In Spiritual Counseling and therapy, you’re dealing with Spirits - Ogunrinde Opeyemi

In our Interview today, we speak with Ogunrinde Opeyemi Favour, a Spiritual Counselor and Therapist, who is popularly known as Illuminator. She shares her thoughts on suicide and depression in our society today and how a Biblical perspective can help us reduce the rates of depression and suicide. 

Can we meet you?

Guest: I am Ogunrinde Opeyemi Favour, popularly known as Illuminator. I run the Kingdom Blazers Network, a parent online ministry where we organize programmes and conferences such as the yearly Youth Ablaze Conference and the Radiance Conference among others.

Kingdom Blazers Network is the parent Ministry for Gracified Christian Counselling Centre, a Christian counseling centre that focuses on addressing issues like addictions, low self-esteem, masturbation, psychological distress, overcoming suicidal thoughts, marriage and relationship Counselling and purpose discovery. Our vision is to transmit life because we understand that a healthy spirit and mind is important to help any individual pursue an assignment and fulfil purpose. If you don’t have an healthy mind, have psychological or mental distress, it would make it impossible to achieve your beautiful goals and visions. So we affect those things bringing people down psychologically.

Also, it is a parent ministry for Light Up Potential Discovery and Academy is an institution that aims at helping you discover your hidden potentials. We dig out, help you discover and nurture 

I’m from Osun state but I’m currently based in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

2. You run the Gracified Christian Counselling Centre. Kindly tell us about the centre and what you do.

Guest: Gracified Christian Counselling Centre is an institution that seeks to address psychological issues that tend to distract you from pursuing and fulfillment of visions and your goals. We run scriptural based therapy. We counsel We pray with people and place them on a word and scripture therapy. This is our second year of operation and we are grateful to God for the numerous testimonies. As a ministry we are focused on. With the help of God and the Holy Spirit, we heal emotions. People are not only physically sick - they can be psychologically and mentally sick.

3. You have handled cases on addiction, low self esteem and Suicide. What does your relationship with the individual involved look like from the point of meeting them till the point of their total healing?

Guest: As a Christian Counsellor, the first thing we do is to assure you that Jesus has paid the price already - no matter how bad your past is. As Christian counselors, we don’t look at people based on their past addictions to betting, drug abuse, prostitution etc. Instead, we see them just as God views them and we relate with when just as God has called them to be in scriptures - sons of God. This helps us draw them closer to God and enables us to share God’s plans for them as well as their complete deliverance in Christ. As a counseling ministry, the ultimate healing which we preach is in the word of God. We draw them closely to God with an open mind of love. We love and accept them for who they are. We see them pure just as God sees them the way He sees Christ till they are completely healed. We shift their consciousness from their previous state to the state of Christ.

4. Please give us a Biblical Perspective to Suicide. What do you think the Bible says about Suicide? How does this relates to our world today?

Guest: According to Matthew 11:28, the Bible says come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest… Suicide does not just happen in a day. It’s a build up of issues - depression that blinds you of the possibility of seeing what God has done for you, what He is doing, what he can do, and the glorious future ahead. Depression comes in bits until it aggravates to the point when you feel like taking your life to end all the pain. Anything making your heart heavy should be submitted to God. God can take up your burdens because He is a burden bearer. Suicide is not a solution if you have God - God becomes your solution. You can’t bear the burdens alone. If you see God as a Burden bearer, you’d know that Anything that gets you depressed is merely temporary but it’s not a reason to consider suicide which the devil brings to you as a seemingly permanent solution.

 

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Do you think a believer in Christ can get depressed?

Guest: A believer in Christ can get depressed. If the devil cannot find a direct loophole in your life, he would come in by trying to make you depressed. There was a time I was tired of my assignment and literally got depressed. I got to a point where I was angry at God. The devil will always come to remind you of your failure but you must not give him a chance in your life. I believe that counselling in the body of Christ is not really emphasized. There are many pastors who are depressed who need spirit filled counselling to help them address this issue. It’s possible for a Christian to be depressed if the devil is allowed into their lives.

6. There’s a general conception that suicide is the only crime that doesn’t have a punishment if it is executed properly. How do you think this has made people consider suicide as the final option to end all sorrow?

Guest: I believe that if you have a normal, healthy mental state, you wouldn’t think of committing suicide. Suicide puts a stop to your life and your future coming from a tensed atmosphere. A suicidal person doesn’t see any positivity around them because the devil

Makes them dwell so much on the circumstances and situations surrounding them. When suicidal persons come to us at the centre, we pray with them to help their deliverance from. Suicide and depressive thoughts come as a cloud and when we place them on therapy rich gospel songs talking about their identity in Christ. We also give them a confession to read every 30 minutes.

7. Please share with us, the most difficult and extreme suicide/depression case you think you have ever handled and how you went about it?

Guest: In Spiritual Counseling and therapy, you’re dealing with Spirits

8. Please kindly share possible signs of depression and the practical steps an individual can take to get out of it.

Guest:

9. Considering how far God has helped you in the last two years of establishment, where do you see the G3C organisation in the next five years?

Guest: 

10. What do you think G3C as an organisation needs to reach more depressed individuals and ultimately save more persons from committing suicide?

Guest:

11. Kindly give a final word of advice to anyone who may be passing through depression or having suicidal thoughts.

Guest: If you’re going through any challenge, believe that it is for a season. The storm will still stop so you don’t have to kill yourself because of a temporary problem. The season will pass and after wards, it will become a positive story. It is my prayer for those who are into one 

Ogunrinde is active on social media. You can connect with her via her official handles on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and Threads.