ever made with any lie or demonic power.
6. Stay humble, acknowledging your total dependence on God.

If, after all of that, you still feel the same, it’s likely that the source of your depression is not demonic in nature. And now, having done those things, you’ll be far more spiritually mature and wiser as you continue seeking the source.

People are often afraid to consider demonic influence because we’ve seen crazy things on Youtube where a preacher screams and sweats and spits while people convulse on the ground and shriek and faint. Or we have a Hollywood image in our heads with jump scares and spinning heads.

Yes, it’s possible that the rebuking and removal of a demon from someone’s life may seem dramatic, but in nearly every case, it’s simply a matter of submissive prayer and confession, asking for deliverance, and trusting that God has worked powerfully.

And by the way, can a Christian be possessed with a demon? I don’t believe so, at least not in the sense that we often think of possession as some kind of mystical control. It’s more a matter of us leaving the door of our “home” (our soul, our mind) cracked open enough for Satan to influence us and invade our thinking.

You can never go wrong praying, staying close to Jesus, reading his word, and listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

God is powerful to deliver you, even from forces you may not understand. So trust him completely.

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By the way, I preached a message series on spiritual warfare called For the Win. If you’d like to study further, check it out!

When you drop the phrase spiritual warfare into a casual conversations, you often get mixed reactions.

On the one hand, a lot of people are skeptics when it comes to anything invisible or supernatural. In fact, many people will believe in heaven and angels but choose not to believe in hell or demons.

On the other hand, a lot of people can get downright superstitious about the subject. Everything bad that happens is perceived as a demonic attack.

In the middle are most of the pastors I know, who believe rather strongly in the existence and power of heavenly beings – both angels and demons – that exist all around us in a heavenly, spiritual realm hidden to our eyes and human senses.

And this spiritual realm is not, right now, at peace. It’s a war zone.

Don’t misunderstand. It isn’t a battle of God versus Satan or good versus evil. All power and authority, in heaven and in earth, belongs to God alone and has been granted to his kingly Son who rose victoriously from the dead, defeating once and for all the power of sin and death.

But for a season, allowed by the permissive will of God for his own purposes, “The devil… prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 NLT)

So the war rages on, for now, until the appointed day when King Jesus will speak a decisive and final end to the conflict.

Pastors and church leaders are on the front lines of the battle, where the smell of smoke, sweat, and blood always hangs in the air.

In the week leading up to Easter, my friend and fellow pastor, Cary Schmidt, wrote this post on his Facebook timeline and it struck home…

I happen to believe that Satan’s servants are keen observers of our patterns, behaviors, and weaknesses. The book of Acts contains a seemingly bizarre story of some men who attempted to use God’s power without God’s blessing…

God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled. A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.

Rough day for these false priests! But what catches my attention is what the Bible says about how these demons related to Paul and to Jesus.

Jesus I know… and Paul I know… but who are you?

This little verse tells me two things about the forces of darkness.

First, they don’t know everything. Satan isn’t God. He isn’t a god or a demi-god of some kind. He’s a created being with finite intelligence. He doesn’t know everything about every person, but I think he enjoys it when we superstitiously assume he’s in God’s class in this area.

Second, they do study people. To translate it literally, the demon speaking said, “Jesus, I know by personal experience… Paul, I know by studying and observing… ”

Here’s the somewhat creepy truth we need to realize… When you pursue God’s purposes and determine to influence the world for the gospel’s sake, you become a subject of study among the demons.

You’re a threat when you’re praying, walking in the Spirit, and sharing your faith. You’re worth observing when you are making a real difference.

When you lead and influence people within the kingdom, the struggle becomes especially real. It isn’t that you’re special or more important. We’re all on equal footing and there is no value differential in the kingdom between what we’ve come to think of as “clergy” and “laity.” All of the members of the body of Christ are equal in value and worth.

But when you lead, teach, and influence, you’re threatening the boundaries of hell’s territory. And there, the spiritual warfare will be fierce!

So what do you do?

You do exactly what you would advise every other believer to do with answers informed by God’s Word.

You suit up in the armor of God every day.

You stay in a state of repentance and humble dependance upon God.

You pray continually.

You sharpen your sword by studying the Word.

And you claim the victory that is yours in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Don’t be skeptical. Don’t be superstitious. Just be ready.

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Suggested Resource:

View the notes, videos, and graphics from my current sermon series on spiritual warfare, called For the Win.

Books to Use in Studying the Topic