God gave us a clue about the effect of joy on our bodies when He put Proverbs 17:22 in the Bible. There it says, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones. God said a merry or cheerful, joyful heart works like a medicine!”
I think of joy like a prescription for my body. It is one of the active ingredients for my success. It isn’t a filler, an optional fruit of the Spirit that I can do without. I know that if I want to live well, I’ve got to tap into the Source within me and take a dose of Holy Ghost joy. I don’t just do it because I’d rather be happy than sad. I do it because I know that it’s a way for the healing power of God to flow through my mortal body. The joy of the Lord becomes my strength in every way. And with the kind of family medical history mine has, I know I’ve got to do whatever God says to stay strong!
If joy strengthens a person, then what does a broken, sad or grievous spirit do? It works the opposite way – it weakens a person. Like a bone-drying poison, a broken spirit makes you even sicker. So depression is in direct opposition to your success in breaking natural law in your life and receiving healing.
Now, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not talking about feeling down sometimes. While we all have emotions, depression is the deep sorrow and grief that tries to get inside you and shut you down. That kind of sorrow is from the devil, and it’s damaging. Don’t think Jesus doesn’t know what you’re going through. He does. Hebrews 4:15-16 lets us know: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Even Jesus Himself knew what it meant to be troubled by personal tribulation
Depression can be paralyzing. It can steal your joy and take away your normal ability to function. Just as joy is a healing force from God, depression is a sickening force from the devil. You can’t mess with self-pity too long and not expect Satan to try to dump a load of bone-drying depression on you. When Satan tries to hand me his spirit of brokenness, I have to make a conscious decision to stop myself from taking the road to sorrow and grief. When tribulation is hitting full force, I’ll tell you, the easiest road to travel is the one that leads to depression. I know this. So I stop that idiot devil in his tracks. Why? Because boo-hooing never helped me out of one tribulation.
I have never felt any better dwelling on everything bad in my life. In fact, I’ve always felt worse. But when I resist the devil, do you know what he does? He flees! He has to. He has no other choice (James 4:7). And do you know what flees with him? All the garbage he has tried to hang on me, including depression and sadness. When I choose to refuse depression, when I choose to go to the throne of grace and tap into the fruit of the Spirit, the force of joy comes in and pushes the force of depression out.
Joy creates a change in my emotions. Suddenly my spirit starts telling my soul what to do! And you’d better know my emotions line up! Merriness makes its presence known, and that surge of joy creates a river of living water that starts to come out of my belly – my innermost being! Then I can pass it on to others who need a shot of joy.
I heard a preacher say that we give our natural law-breaking power away when we confirm Satan’s lies. That struck me as true. He said that the devil doesn’t have any power on his own. We give him power when we confirm his lies. We are made in the image of God! We are God’s kids, powerful beings created by a powerful God, and our words mean something in this earth. So we lend power to whatever words we speak – good or evil.
This is a crucial truth when it comes to breaking the power of natural law. When we listen to God and choose His words, His power within us is released to flow and heal. When we listen to the devil and choose his deceiving words, we stop up the flow of healing. We actually give power to something Satan said. And that’s dangerous.
Satan has no rightful power over your life. He may be able to hinder you by throwing his fiery darts of tribulation, but he doesn’t have the power to stop you. You are a blood-bought child of God. You’re literally in God’s family. If you want to break the power of sin, sickness, addiction, financial trouble, relationship trouble, or anything else that is hindering you from living an abundant life in Christ, you need to realize the power of agreeing with your Father God. You need to realize the importance of being connected to Him and His Word. You need to know the power of being in union with God, His Word, His work, and His kids!
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Jesse Duplantis, minister of the Gospel, motivational speaker, television personality, and best-selling author, has been in full-time ministry since 1976 and is the founder of Jesse Duplantis Ministries, located in the Greater New Orleans area of south Louisiana in the United States of America. With over four decades of sharing his unique blend of humor and faith around the world, generations of believers have been inspired by his messages and countless numbers have come to know Jesus Christ as Savior through his ministry.
Known for his unflinching, status-quo-breaking messages and humorous take on experiences in the life of the believer, Jesse continues to draw large audiences of believers through social media, television, and meetings held around the world. With speaking engagements booked years in advance, Jesse Duplantis continues to keep an intense traveling schedule, flying throughout the United States and the world preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With no booking agents pursuing meetings for him and no set fees imposed upon churches for speaking engagements, Jesse chooses his outreach meetings based on the same two criteria he always has: invitations that come in and prayer over each one. This uncommon way of scheduling in today’s world means Jesse’s many followers may find him speaking in some of the largest churches and venues in America and the world, as well as a great many small and growing congregations, too. No church is too big or small for the Holy Spirit, as he says.
Side by side with his wife Cathy Duplantis, the co-founder and chief of staff of Jesse Duplantis Ministries and the senior pastor of Covenant Church in Destrehan, Louisiana, Jesse continues to fulfill his life’s calling by daily taking up the Great Commission of Jesus Christ: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Through social media, television broadcasts, books, and other ministry products, as well as through many evangelistic meetings, the JDM website, the JDM app, and Voice of the Covenant magazine, Jesse Duplantis continues to see growth in his ministry and expand each year while maintaining his roots. Jesus is the center of his life. The salvation of lost people and the growth of believers is the purpose of his ministry. And for both he and his wife, every day is another day to “Reach People and Change Lives, One Soul at a Time.”