The Struggle is Real

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Read Matthew 11:28-30

Pray

-Today are going to talk about a touchy subject for some but is a very real reality for many. This subject doesn’t always get addressed in the church.

-Unfortunately the church can sometimes even downplay or brushed off this subject. I can say this because I live with the very thing we will be discussing today. Depression and mental health.

Let's talk for a few minutes about mental health and some of the way it can appear in our lives: Depression, Insomnia, Anxiety, Bi-polar, PTSD those are few of the most common and many of these can have suicidal thoughts arise as well.

-1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year

1 in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year

1 in 6 U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year

50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24

- many times people struggling with this can have suicidal thoughts arise as well.

-Some quick and very alarming statistics on suicide in America from the America Foundation For Suicide Prevention:

~Suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the US (2nd among people in the 10-34 age range)

~45,979 Americans died by suicide in 2020.

~1.2 Million Americans attempted suicide in 2020.

~75% of all people who die by suicide are male.

~The age-adjusted suicide rate in 2020 was 13.48 per 100,000 individuals.

~The rate of suicide is highest in middle-aged white men/White males accounted for 69.68% of suicide deaths in 2020.~In 2020, men died by suicide 3.88x more than women.

~On average, there are 130 suicides per day.

~In 2020, firearms accounted for 52.83% of all suicide deaths.

~ 8.9 percent of youth in grades 9-12 reported that they had made at least one suicide attempt in the past 12 months. Female students attempted almost twice as often as male students (11% vs. 6.6%).

-We as the church must take mental health and the many forms it can take very seriously! We cannot just dismiss it or downplay it any longer.

-I want to be clear on what mental health isn’t, it is not a character defect, a spiritual disorder, or an emotional dysfunction, and most of all it not a choice or the individual fault. Its a sickness not a sin!

-Though mental illness is a result of the fall, my affliction—like that of the man born blind (John 9:3)—isn’t punishment for my sins or the sins of my parents.

-Mental illness may not be my fault, but it can be my opportunity to speak Gods truth to myself and be reminded of His great love for me and how I don’t have to identify as being these things. But I am his son.

-Of course, sin can exacerbate mental illness (past hurts and sins physical and mental abuse, substance abuse can contribute) , or stir up depression or anxiety. Sin spreads the infection of the darkness, which is why it’s so important to have people point you to Christ.

-If we repent and turn our focus to Christ, we can allow the light—however dim it may appear—to seep in. “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8) is a promise for good days and for dark ones, too.

-Mental Health is nothing new, in fact when we read through the Bible we will see quickly many individuals had some very deep and tough bouts with depression (the psalmist, David, Moses, Jeremiah, and I would even say Paul)

-The apostle Paul speaks of a thorn in his side that he pleaded with God three times to remove (2 Cor. 12:7–10).

-Biblical scholars aren’t sure exactly what Paul’s thorn was, but I can tell you mine:Depression and PTSD. I was diagnosed as an adolescent with depression and only recently with PTSD.I have pleaded with God more than you could imagine to remove this from me.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12:9‬ ‭CSB‬‬

-We have to be like Paul and hear God telling us that his grace is sufficient for us.

-For those who do not have such struggles, suicidal ideations and the extreme despair that come with clinical depression can be difficult to understand. Although many Christians know the trial of occasional anxiety or depressed feelings, people with a diagnosed mental illness face unique challenges.

-Charles Spurgeon once said, “The mind can descend far lower than the body, for in it there are bottomless pits. The flesh can bear only a certain number of wounds and no more, but the soul can bleed in ten thousand ways, and die over and over again each hour.” Mental illness is not a new phenomenon.

I want to read psalm 42 and see what we can learn from this!

Read Psalm 42

-There are a few important lesson we can learn from this Psalm. Y David , especially those who struggle with some form of depression.

1.Pour out our soul! Being open and honest with God and what we are going through.

2.Self Dialogue! (The psalmist is talking to himself a few times in this) not to God or to others but himself. Sometimes when we are going through depression or whatever we must call ourselves out and remind ourselves of who God is and what HE has done for us. Don’t let our emotions dictate who we are. Say it out loud, or journal it.

3.Remember where our HOPE is found! Our savior Jesus!

-Something I think is beneficial is to write out how we are felling and thinking when we are in a rut or feel off because it can help us identify what we are struggling with. We see David do this quite a bit in the psalm’s and then ends with the goodness of God even when he’s in the thick of a depression or a down season

Share my Phone Entryz

“Just a few simple words can trigger me and push me into a place of spiraling out of control. “I can’t do this anymore” hearing those words pierce my heart and open old wounds that I thought were gone.... the invisible scars I wear are reminders of the war this life has been and the many battles I have won and lost against this sickness.

Oh how well we are acquainted.

Depression you and me have been through this for 20 years now. You must really love me and care for me to come back for me as often as you do.....

Now I’m lying here restless wanting to sleep...but instead now my thoughts are drowning me, I’m gasping for air now, my heart is racing as I’m not able to turn my thoughts off.

Memories good and bad running rampant with in my mind. How I wish I could shut them off and find some rest. I’m tired of this night in and night out.

Turn them off, please turn them off. I don’t want them, they don’t belong here...or is it me that doesn’t belong here? Jesus where are you right now?!?! This silence is deafening as I lye here slowing losing my life and hope.... do you see me and hear me in this agony?

Now I’m left with asking myself what I want... Sleep peacefully or eternally? I don’t know either anymore it feels like.

A liar? A coward? A fraud? A joke? A mistake? The problem? A failure? A loss cause?

What’s wrong with me...why can’t I move past all that was. Why do these dark memories continue to inflict damage upon my mind as night falls.

Will I be set free from this? Will I ever find the peace my soul so desperately seeks?

Jesus is your love truly for me? Do you see me? Can I really be free? I want to embrace all of You, but do You embrace me?

Have you called me by name? Or is it all in my head?

Ive messed up more things than I’ve fixed.

I’ve lived most of my life with the self hatred from this.

I’ve had my back up against the wall, all the while having my very life choked from me..I’ve felt my life slip away as I do again now.

Suffering seems to be the normal for this often tormented soul

Just a waste of space, no purpose or reason for being here other than being a door mat for more successful people to walk over to get to where they are going.

I’ve been in the silence where I can’t tell if I’m deaf or you’ve gone mute and abandoned me.

I’ve felt abandoned and hopeless, and now those feeling are creeping in again. Those closest have broke me the most

I’ve felt the grip of a noose around my neck from a place that’s Supposed to bring most children joy.

The enticing allure of not feeling anything over living in this constant war zone of my mind and life.

I’ve know the feeling of not feeling at all and the scary places that it takes you to. Tip toeing the edge of sanity and insanity

Buying into the idea that was instilled in me from and early age that I’m the problem and that everyone else will either abandon me, hurt me, or use me.

I’m the problem.... so much to live for, yet I don’t wanna be here anymore. All I do is disappoint those around me.

Anger, fear, anxiety, loss, sadness, I’m done with all this...

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But for some reason you keep trying to remind me that I am not these things......this is what satan would like me to believe I am, so that he can try and derail me from the path you my God have laid before me....

God it is in these moments of self induced darkness where I see how much I need you.

I am reminded that you never asked me to clean myself up before I come to You.

No. You told me to simply come...

My hands have been cleansed by the blood of your Son.... not by anything I can do...

I can now walk in freedom with you, and not be burdened by thinking I have to work harder or clean myself to be loved by you...

Lord Your Love is free and unconditional .... and I can't thank you enough for that...

I Love you!!! Continue to give me the strength I need to walk this walk.”

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-Battling ourselves can be painful, but we must confront these things and deal with them by staying in the Word, Praying and getting professional help from a counselor, there is no shame in that, I personally see a counselor. It wasn’t easy but it is one of the best decision I have made.

-Mental Health issues can leave many scars some seen but many scars that are unseen. They are reminders of the pain we hav endured. But my savior Jesus also bares scars, that Remind me of His unfailing Love and how He has saved me from myself and my sins.

-I’ve come to terms with the fact that My thorn may never leave my side, but I can rejoice in the greatness and sovereignty of my mighty God. This illness continues to remind me that God’s grace is sufficient for me. I pray that God would make known his strength in my weakness. I pray this will be the same for you!

-This season we have been in, is a rough one many of us may have or are dealing with some form of depression from the chaos in our world. Some may have even had suicidal thoughts… Friend I see you!

-Better yet our God sees you and loves you! Your life is more important than you think, you have incredible value because you are made in the Image of God Himself. If you are feeling this way reach out to someone close to you pray together, have accountability

-Final Point :Our mighty God sees us in our affliction and meets us right where we are. He has not abandoned or forsaken you.

Re-read Matthew 11:28-30

Week 10 Questions:

1.What does Matthew 11:28-30 mean to you?

2.What do you think your thorn in your side is? How have you dealt with it? Why do you think God allows for certain thorns to remain in our lives?

3. Where would you say your mental health is in this season?How can you invite God into it?

4. What is a characteristic of God that bring you comfort when struggling with your mental health?