Jesus and Mental Health | A common misconception I grew up seeing in the church was that mental health issues invalidated the evidence of Christ in your life. Once, as a camp counselor, I was speaking to one of the mothers. I had known her as a pastor, a woman on fire and in love with Jesus. However, during this particular season of her life, she expressed that her relationship with the Lord was not as deep as she initially perceived. Inquiring more, she disclosed that the faultiness of her faith was due to the presence of a persistent season of depression.
Although, this was over ten years ago, and society has certainly progressed in its understanding of mental health issues. I am curious about how many people in the church still believe that their faith is forfeited because they struggle with mental health. When did we begin to believe that Christs love wavers due to our mental state? The truth is, Jesus’ love doesn’t waver based on our mental health; Sis, He cares!
In this post, you will learn the about 5 scripture based truths that Jesus truly cares about our mental health. You will also learn how you can encounter God in the place of your pain.
1.Jesus Gives Us Hope In Mental Health Issues
The presence of mental health issues does not mean we have failed in our walk as christians. In John 16:33, Jesus states that we will encounter hardships, but our hope is in that we have a Father who has overcame all things.
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
We are in the world but we are not of it because we have been adopted as Christ children into His eternal kingdom. Until the day we are united with Christ in Heaven, we will have issues but our hope is in that Christ is our healer, our sustainer and deliverer.
These issues however can cause us to believe that we are not “good enough” to be in relationship with a perfect God, but thats not true. He washes you clean and makes you whole. We are meant to come to Him in our mess!
When Jesus heard this, He told them “Healthy people don’t need a doctor- sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” Mark 2:17
Jesus is telling us that we do not need to be good enough at all!
Your thoughts, your feelings, your pain, they are no surprise to God. He knows you and yet in His knowing still chooses to love you.
“All my days were already written; my days had been shaped before any of them existed.” Psalm 139:16
“O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.” Psalm 139:1
You are not too broken for Him. In fact, in your brokenness He is near to you.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed” Psalm 34:18
Friends, we will run into issues, but our hope is in God. And if for a second you think Gods love will waver based on the heaviness you are experiencing, be confident in that He already knows and has never and will never withhold his love from you.
2.Jesus Gets It
While yes, Jesus loves us in and through our pain; He also understands our pain, and is not dismissive of it either. Let’s look at Hebrew 4:15
“This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin.” Hebrew 4:15
Understanding breeds Intimacy
Have you ever been in a relationship where you felt understood? The intimacy that it brought about was unlike anything you have experienced. That sense of being understood deepened your love for that individual thus creating a safe space and a breeding ground for intimacy. In this way, we can trust that Jesus understands us and what we are going through because He created us and has experienced the feelings we have.
He was despised and rejected – a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrows that weighed Him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for His own sins! But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. Isaiah 53:3-5
Jesus carried our pain so that we can be healed and whole. He understands because He carried the weight of our pain. It was on the cross that our sins and brokenness weighed Him down. Jesus did this so we may rejoice in our freedom rather than hide in our pain.
When I say He gets it, He really gets it, sis. Jesus himself experienced depression. We see this in the garden of Gethsemane
He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He became deeply troubled and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting Him might pass Him by. “Abba, Father” He cried out “Everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet, I want your will to be done, not mine.” Mark 14:33-36
In greek, the word distress is translated to mean depressed. This use of “depressed” here is the weightiest of all the mentions of it in scripture. What does this mean? Of all the occurrences of depression mentioned in the bible Jesus felt it more than we can ever experience. How can this be? He carried the weight of our sin for us. So the depression you feel, He felt it too. This is why in Hebrews it says He understands.
3. Jesus Strengthens Us in the midst of Mental Health Issues
So how, do we allow Jesus to take our pain? Let’s go back to the garden of Gethsemane and see His example.
He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened Him. He prayed more fervently, and He was in such agony of spirit that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. Luke 22:41-44
Jesus prayed. In this passage we see Jesus casting His cares unto the Lord. He does this in confidence, knowing that His Father in Heaven sees, hears, and cares. He recognized that although He wanted an escape from the pain, this was something He accepted he would have to endure.
Jesus did not stop praying when the pain didn’t leave. It says that He prayed, and the angel did not strengthen Him out of the pain, rather He strengthened Him to continue praying because that is where our help and source of strength is found – in the place of prayer.
4. Jesus Gives Us Mental Peace
In our pain and mental health struggles it is important to remain in a place of prayer. Why? because Jesus did. Jesus had to endure that awful hour, at times we have to as well. Sometimes, the cup of pain will not be taken. The only way out is through, but as we journey through the pain we can have hope that there is peace and victory on the other side. The source of strength is found in Christ and is accessed through the place of prayer
Research has found that individuals who pray report positive moods, a higher sense of being loved and have significantly lower depressive symptoms. Prayer is our weapon.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
There is a prerequisite to mental peace and that is prayer. Here we have a formula of how to pray, telling God what we need then thanking Him for what He has done. The thanking part pushes me to remember who he is and all he has done. This is where my hope is in that His character is consistent. In remembering His steadfast love, healing, and the depth of His care brings forth peace. This peace guards my heart and mind – it doesn’t take the pain away but it gives me hope and is my refuge.
5. Jesus Cares About Your Mental Health
We also must recognize who we are talking to. In His anguish, Jesus recognized God as “Abba Father” We see this in Mark 14:36. The significance of this is that Jesus addressed God as we would address our earthly fathers in a place of need. Essentially, He cried to His daddy for help. If we view God as distant, cold, and untrustworthy, how could we feel safe enough to cast our cares unto Him?
A few weeks ago, God corrected my view on Him. He told me I misidentified Him as my earthly father and He is not Him. This misidentification hindered my relationship with God, it limited Him to that of an mere man, but isn’t He so much more? He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is the King of Kings, The Great I am. Sis, we need to know and honor Him as such. Our perception of Him will enhance our intimacy with Him. Let Him reveal His character to you as He invites you into a place of vulnerability and intimacy with Him.
“Casting all your cares upon Him for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
Jesus leads us by example here. He does not bury His pain, which we so often do. Instead, Jesus goes to His safe space, to Abba Father and releases His anxieties to Him. He presses through in prayer and does not waver wondering if God loved Him because of the hardship He was enduring. He knew that despite His pain, He was loved and heard by God.
Conclusion
Sis, with all this in mind we can be bold about our pain, we do not need to hide from an all-knowing all-seeing all-loving God. In fact, we can’t! So, what do we do when it comes to our walk with Jesus and mental health issues? We follow Jesus’ example by casting our cares and remaining fervent in our place of prayer, knowing that God has overcome the world and our peace is in Him.
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrew 4:16