Balancing Mental Health, Faith, and Avoiding Foolishness
In the world, when you hear somebody mention mental health issues, there's often a stereotype associated with it. People tend to associate mental health issues with someone who has experienced a total breakdown, now living on the streets, picking garbage. Often, they may be referred to as "madmen." However, it's essential to recognize that an individual can be struggling with mental health issues while still wearing labels and brands. Mental health problems are diverse, and a breakdown can be a manifestation of underlying issues that have been ignored for a long time.
Not all mental health issues are caused by demonic manipulation; some arise from anxiety, and sometimes they are born from overburdening the mind. Mental health illnesses are real and grow from issues that can be dealt with if the root is discovered. Emotional pain can have a major impact if the root is not discovered. As the church, we are the first line of defense against mental health issues, and we should create programs to assist those with mental health issues. When dealing with mental health issues, we should not ignore symptoms and situations that lead to a mental attack or breakdown
Waiting for something that seems as if it will never come to pass causes disappointment, disillusionment, and loss of hope. Many people are dealing with depression and anxiety because the miracle or breakthrough they have been waiting for has taken too long to manifest. When someone waits for something for a long time and their expectations are not met, it causes one’s heart to be afflicted. Solomon understood this sickness, and he refers to it in the book of Proverbs when he said, “hope deferred makes the heart sick.”
Every person goes through challenges, but what matters is how you deal with the challenges. Doctors classify anxiety into various classes, explaining different forms of anxiety and how they affect one's being. Some forms of anxiety are born from unrealistic expectations. It's not a problem to dream, but there is a problem with unrealistic expectations, and in the church, many have these unrealistic expectations. I once ministered to a woman who, for years, said God told her that the pastor is her husband, yet the man was married. When you speak to her, she sounds spiritual, but the truth is the person is dealing with a mental health issue.
The challenge is when the Bible is speaking about faith, we say faith is the evidence of things not seen. However, drawing the line between faith and foolishness can be challenging. Many Christians are broken because they've stood in what they assumed was faith but turned out to be unrealistic expectations. The reason for so much depression and frustration in the church is that some people come in hopeful that their situations will change. However, they often believe in a form of breakthrough or change without practicality, as if one day you wake up with a million in your bank. The Bible, though it encourages us to have faith, it also says that faith without works is dead. Yes, you can believe God for your finances, but what tools are you using to attract that money? We need to bring our expectations into the realm of reality.
The church has the ability to help those with mental health issues effectively if we learn to identify the root issues that cause these problems. God Bless you.
