Peace of Mind...The Most Dangerous Myths of Mental Health
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It’s pretty easy to paint on a smile and tell everyone that you’re doing fine. We do it all the time. You show up and work, you go home and take care of your family, and everyone is convinced that you’re fine. Everything looks great from the outside!
What they don’t see is the depression, anxiety, and stress that’s wearing you down inside. One of the hardest things to do is to finally admit that you need help. I struggled with it as a believer and a pastor. I’m not supposed to feel like this, I’ve got joy! The truth is that depression, anxiety and stress are real.
So what do we do with it? Today we’re going to start this discussion with the “Dangerous Myths of Mental Health”!
Let us pray...
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
It’s nice to finally be able to have honest conversations about our mental health. For so long this was something that we really couldn’t talk about in the church. We say “God is gonna save you, He’s gonna redeem you, He’s gonna fill you with Holy Ghost power!”. This is all true. We think He’s gonna fix everything. The problem is that, yes, you’re saved , but Jesus doesn’t always heal everything right away. You didn’t just wake up with a six pack and thicker hair, and you may not have woke up mentally healthy either.
Mental Health is…Emotional, Psychological, and Social well-being. It can be affected by trauma, circumstances, or even changes in your body. It can determine how you think, how you feel, and how you act. Mental health can determine how we cope with stress, how you relate to others around you, choices that you make, and how you’ll bounce back from difficulties. There are so many misunderstandings of this in the church...
Myth #1…Christians Shouldn’t Struggle with Mental Health.
Myth #1…Christians Shouldn’t Struggle with Mental Health.
Christians will say that “You shouldn’t have anxiety or depression”. You shouldn’t be burnt out! You might even hear someone say that “It’s your fault”, “You just don’t have enough faith”, “Your not reading or praying enough”, or maybe “You’ve got sin in your life”.
The truth is that you can love Jesus and still struggle with depression. You can love Jesus, read His word faithfully, pray and still battle anxiety. You can love Jesus, give in the offerings and serve in the church and struggle to overcome trauma!
The scriptures are full of men and women that struggled with some mental health. Elijah calls down fire from heaven and he wanted to die. David struck down Goliath and was a man after God’s own heart, and was still found in despair. Jeremiah was the weeping prophet and he cursed the day he was born.
We say in the church that you need more of God! You do need more of God!! You might also need more sleep. You might need better friends. You might need a better diet. Maybe you need a Dr. to help you figure out your hormone or chemical imbalances. Maybe you need some therapy. Get the help that you need.
YOU ARE NOT A BAD CHRISTIAN IF YOU’RE STRUGGLING, YOU’RE HUMAN!
Myth #2...God Doesn’t Care About Your Mental Health
Myth #2...God Doesn’t Care About Your Mental Health
You might say “Doesn’t He have bigger problems to take care of, I mean have you seen our world?”. The thing is that He does care, a lot! The Psalms say...
He Lord is my light and my salvation
Whom shall I fear?
Lord is close brokenhearted
Saves those who are crushed!
God is our refuge, strength
Ever present help time trouble.
Lord is my shepherd
Shall not want!
Psalm 88 was written by Heman. He was a person of great wisdom, a musician, a committed parent and a servant to the king. He was a real guy...
For my soul is full of troubles,
And my life draws near to the grave.
I am counted with those who go down to the pit;
I am like a man who has no strength,
Adrift among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And who are cut off from Your hand.
Get this right!
But to You I have cried out, O Lord,
And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
Lord, why do You cast off my soul?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
Loved one and friend You have put far from me,
And my acquaintances into darkness.
God is not afraid of your honesty. He cares for you. Know this…Getting help is not a sign of weakness, its a sign of wisdom! You can be physically healthy, spiritually healthy, relationally healthy, and just not be mentally healthy. What is the greatest commandment?
Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
You love Him with all your heart! You love Him with all your soul! How do you love Him with all your mind?
For your first few years that your brain is developing, it develops neural pathways. About a million of them every second!Those connections are simplified by a process called pruning. This makes the brain more efficient and helps the brain to think in patterns. This means that once you think a thought, it’s easier to think it again. That’s great news if you think good thoughts. It’s also bad news if you’re thinking bad thoughts.
If the body isn’t healthy, you can change your diet or you can exorcise. What can you do when your mind isn’t healthy? You could go to the doctor. You can also go to the great physician...
You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
He will give you perfect peace! Not just occasional peace, momentary peace, or circumstantial peace but PERFECT PEACE! He is peace, Shalom- Shalom! He did not say that He’d give peace to those that are fixed on CNN, FOX News, or scrolling social media all day. He said those whose thoughts are fixed on Him!
Samak means to prop up, or rest your full wait on an object. We can rest fully on Him and His great strength.
as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
Instead of thinking “I cant” or “It’s too much”, we could think...God is my source and my strength. I have everything I need to do everything He called me to do.
We may not experience an instant change, but God will renew your mind daily. He will change your thoughts. He will give you everything you need to do everything He has called me to do!
This is a message to lay down a foundation for the next few weeks. We’ll dig deeper next week into Anxiety, the next week Depression, the next week Worry, then Chronic Negativity, then Trauma and Deep Pain, and finally Burn Out.
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Jesus gives us a peace that this world can not give to you. He gives you Shalom-Shalom! Peace when you get bad news, peace when you lose your job, peace when your marriage is struggling, peace when your children are rebelling, and peace when the finances are tight! Shalom-Shalom, peace that only God can give. The world can’t give it, and the world can’t take it away!
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
Lets pray...
Do you need to make Jesus Lord of your life?
Do you need prayer for stress, anxiety or depression?
Do you just want to pray?