Moved to new town, fighting lonliness and depression...

WilliamBo

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I've been living in a new town in Tennessee for about 3-4 months now and still haven't really made any connections. I've had a few SOZO prayer sessions at this ministry center to really break through this depression I'm in and the sessions were AMAZING and the Holy Spirit was there but now I'm back in my hole of isolating and depression.... I've gone to Celebrate Recovery a few times but never made any lasting connections. I'm 29 and made a lot of really bad choices before I found God several years ago, I'm not married or dating and have lost contact with honestly all my Christian friends I've made in the past 5 years (I found God 5 years ago)....

Is this just ridiculous that I'm a Christian and am dealing with this stuff? I was a drug addict as a teenager and in my early 20's but not anymore, but I really made horrible choices and now I'm re-building my life.... I'm like scared to reach out to people or something, I don't want people to see how bad of a spot I'm in because I don't know how to get out of it right now.... Anyone ever dealt with this? What happened and how did you overcome? I've been battling this isolation/depression for over 10 years now...
 

WilliamBo

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do the fasting for your spiritual development, its good, start with the easy fasting, such as one meal a day for 2 days, or only drinking juice for a day.


Thanks yea I've been doing lots of water fasting since I've been here. It's a very powerful tool for me but it hasn't worked as quick as I had hoped in terms of delivering me of depression and isolating, I'll pray about that thanks
 
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ub4me

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I am sorry you are feeling this way, I can relate to depression and isolation. They go hand in hand. I avoided people, church anything really that involved getting to know people. One... I was afraid of rejection and not measuring up two...just down right fear of getting hurt, because of the many thing that had happened to me.
I had to learn to see myself the way Jesus sees me, a new creation! To not try to please man but rather setting my face like a flint, keeping my eyes on Jesus.
Your relationship with the Lord and the Spirt flowing from you when you decide this makes you attractive to other people, someone they can befriend, who puts Jesus first. That they can trust you won't judge them but love them. Take Christ to the places you've been, you can reach out to those in similar situations . There are many waiting on a friend... You may need to make the first move, invite them to church, out for coffee for discussions. Choose to put yourself out of your comfort zone, this will strengthen you, if one step at a time.
You are who God says you are...arise!!! Life is but a vapor
Wish you peace and confidence in Christ in you!
 
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anna ~ grace

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I've been living in a new town in Tennessee for about 3-4 months now and still haven't really made any connections. I've had a few SOZO prayer sessions at this ministry center to really break through this depression I'm in and the sessions were AMAZING and the Holy Spirit was there but now I'm back in my hole of isolating and depression.... I've gone to Celebrate Recovery a few times but never made any lasting connections. I'm 29 and made a lot of really bad choices before I found God several years ago, I'm not married or dating and have lost contact with honestly all my Christian friends I've made in the past 5 years (I found God 5 years ago)....

Is this just ridiculous that I'm a Christian and am dealing with this stuff? I was a drug addict as a teenager and in my early 20's but not anymore, but I really made horrible choices and now I'm re-building my life.... I'm like scared to reach out to people or something, I don't want people to see how bad of a spot I'm in because I don't know how to get out of it right now.... Anyone ever dealt with this? What happened and how did you overcome? I've been battling this isolation/depression for over 10 years now...

It doesn't sound ridiculous at all. Tonnes of Christians struggle with depression, loneliness, tough choices, and the tendency to slide back into old habits while making excuses. Most of us do that. I do that.

Stay on course. Have a prayer rule. Force yourself to begin the day with prayer, Scripture, spending quiet time with Christ, and let Him guide your day. Take it one hour, one thing at a time, and above all, pray about / confess everything. Talk to Him about it. It's nothing He doesn't know, but let Him into the bad stuff, too.
 
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WilliamBo

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Stay on course. Have a prayer rule. Force yourself to begin the day with prayer, Scripture, spending quiet time with Christ, and let Him guide your day. Take it one hour, one thing at a time, and above all, pray about / confess everything. Talk to Him about it. It's nothing He doesn't know, but let Him into the bad stuff, too.

Thanks for the encouragement. I will keep these things in mind for sure. God bless.

You are who God says you are...arise!!! Life is but a vapor
Wish you peace and confidence in Christ in you!

Thanks for the advice, I will keep all these things in mind, sounds like we've gone through some similiar things. I'm starting to see my identity as a Son finally. Thank you God. The biggest thing i stress over (kind of strange for a guy to do this and not a girl) is not being married yet and starting a family and being "planted" somewhere. Life is vapor, your right. Blessings to you.
 
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WilliamBo

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Water fasting for the whole day is difficult and its tough if you can do that, actually i drink anything, coffee, juice, tea, but no meal for a day.

Yea I managed to do a 13 day water fast a few months ago. I was planning on 21 days at the time but broke it on day 13 or 14. The water-only fast is the most powerful
 
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Kit Sigmon

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I strongly encourage you to connect with a sound Bible teaching/preaching church.
Stay clear of SOZO, which isn't biblical...it's methods are closely tied to mysticism.
Don't be taken in by those who say they can heal your broken relationship
with God by using the Father Ladder, Four Doors or Divine editing etc methods.
We're not to mix God with mysticism....Jesus didn't teach us to do that!





 
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Another Lazarus

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Yea I managed to do a 13 day water fast a few months ago. I was planning on 21 days at the time but broke it on day 13 or 14. The water-only fast is the most powerful

Man thats tough !!! People can die after 2 weeks without eating, you obviously hv strong determination !!! I once tried fasting on juice and coffee it was only 7 days that i could bear but it had a lot of nutrition in juice.
 
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WilliamBo

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I strongly encourage you to connect with a sound Bible teaching/preaching church.
Stay clear of SOZO, which isn't biblical...it's methods are closely tied to mysticism.
Don't be taken in by those who say they can heal your broken relationship
with God by using the Father Ladder, Four Doors or Divine editing etc methods.
We're not to mix God with mysticism....Jesus didn't teach us to do that!

Thanks yea I'm looking into finding a church now. How do you know if a church is "Bible teaching"? The pastor just quotes scripture a lot?

You're the second person I've heard say that about SOZO and i am VERY informed about false Christian teaching and weird stuff like that but my SOZO sessions weren't like that AT ALL. It was very spirit led I feel and practical and they helped me a lot. The Holy Spirit was there, it wasn't some weird new-age thing at all. One of the main things they focus on in a SOZO are any unforgivness in your heart and one lady had a very accurate word from the Lord for me.
 
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WilliamBo

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Man thats tough !!! People can die after 2 weeks without eating, you obviously hv strong determination !!! I once tried fasting on juice and coffee it was only 7 days that i could bear but it had a lot of nutrition in juice.

I really think it was all spirit led. It wasn't that bad, after about day 7-10 the hunger disappeared as my body embraced the fast. Your body doesn't actually go into "starvation" mode until 40-80 days of no food, 1 pound of body fat is 3500 calories so practically everyone has enough calories in body fat to supply all the energy your body needs. All the hunger before that is emotional hunger.
 
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WilliamBo

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I strongly encourage you to connect with a sound Bible teaching/preaching church.
Stay clear of SOZO, which isn't biblical...it's methods are closely tied to mysticism.
Don't be taken in by those who say they can heal your broken relationship
with God by using the Father Ladder, Four Doors or Divine editing etc methods.
We're not to mix God with mysticism....Jesus didn't teach us to do that!

I'm trying to figure out how there is mysticism in SOZO because I have had about 5-8 SOZO sessions in the past 4 years and every one was very powerful for inner-healing. What is the Father Ladder, Four Doors, and Divine Editing? This bothers me because I'm going to have a some more sessions and I don't want to get confused and think it's all mystic new-age stuff when God is really working through it for me. Check out this video and let me know what you think:

 
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Hearingheart

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Thanks yea I'm looking into finding a church now. How do you know if a church is "Bible teaching"? The pastor just quotes scripture a lot?

You're the second person I've heard say that about SOZO and i am VERY informed about false Christian teaching and weird stuff like that but my SOZO sessions weren't like that AT ALL. It was very spirit led I feel and practical and they helped me a lot. The Holy Spirit was there, it wasn't some weird new-age thing at all. One of the main things they focus on in a SOZO are any unforgivness in your heart and one lady had a very accurate word from the Lord for me.

I'm glad your SOZO session went well for you. It sounds like the people conducting it were there for you and helpful. To God be the glory now and forever!

This article is a really good one in regards to SOZO. Now I don't mean to discourage you in any way, it's just informative.

What Are The Sozo’ Tools And What Do They Mean?

I did a SOZO session and it was not for me. I was a little turned off by the mechanics of it and it made me wonder if all who get the training to conduct sessions are really qualified to do so. Although I believe that demons exist, I'm not one to see them under every rock and I don't buy into the generational curse stuff.

Just food for thought, nothing more.
 
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Hearingheart

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I've been living in a new town in Tennessee for about 3-4 months now and still haven't really made any connections. I've had a few SOZO prayer sessions at this ministry center to really break through this depression I'm in and the sessions were AMAZING and the Holy Spirit was there but now I'm back in my hole of isolating and depression.... I've gone to Celebrate Recovery a few times but never made any lasting connections. I'm 29 and made a lot of really bad choices before I found God several years ago, I'm not married or dating and have lost contact with honestly all my Christian friends I've made in the past 5 years (I found God 5 years ago)....

Is this just ridiculous that I'm a Christian and am dealing with this stuff? I was a drug addict as a teenager and in my early 20's but not anymore, but I really made horrible choices and now I'm re-building my life.... I'm like scared to reach out to people or something, I don't want people to see how bad of a spot I'm in because I don't know how to get out of it right now.... Anyone ever dealt with this? What happened and how did you overcome? I've been battling this isolation/depression for over 10 years now...

I, too, have struggled with depression and am prone to isolate myself. Once you get on the hamster wheel it's tough to get off.

Do you have hobbies or interests? There are a lot of groups or organizations where you would find common ground through a shared interest. At least it would be a stepping stone. Check out the library for activities and also some Parks and Rec programs give free or low fee classes.

Also look into a ministry that you could be part of...maybe a soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless shelter.

Part of the problem with depression is that it is very inward and self absorbing. No matter what it stems from, there is a tendency to dwell of the self. There is healing in service. Start to act in an outward manner, don't expect anything from anybody at this point, just serve them with God's love and in doing so you are serving God.

Prayers for your continued healing. You're doing ok!
 
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WilliamBo

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I, too, have struggled with depression and am prone to isolate myself. Once you get on the hamster wheel it's tough to get off.

Do you have hobbies or interests? There are a lot of groups or organizations where you would find common ground through a shared interest. At least it would be a stepping stone. Check out the library for activities and also some Parks and Rec programs give free or low fee classes.

Also look into a ministry that you could be part of...maybe a soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless shelter.

Part of the problem with depression is that it is very inward and self absorbing. No matter what it stems from, there is a tendency to dwell of the self. There is healing in service. Start to act in an outward manner, don't expect anything from anybody at this point, just serve them with God's love and in doing so you are serving God.

Prayers for your continued healing. You're doing ok!

Yea the SOZO was extremely God-centered and nothing unusual at all. In fact, my whole 5 years as a Christian I never experienced a "lifting" off of me like happened when this lady said specifically at the beginning "I command any spirit that does not bow down to Lordship of Jesus Christ to leave now" and the depression and confusion I was expderiencing that moment lifted off of me, I will never forget that! It was incredible! It showed me the power of fellowship with other believers. What was your session like?

I do have hobbies, I love guitar, fishing, camping, hiking, biking, kayaking, fitness, yoga, gardening... I am trying to get involved in serving at a church but my depression has been so deep rooted it is taking me time to really break free from it.... I can't even hold a job, I haven't been able to hold a job for the past like 7 years, that's how deep rooted it is and it is taking me some serious spiritual weapons like major water-fasting and stuff to break free.... these strongholds are no joke, and it all started with drug addiction. I know I'm being self-absorbed but I can't just "snap" out of it because it's the result of a lot of junk from the past and very hard to come out of....
 
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ToBeLoved

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I've been living in a new town in Tennessee for about 3-4 months now and still haven't really made any connections. I've had a few SOZO prayer sessions at this ministry center to really break through this depression I'm in and the sessions were AMAZING and the Holy Spirit was there but now I'm back in my hole of isolating and depression.... I've gone to Celebrate Recovery a few times but never made any lasting connections. I'm 29 and made a lot of really bad choices before I found God several years ago, I'm not married or dating and have lost contact with honestly all my Christian friends I've made in the past 5 years (I found God 5 years ago)....

Is this just ridiculous that I'm a Christian and am dealing with this stuff? I was a drug addict as a teenager and in my early 20's but not anymore, but I really made horrible choices and now I'm re-building my life.... I'm like scared to reach out to people or something, I don't want people to see how bad of a spot I'm in because I don't know how to get out of it right now.... Anyone ever dealt with this? What happened and how did you overcome? I've been battling this isolation/depression for over 10 years now...
That bad spot you are in can be a powerful testimony for others. Don't forget that. If God is bringing you out of it that is mighty. Don't look for the worlds answer for the mighty things of God.

Don't measure success by their standards
 
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ToBeLoved

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Yea the SOZO was extremely God-centered and nothing unusual at all. In fact, my whole 5 years as a Christian I never experienced a "lifting" off of me like happened when this lady said specifically at the beginning "I command any spirit that does not bow down to Lordship of Jesus Christ to leave now" and the depression and confusion I was expderiencing that moment lifted off of me, I will never forget that! It was incredible! It showed me the power of fellowship with other believers. What was your session like?

I do have hobbies, I love guitar, fishing, camping, hiking, biking, kayaking, fitness, yoga, gardening... I am trying to get involved in serving at a church but my depression has been so deep rooted it is taking me time to really break free from it.... I can't even hold a job, I haven't been able to hold a job for the past like 7 years, that's how deep rooted it is and it is taking me some serious spiritual weapons like major water-fasting and stuff to break free.... these strongholds are no joke, and it all started with drug addiction. I know I'm being self-absorbed but I can't just "snap" out of it because it's the result of a lot of junk from the past and very hard to come out of....
Try small things. Like just smiling more and saying Hello. And try to be friendly. Yes sometimes it takes work, but God is with you. You can do it!
 
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