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Anybody else feel like it’s ridiculously hard to stay in your own lane these days? Wait, no, that’s not even the right way to put it. Health and wellness, rights and freedoms, those belong to us all, those are everybody’s lane, and yet, we all add a different part to the conversation. My part is not the political, nor the scientific, although those are the pieces where I do my research, and like to know my stuff. Still, the more I learn the more I want to share, and rant, and that was never meant to be my part of the conversation.
What’s your part of the conversation?
It is so important, right now, that we all know our part of the conversation, and that we don’t try to pour everyone else into our mold. My part of the conversation is not yours, nor is your part mine. We all fight, but the how, what, and why are very different for each of us. That’s how it should be.
So I’m here to talk to you about mental health, but I’m going to take my usual spin on the topic. I have been called to speak about mental health in a different way than most. In light of the catastrophic rise in suicides, overdoses, and devastation of livelihoods, I am here to speak life, and bring light to those who feel that there is no hope. I am not here to advocate for mental illness. I don’t advocate for the things that kill people. I am here to advocate for the freedom that is available to ALL people. I am here to draw attention to the cure, not the lie that says there isn’t one.
As long as you’re breathing, there is hope, and there is a cure. No matter WHAT the diagnosis.
I’m not sure who I’m writing this to today, but I have a feeling there are many who struggle daily for a fix. You need that thing, whatever it is, just to get by. Parents, maybe it’s everything in you just to make it to bedtime when you can pour that glass of wine, and before you know it, one glass has emptied the bottle. Business owners, maybe the pressure is too much, and your OTC pain meds take the edge off if you take a couple extra. Maybe it’s food, maybe it’s cigarettes, maybe it’s over-the-counter, or illegal drugs, or maybe it’s ranting on Facebook (you just can’t resist). Addiction can come in all shapes and sizes, and even be “prescribed” and socially acceptable.
The problem is that our “thing” whatever it is doesn’t solve any problems, doesn’t lift the weight off of our shoulders, doesn’t silence the voices in our heads, and it doesn’t heal our souls. The other problem is that when you are trapped in a cycle of addiction you often don’t see your own cycle, or at least not accurately. Many of us who battle addictions also battle a victim mentality. Not always in a “woe is me” way (although that can be too). Mainly, we believe that we are stuck. Sick, and incurable. Crazy even. Can you hear your own thoughts in my words?
Hear these words today, dear friend, you are loved beyond measure by the God who created you in His very image. Before you were born, there was a plan and purpose written for your life. You are immeasurable in worth, a priceless treasure, and only you can be you to the world. Just like I stated at the beginning, nobody else can add what you add to the conversations of life. Nobody else can change the world like you can. But we all have a choice to make about what manner of change we will bring.
You’re probably thinking, “blah, blah, blah” heard it all before, but let me ask you a question. How do you think you get to a place of heaviness, anxiety, and even despair? Does it happen overnight? Is it years of living your dream life then one morning you wake up anxious beyond measure and weighed down by a mountain of depression?
Mental illness begins one thought at a time, one minute at a time, one day at a time.
Mental health begins the same way.
That’s also probably the last time I want to say “mental illness” or “mental health” because I think those titles also serve to keep us somewhat trapped. Instead, I’m going to refer to your thought life or thought patterns. Every one of us has healthy thought patterns and unhealthy thought patterns. Sickness or health are determined by which ones we feed and water the most. Fully grown, thoughts become beliefs, and beliefs are life or death to the body, mind, and spirit.
So if you’re rolling your eyes when I tell you that you are valuable beyond measure, I dare you to look yourself in the mirror and say it 10 times back to yourself. Do that 5 times a day, every day, and see how long it takes before it influences your thought life. What we hear influences our thoughts, and as we already learned, our repeated thoughts determine our beliefs. Repeating a mantra in a mirror will help to begin building a more positive pathway in your thoughts, which is a step forward, but how do we make it last? It is far too easy for us to have a bad day and completely derail ourselves again. The battle against negative thinking can take all of our energy even to the point of sapping a person’s will to live.
At the risk of over-simplifying this, my friend, all you truly need to walk completely free of the darkness that is holding you right now, is a new spirit and a new meditation. I am not referring to what most of the world calls meditation either. This is not the kind that pairs well with yoga, or new age rituals, nor am I referring to positive affirmations. In order to be set free from the power of death, we must be born-again , and receive the same Spirit that Jesus had, then we must daily submit ourselves to His leading, and meditate on the Truth in His word which leads us into greater wholeness.
From the beginning God has had our best interest at heart, and not in the same way people do. He is untainted by selfishness. He is selflessly, wholly in love with you, and desires to lead you on the best path. Let Him be your Guide and you can walk through every trial with joy and peace at the helm.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33
God has won the victory. He sent His one and only son, Jesus, to live an innocent life, and die a criminals death, to pay the price for our sin and shortcomings, and then to rise again on the third day, after defeating death and the grave (and EVERYTHING connected to them), so that you and I could walk FREE for eternity with Him.
If you’re fighting a war today, you’re fighting it alone. God is not in your fight. He has already been there, done that, and won! He never leaves you nor forsakes you, but He is not fighting anymore! He is telling you today, take the WIN, celebrate your freedom by living free! All concession has been made for you to have the fullness of abundant life. All that stands in your way is wrong thinking rooted in unbelief.
There will still be good days and bad days in the world, still hard things that we experience, but when we learn to meditate on, and agree with God’s words only, we carry an unshakeable peace within. Even when the world comes crashing down around you, you can know with confidence, that it’s going to be ok because He’s with you, helping you, comforting you, making you into all you were created to be.
So what does all of this look like practically? 11 years ago I flushed every last one of my antidepressant and anxiety meds down the toilet. I have been taking the word of God as my medication ever since. When my mind feels thrown into chaos, when emotions have me on a rollercoaster, or when anxiety is causing my heart to race and my thoughts to blurr, I reach for my Bible. You can search online “scriptures for anxiety” or any topic to get you started, or you can download the YouVersion app and use their search topics to help give you a starting place. Or you can randomly flip through your Bible until you read something that hits you deep down inside. I promise it will happen if you determine not to quit. The point is simply to find out what God has spoken to you about your struggle.
I have now put sticky tabs on my favourite go-to scriptures, so they are handy when I need a “quick fix”, and those change with every season and area of growth in my life. At first I needed to mark every scripture on God’s love for me, because, quite frankly, I didn’t believe there was any love for me. My thoughts were negative, and self-sabotaging, through no one’s fault but my own. One “poor me” thought is enough to start a downward spiral in our thoughts and emotions leading to self-hatred and a host of unhealthy habits.
All day, every day, when there is a moment of struggle, I turn to the word. Remember, we are not meant to be fighting a war against sickness, but rather we are meant to be defending the wholeness that is already ours in Christ. This is how we walk in the victory that’s already been provided for us. We don’t wage war, we stand guard.
Nowadays we have no excuse to not make this work. We can have the Bible on our phones, EVERYWHERE we go.
When you feel the need for a fix, when your heart is pounding, mind is racing, body twitching, blood boiling, find out what the word has to say and repeat, repeat, repeat. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring the scriptures to life, to help you have revelation of them, deep down, not just head knowledge, but heart knowledge. God is reaching out to talk to you, to tell you how much He loves you, and to show you the way out! Isn’t that what we are all looking for? Our freedom was purchased by Jesus’ blood, our authority and power is in Jesus’ name, the way out of overwhelming depression, and unmanageable circumstances is intimacy with the Lord, and revelation of His word. His way out is not always what we think or expect, but it’s perfect everytime!
Your steps formed a highway through the seas with footprints on a pathway no one even knew was there. – Psalm 77:19 (The Passion Translation)
God doesn’t see what we see, or think the way we think. He’s a big picture God. He’s got the whole thing sorted out from beginning to end before you even know what the thing is. So trust Him to lead you on pathways you don’t even know exist.
Another one of my all-time favorite scriptures, still after a decade of having it marked in my Bible as a daily read, is Luke 10:19 in the Amplified Bible. It says, Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you.
After flushing my pills I experienced horrible withdrawal symptoms. I learned later that the medication I was on was equal to heroine as far as its level of addictiveness (who knew that was a thing). I was informed later by a doctor that most people who begin using it can never stop. So, in the middle of those fearful findings, and physical anguish I began to meditate on Luke 10:19 (and many other verses). Anytime I had the thought, “I can’t do this”, “there is no cure for this”, “I’ll struggle with this my whole life”, “I can’t beat this”, or any self-destructive thought, I would read this scripture over and over again.
Praying in tongues is another secret weapon I’ll tell you about in another blog, but for now, I would highly encourage a little bit of study on the subject. God has given us the ability to speak the language of heaven, unleashing His victory into the atmosphere. I found this to be incredibly powerful as I would meditate on scripture in the middle of an “episode” of depression or anxiety.
Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you what the scriptures you’re reading mean, and how they apply to your life today. Pray in tongues, often, and see if it doesn’t refresh your soul. The Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit given to us as a teacher, counselor, friend, comforter, and so much more. It’s totally worth involving Him in the process.
God loves you, friend. So much so, that He made it impossible for you to fail, except by choosing failure. He has laid out the path to freedom, victory, health, wholeness, love, peace, joy and every good thing in His Word, and given us His spirit to help us understand what the rest of the world cannot make sense of.
If you have never asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, or don’t have a clue who this Holy Spirit that I’m talking about is, keep following along on this blog. If you’re ready to experience this freedom that I’ve been sharing about, and ready to get to know the Holy Spirit in a personal way, pray this prayer with me. If you’ve already prayed this prayer, and are filled with and baptized in the Holy Spirit, then pray for those who are praying this for the first time today.
Father God,
Thank you for sending Jesus to die a death that I deserved, to carry the weight of all my sin, shame, sickness and guilt. I lay it all down at the foot of the cross today. I confess that I have fallen short of the glory of God, and I receive and thank you and praise you for the forgiveness that you’ve provided through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Right now, I make Jesus the Lord of my life. I lay down my will, and I ask you to fill me up, baptizing me, with your Holy Spirit, so that I may know and understand your perfect will for my life. Thank you Lord God, for loving me, saving me, and leading me day by day. I give you access to my life, my thoughts, my words, my dreams, my hopes, and I thank you that you are leading me into greater revelation and manifestation of the healing, freedom, joy, peace, and love available to me because of you! Thank you, Lord.
In Jesus’ Name I pray,
Amen
WOOHOO!!!!! Dear friend, your life will never be the same. For those of you who are praying that prayer for the first time, it’s time to begin the greatest journey of your life. For those of you who just rededicated your life to the Lord, it’s time to press in to His word like never before. To all of you reading this, let’s commit ourselves afresh, to spreading His word, His Gospel of peace and love to the rest of the world, trapped in brokenness and despair.
2 Corinthians 10:5 says,
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
That is your aim, that is what it means to stand guard, stand healed. Take every sick, negative, or destructive thought and bring it into obedience to Christ by finding out what the Word has to say about it. What has God spoken about lack, sickness, depression, anger, unforgiveness, or any other thought that has tormented you? It’s time to find out, and bring an end to the cycles that are trying to rule your life, and bring death to your body, soul, and spirit. That is not God’s plan for anyone!
No longer can we live in sickness and despair, and neither can we stand by and watch our neighbours suffer. The day is coming when Jesus will return to take us home, and it is the desire of God’s heart that no one is left behind. He wants every last one of His children coming home to be with Him for eternity in heaven. But eternity has already begun, and you can experience pieces of heaven right now, without having to wait.
Heaven begins with obedience to God’s word. It brings a life of peace amidst chaotic times. Heaven begins right now with joy when there seems to only be disagreement and war. Heaven begins when we love and respect each other regardless of whether or not we agree on political views. Heaven begins now. So if you’re life feels like hell, switch teams. Get in God’s word, make Him your Lord and Savior, and invite His spirit to live within you, so you can rise above every trial that may come your way with peace, knowing He’s got you!
Love you, friend.
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