Hey y’all, thanks for visiting my blog! I want to talk about something the Lord has really put on my heart. Some of you might know May is National Mental Health Month. The goal of this month is to help remove the stigma associated with mental health disorders. Having experienced this stigma first hand, this movement has become very near and dear to my heart. If this stigma didn’t exist, it wouldn’t have taken me so long to admit I had a problem and needed help. I would have told my family and friends about my anxiety much sooner. If this stigma didn’t exist, I wouldn’t hesitate to tell someone why I left school early. I wouldn’t feel embarrassed to tell my dental hygienist I’m taking an anti-depressant for anxiety after being asked if I’m on any new medication. I’ve realized, however, that by letting this stigma prevent me from being authentic and honest with people, I’m actually contributing to it. When I don’t talk about it, I’m supporting the idea that I have something to be ashamed of. But as a believer, I should know no shame. God hates shame. When he created Adam and Eve, he said, “…and they felt no shame” (Genesis 2:25). Then we messed up, so God sent his son Jesus down to die on a cross so that we would no longer have to be chained down by shame. I wouldn’t be embarrassed to tell people I have asthma, so why should I be afraid to tell people that I suffer from anxiety? Especially when statistically, almost 20% of the population also suffers from it. I am not alone in this.
Sometimes I think the church shies away from addressing this issue because it can get pretty complicated. But the truth is actually quite simple: Jesus is bigger than any mental health disorder. Period. Just like anything else, we can give this battle to him to fight for us. Now this doesn’t mean that eating healthy, exercising, chemical imbalances and the psychology behind it all shouldn’t be addressed. Those are real things we need to take care of. However, those alone don’t solve the problem. Peace is what people are looking for, and we can only find that through Jesus. If we allow the secular world to provide all the answers to mental health, then Jesus is going to be left out.
I found that much of my anxiety stemmed from a starving spirit. While I had a relationship with Jesus, I wasn’t consistently feeding my spirit with his word. I wasn’t taking the time to just listen to him or spend quality time with Him on a daily basis. Just like our bodies need food to grow and prosper, so do our spirits. When we’re not feeding our spirit, we’re not supposed to be okay. We were created to be in relationship with our Creator. And when we deprive ourselves of that, we suffer – whether we realize it or not. John 6:35 says, “And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.’” Jesus will always satisfy. If you turn that verse around, it says, “I am the bread of life. He who does not come to Me shall always hunger, and he who doesn’t believe in me shall always thirst.” That will reveal itself differently for everyone. For me, it was fear. When I don’t give Jesus my “stuff” or spend enough time with Him to let Him tell me who I am before the world does, then fear takes the place of peace. Unfortunately, I struggle with self-sufficiency, so I have John 15:5 written on a huge black board in my room. It says, “’I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’” I have to stay connected to Jesus to do the good works he prepared in advance for me to do. If I try to do it without him, everything I do is in vain.
This mission trip is going to be really hard. But I’m going to be encountering so many people starving for Jesus. I’ll have the opportunity to tell them about our redeemer who will satisfy their soul and save their life. The fact that God let’s me be a part of his redemption story is so crazy to me. However, he invites all of us into his grand plan of salvation. No matter who we are or where we are, we’re all called to be missionaries. So my challenge for anyone reading this is to think of someone in your life who is spiritually starving. Then think of some ways you can start sharing Jesus with them. But if you yourself are spiritually starving, I encourage you to start feeding your spirit. Dig deep into God’s word, learn more about Him, learn who you are in Christ, and begin to fill your spirit with his love, power, peace, grace and freedom. Don’t wait any longer. It’s soooo worth it, I promise.
When I began to realize I had a problem, and it wasn’t just going to magically fix itself, I became a little angry at God. Somehow when we’re in the trenches, we tend to forget that God is good and that he is for us. We turn away from the one thing we need most in that moment. If we just learned to turn to God, oh how differently we would withstand the storm. The next time you find yourself in a hard situation, instead of being angry at God for allowing something bad to happen to you, praise him for being a God who goes through it with you. For being a God who will always get you through. For the opportunity to be a light in the midst of darkness. You’re showing people that being a Christian doesn’t mean we are omitted from bad things happening to us, it means we have a lasting joy and peace knowing that we have a faithful Father looking out for us who has a perfect plan. God is going to use whatever we’re going through for our good, and the good of others. God uses everything. He uses our adversity to show us that we need him and draw us close to him. He uses our challenges to grow us and help us reach other people. You never know what’s on the other side of the mountain you’re facing. You just have to trust that God will move it when the time comes.
When Moses and the Israelites were being pursued by Pharaoh, God didn’t just split the Red Sea right away. The Israelites knew the Egyptian army was approaching and they became scared. They even got mad at Moses and said it would have been better for them to remain slaves than to die in the wilderness. Then Moses said to them, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:13). Then God said to Moses, “Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground” (Exodus 14:16). Can you imagine God telling you to do that? I would have been like, “Whaaaaat? You’re joking right?” I would have been hesitant to even try it in fear of it not working and looking like an idiot. But God required Moses to have complete faith in Him before splitting the Red Sea. Sometimes I think God is waiting for us to surrender control and place our trust in him before he moves the mountain, splits the sea or removes whatever obstacle stands before us. He wants us to see that no matter how hard we try, we can’t do it alone. God’s really good at being God, and we’re not. So I encourage you to do what Moses told the Israelites to do: Be still, know the Lord will fight for you, and hold onto your peace (aka Jesus).
If you’re struggling with some sort of mental health disorder, please know you’re not alone and have nothing to be ashamed of. You are not your disorder. You are a child of God. If you haven’t already, please seek out help. If you found out you had diabetes, you wouldn’t just ignore it right? Well the same should go for mental health. It’s important. It’s not your fault. I know it’s scary, but there are so many great resources available to you. Please don’t be afraid to contact me if you need help taking that first step, I know it can be the hardest.
I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
Psalm 34:1-5
