Thoughts on Mental Health

Mental illness is not caused by a lack of faith. Many who love Jesus with their whole hearts struggle with mental health. I was one of them many years ago.

I loved Jesus AND life was heavy and hard. Addiction to work, hurtful relationships, lack of boundaries. Those were the causes that wore my body and mind down over time. But God was my constant through it all, and I knew it even while walking it. My faith didn’t struggle. My mind and body did. God, medication, and therapy helped heal what was broken.

It’s easy to feel alone in the heavy and hard moments in our story when we feel overwhelmed, exhausted, and weary from pain and pretending. But the truth is God is with you. God sees you. God sits beside you in the dirt. God’s arm is around You as you weep. God doesn’t rebuke you, God comforts you. God doesn’t abandon you; God leans in even more. Why? Because God loves you, all of you – yes, even the messy, broken parts of you.

When someone breaks an arm,
we don’t say they lack faith.
When a diabetic needs insulin,
we don’t say they lack faith.
When someone needs a stent,
we don’t say they lack faith.

Bodies and hearts and minds break sometimes. Even with lots of faith. God, medication, and therapy can help heal what is broken by addressing the true causes – none of which is a lack of faith.

If you’re struggling tonight, hear this: God understands. God is not judging or condemning you. God is loving and comforting you. God will sit with you until you are ready to walk. Rest in God. And then God will walk with you as you take the next steps to heal what is broken. God has given us medication and counseling to help our bodies and minds to heal. Receive those gifts with gratitude and utilize them. They are not evidence of a lack of faith. They are gifts of a loving God who works through others to help bring healing to brokenness.

Friend, you are so loved. By me. By Jesus. If the night is hard, remember morning is coming. Until then, God is with you and is full of love and compassion for you. God will stay with you in the night. You are not alone. And God will be with you when you begin to see the sun rise again.

Call or text 988 if you are struggling.