If any of you have sufferred with depression or another form of what the world calls mental illness then you may have visited a doctor or other professional.
One of the first things they do is to ask you about your past.
– How many were in your family?
– What were Mum and Dad like?
– Were you abused?
– Any history of this in your family?
– When did it start?
So you see, they are very aware that the past influences the present and then often set about medicating patients while offering counselling to make peace with the past.
But imagine if I go to a doctor with a heart condition and then decide to read books about the heart in order to better understand my illness. This will not heal me, I could still drop dead with a heart attack! However it might help me better cope with it!
And so it is with illnesses of the spirit and mind. Understanding why you are sick won’t heal you. Sure, it’ll help you a little but it won’t actually heal those painful hurts.
So what then? God can go where tablets can’t and grace which is like liquid love can melt away the hurts that are stored in your subconscious mind or spirit. Jesus can’t change the past, but he can change the consequences of it.
This is healing from the inside out and is amazing. This weekend I met several people who have been healed in this way after modern medecine failed them.
In conclusion I think it’s worth asking ourselves a question :
What does being mentally well look like?
Is it having a job, car, wife, enjoying life and its pleasures, sex, alcohol, money, success and not caring about God.
Or is it rather meeting God, allowing Him to direct our lives and heal our brokeness. Respecting moral laws and God’s ways and living responsibly while learning to pray and to have a personal relationship with God.
In conclusion, I’d suggest not using the word ‘mental health’ because there is almost an automatic dissociation with the spiritual. Instead why not use ‘health’ which encompasses mind, body and spirit and if you are unwell why not seek out somebody in the inner healing ministry and give God and his team a go as well as doctors!
On a lighter note! Next time you visit your doctor say a prayer for him, in God’s eyes he might be more unwell than yourself!