Christian Devotional Blog

 I come from a family with a lot of mental health issues. As is often the case among those trying to understand their unhealthy family dynamics, I studied psychology in college and graduate school. This helped me to understand some of the emotional problems I saw in my own family.

But I also wanted a Christian perspective so I went to Westminster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania and worked in their counseling center for a few years in addition to seeing clients at my local church.

Thus I have a lot of experience dealing with my family’s, my own, my friends’ and my clients’ mental health issues and I have heard - and experienced myself - many of the lies that people and especially Christians believe that lead them to not get help and to make difficulties like mental health issues so much harder.

There is a definite stigma around mental health problems and this seems to be even more pervasive among Christians. This is why the phrase “It’s okay to not be okay.” has become so popular. In fact I think it may have gone too far in the other direction especially among adolescents, teenagers, and young adults. Now there is almost an on-line competition to see who has the worst emotional problems. And everyone has experienced “trauma” and needs social emotional programming in schools. This is unfortunate but a topic for another day.

The Lies We Believe

Below are just a few of the lies that Christians believe about mental health. As you read through them, consider whether they are beliefs you hold or beliefs that you have heard others affirm.

• Christians should not have mental health problems.
• You are to blame for your mental health issues.
• Hide your problems at church. Always smile and say you are fine.
• Just “Trust God” and pray about it and it will go away.
• If you are struggling it is due to sin in your life. (This one sounds like Job’s “counselors”. See Job 4:8.)
• If you have a mental health issue it is because you are not trusting God enough, praying enough, or engaging in some other “Christian” activity as you should.
• Christians should never take medications for mental health.
• You shouldn’t need to go to counseling if you are a Christian.

At one time or another in my life I think I have believed each of these lies. Perhaps some of them have tripped you up as well. They are all harmful to believers (and unbelievers) and keep us in distress and emotional pain far longer than necessary. 

Bible Passages that Can Help Us Break Free

I want to encourage you to join me in working to break free from these beliefs and to reach out for help no matter what you are struggling with. You will be amazed at how freeing it is to admit your struggles to a counselor or a Christian friend. As long as you hide your struggles and keep them secret they will be a much heavier burden to you. 

It is a lie to believe that strong faith in God cannot coexist with strong emotional lows. It is a myth that “faith is always smiling”. Even Jesus before His crucifixion said “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.” (Matt 26:38)

It is important to not only be honest with others about our emotional struggles but also to be honest with God about them. He knows what we are feeling or thinking anyway. (See Psalm 139.)

Several Psalms honestly express a deep, emotional desire to flee from the pressures, fear, and turmoil of life. In Psalm 55:6-8 David cries out "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest." Sometimes, like David, our greatest wish is to be able to leave our current stressful situation.

Psalm 88 is a psalm of intense, long-term suffering in which the author feels trapped and overwhelmed by circumstances. See if you can relate to him when he says to God 

“You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. Your wrath lies heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape; my eyes are dim with grief.”

In Psalm 57 David is overwhelmed with fear because of those who long to end his life. But he repeatedly reminds himself to seek refuge "in the shadow of [God's] wings" and reminds himself to turn to God and praise Him until the storms of life pass.

If David, who is called a man after God’s own heart in Acts 15:22, can feel the type of desperation and fear we see in the Psalms and honestly share it with God, so can we. Bringing our hurts to God pleases Him. He does not want us to try to hide our pain from Him, deny that it exists, or turn to other sources of relief that often hurt us further.

Galatians 6:2 states “Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” God wants us to both share our own struggles with others and to listen, help and encourage others who are struggling.

“It’s Okay to Not be Okay”

I encourage you to become aware of the lies that you and believe about mental health and to not ignore your own or a loved one’s mental health concerns. God wants us to bring our struggles to Him. Just as we should not be embarrassed of the medical problems we face, we should not be embarrassed of the psychological, mental, and spiritual struggles we face. Instead we should seek help for them either from a friend, a counselor, a pastor, or a doctor. 

As the saying goes, “It’s okay to not be okay.”

 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” 

                                                                        Hosea 4:6

 “My people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge.” 

                                                                        Isaiah 5:13