Christians are not immune to experiencing mental health struggles. There are several ways the enemy can attack your mental health as a form of spiritual warfare. But not every mental health struggle can be blamed on the enemy.
However, if you are a Christian, then there are a few things you need to know about mental health and how your faith can help you find strength and healing.
Understanding Mental Health Struggles From A Christian Perspective
Everyone has been created in God’s image. As you read the Bible, you will see God’s emotions. All humans have emotions and have had experiences in life that create psychological hardships. Christians are no different.
We all experience inner turmoil at some point in our lives. God doesn’t promise us an easy life void of suffering. Jesus stated we need to take up our cross daily to be His disciples. Understanding a couple of truths about mental health struggles from a Christian perspective is essential.
Suffering In The Bible
Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit. – Psalm 34:18 (WEB)
God does not abandon you when you are wrestling with emotional burdens.
For the most part, we all want to create an atmosphere of peace. There is this inner desire to make sure everyone is happy, and this is because we know what it feels like to be sad. We know what it feels like when someone has a broken heart.
However, freedom comes from being self-aware and leaning into the suffering in our lives and the lives of those around us. Healing does not come from ignoring the pain; healing comes from walking through the pain.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (WEB)
It is important to remember that Christians are not immune to mental health struggles. We need to understand:
- Suffering is in the Bible, and many Biblical characters struggle mentally.
- We do not have to sit in our suffering alone.
- Our faith is a tool we can use to overcome our mental health struggles.
- Some psychological distress can be caused by spiritual warfare, but not all of it.
- We live in a fallen world, and emotional distress is expected.
- Nobody lives a perfect, peaceful life.
As we explore how faith can help us through emotional distress, we must address one major factor: spiritual warfare.
Spiritual Warfare
For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:12 (WEB)
According to Rebecca Mashburn on Christianity.com,
“The devil uses our mental space as his battlefield to wage war against us. One of his favorite tactics is to tell us lies and to speak them so convincingly that we hold them for the truth. One of Satan’s strategies is to present us with a worst-case scenario of our future in order to arouse fear in us. He can take advantage of our vulnerabilities and circumstances and even use people to make us worry, instill hopelessness, and rob us of joy.”
It is essential to understand that the enemy’s greatest weapon against us is his lies. He is the greatest liar, and he will stop at nothing to keep people away from Jesus. I know that the enemy exists because of the evil in this world. When you read the Bible, you know he is present. If you are struggling with inner turmoil, then ask yourself, are you believing lies?
- Are you believing lies about yourself?
- Are you believing lies about other people?
- Are you believing lies about God?
Identify the lies in your heart and mind, and then you might find peace. However, not all mental health struggles can be tied to the enemy or believing lies. The truth is in every situation; no matter what the cause, we need to find strength in scripture.
Finding Strength In Scripture
Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. – Isaiah 41:10 (WEB)
All it takes is a little bit of faith to trust in God’s Word. If you are leaning into God during your moments of a personal battle with your mental health, then you can be encouraged that you are not walking this path alone. I know it will still be painful and uncomfortable, but I don’t believe the lie that life should be all good, happy, and perfect.
Prayer As A Tool For Mental Peace
casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:7 (WEB)
One of my personal mental health struggles is worry and rumination.
According to the OCD and Anxiety Center:
“Rumination is defined as engaging in a repetitive negative thought process that loops continuously in the mind without end or completion. The pattern can be distressing, difficult to stop, and unusually involves repeating a negative thought or trying to solve an evasive problem.”
As you can imagine, this is not only distressing for me but can also put a strain on those around me. For a long time, I had no idea that I was ruminating. However, once I found out that was what my mind was doing, I knew I had to stop it.
But stopping rumination is not always the easiest thing to do. The harder I try to stop ruminating, the more it happens. I have lost sleep over these thoughts, started fights with the people around me, and made some poor decisions because of rumination, too. This can all make me feel out of control and isolated.
However, one tool I have found to be incredibly helpful in stopping my fears, anxiety, and rumination is prayer. 1 Peter 5:7 is a simple command—cast all your worries onto God because He cares for you.
If you want to use prayer as a tool to overcome mental health struggles, then the first truth you need to believe is that God cares for you. If you believe He cares for you, you will feel safe enough to give Him the negative thoughts that won’t go away.
I journal my prayers and tell God exactly what is on my mind. Don’t underestimate the power of prayer during a time of psychological distress. Sometimes, rumination, anxiety, or fear show up uninvited. There could be several reasons for this, but one thing you can always do is form a habit of prayer so you can hand it over to God.
Trusting in God’s Plan
For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory, 18 while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. – 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (WEB)
Going to therapy, counseling, and taking medication for mental health is often essential to find healing. So, as a Christian, finding the resources and tools you need to feel better mentally is a responsibility that you can carry. But you never have to carry that burden alone when you are leaning into your faith.
One of the most significant benefits of using your faith as a tool to get through tough times mentally is trusting in God’s plan, His character, and His Word. You never have to walk this path alone, and you can always trust that His plans for you are so very good.
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