By Sam EYOBOKA

MOVED by the growing incidents of poverty-induced despair in the country, charismatic motivational speaker and the senior pastor of House on the Rock, Pastor Paul Adefarasin, known for his message of hope, healing and empowerment, attempted recently to preach healing to depressed Nigerians.

Adefarasin, at a recent combined service of his church at the Eko Hotel & Suites, chose to address a nagging problem with many cash-strapped Nigerians.

Depression, according to, can manifest in difficulty in concentration, inability to remember details, and make decisions; fatigue and decreased energy; feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and/or helplessness; feelings of hopelessness and/or pessimism; insomnia, early-morning wakefulness, or excessive sleeping; irritability, restlessness.

Other symptoms of depression include: loss of interest in activities or hobbies once pleasurable, including sex; overeating or appetite loss; persistent aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems that do not ease even with treatment; persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” feelings and thoughts of suicide, suicide attempts.

Drawing inspiration from the biblical story of Elijah in I Kings 19, the man of God who holds a Bachelors degree in Architecture from the University of Miami, defined depression as a psychological disorder, saying that words are capable of one depressed because they have power and can become dragons of despair. He pointed out that depression or despair is a mental thing which is why it is regarded as a deadly killer.

The Bible passage above states: “Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.

So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, ‘May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them. Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep….”

According to Adefarasin, Elijah who had earlier slaughtered 450 prophets of Baal, immediately became scared as soon as the woman threatened to eliminate him within 24 hours because a frightful picture had been painted in his mind which made him believe that he was now vulner-able. The man of God opined that the mind is the primary battle theatre between Heaven and Hell, between God and Satan and when it is overtasked the mind soon becomes fatigued in the multitude of conflicting images.

The fight for your life is concen-trated in your mind and after a prolonged battle, makes your mind tired, weary and fatigued, he explained, stressing that God and Satan are not equal opposites. “Opposites, they are, but they are not equal opposites. Whilst you are sleeping, there is a battle going on for your life.

All the time the devil is saying that you are not going to live, God is saying that you will live to declare His glory,” he stated, adding that an unrested mind is a veritable ground for the devil to manipul-ate.

“Once Elijah heard the threat of Jezebel, the man of faith, suddenly had pictures of the 450 prophets that he had earlier slaughtered and suddenly became frightened,” he stated, adding “because it rained in 2008 Exper-ience some people are scared. Driving on the roads for three hours everyday to get to work, your mind becomes tired and despair sets in. Be careful what you hear. How does devil come into your life? Words! How does God come into your life? Words!”

He therefore urged Nigerians to take a vacation and rest their minds. “When you are leaving with a threat the worst place to be, is to be alone. God said it is not good for man to be alone, because your mind has been the theatre of war between two forces…,” he maintained, adding that anybody under any form of threat must consider a holiday and must do so with their spouses.

“You have got to learn to get some rest. Rest your minds from the vicissitudes of this world. You have worked too hard for the last couple of years. If you don’t rest you will kill yourself,” he added, pointing out that he was consider-ing a holiday. “I have decided that in the next five years, I am not do-ing any funeral again. I want to go on vacation and rest. Funerals paint pictures on my mind and I am tired of such pictures,” he stated.