Keep your Head on!
“Just imagine yourself in Barbados!” - Where there is never a dull moment. These are two of the most familiar taglines on advertisements put out by the Barbados Tourism Authority to the world. The posters depict a beautiful blue ocean and white sandy beaches with a gorgeous couple lying on a hammock in the shade of a palm tree’s fronds. The ideas conveyed are that there are no problems in Barbados, that life is sweet and dandy – just like the Mauby Syrup, and that Barbados is the closest thing to paradise on this side of heaven. Tourists come and they just wish that they could spend the rest of their lives in beautiful, beautiful Barbados – the gem of the Caribbean Sea. Everyone in Barbados must be happy right?
However for many persons living on this beautiful island, including many of you in this congregation this morning, nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that for many persons there are more problems than we know what to do with; life is hard and wearisome every single day. It is only through the mercies of God that we’ve made it this far. The popular song put it this way, “I almost gave up, I felt like I just couldn’t take life anymore. My problems had me bound, depression weighed me down,” but when we were in that state it was then that “God held us close so that we didn’t let go.” Someone must know what I am talking about!
I know also for a fact, that these experiences do not only belong to persons who are worldly, unspiritual or have no relationship with the Lord. Depression, anxiety, stress, grief, insecurity, regret are all emotions experienced by members of the church as well -what’s intriguing is that the stress is often concealed- especially in our church. We look happy, we smell good, we’re wearing clothes bought on a recent shopping trip to Miami but under the façade we’re hurting and feel like there is no one to help and no way out of our situation. It also doesn’t matter whether the person is a man or a woman. Men would like to portray that tough, macho exterior in order to suggest that nothing bothers them, nothing hurts their feelings, they don’t cry and what’s more they don’t even care but nothing could be further from the truth. Whether we are male or female, we experience threats to our emotional and mental health.
Sometimes these threats can be so great that they prevent us from being able to function. The depressed or worried person can be so crippled by his or her condition that he or she remains home, or if at work, is unable to free the mind for even long enough to be able to accomplish anything at the job. What’s even more is that the person who is mentally unwell may even have difficulty worshipping God freely and sincerely. In the book “Healthful Living on page 54, Sis White makes the following statements: “A diseased body affects the brain. With the mind we serve the Lord. All should guard the senses, lest Satan gain victory over them; for these are the avenues to the soul.”
Life is hard and many living on this small rock in paradise know it. They imagine themselves currently being anywhere else besides Barbados because they wish that they had a dull moment. A moment when the grief, failure, hopelessness, depression, anxiety, self-hatred, vulnerability would be dulled and they would be set free from their stresses.
What is emotional or mental health anyway? Is it just a figment of one’s imagination? A theory purported by weak-minded people who are negative in their outlook and don’t have enough faith in God to bounce back from their trials? Is it actually true that real Christians don’t get depressed or anxious or stressed out and if they do, it’s because they don’t have a real relationship with God?
Today there is an appropriate interest in physical conditions. Diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, HIV/AIDS and cancer are all we hear about in the media and it’s what we talk about the most when given the opportunity to present on health. However today I have decided to focus somewhere else, to focus on our mental and emotional health, because this aspect is neglected and many believe that it doesn’t even really exist as a force to determine health outcomes. They believe that you just need to fix your thoughts, read the bible and pray and you will feel alright and be back on your feet. But what is mental/emotional health and how important is it?
One definition reads like this “Emotional health can best be described as a state where you are in control of your thoughts, feelings and behaviours. You feel good about yourself and your relationships and can keep problems in perspective. Emotionally healthy people can still have emotional problems and mental illness, but they have learned of ways to cope with stress and problems and know when to seek help from their doctor or counselor”
The issue is therefore not that we don’t experience problems and challenges but more of how we are able to deal with them. It also acknowledges that in the same way we know that we should seek a doctor when we are physically sick because we don’t know how to make ourselves better, when we are mentally and emotionally unwell we should be responsible and intelligent enough to seek a psychologist or counselor to make ourselves better.
Sis White says in Counsels on Health page 344 paragraphs 1, that “the relation that exists between the mind and the body is very intimate. When one is affected, the other sympathizes. The condition of the mind affects the health to a far greater degree than many realize. Many of the diseases from which men suffer are the result of mental depression. Grief, anxiety, discontent, remorse, guilt, distrust, all tend to break down the life forces and to invite decay and death.”
The maxim “a healthy mind in a healthy body” is not therefore something oft repeated meaninglessly. The thoughts of a person’s heart have a fundamental effect on his or her health. These thoughts when negative can at times be powerful enough to make one sick physically. The Bible does corroborate this when it says in Proverbs 23:7 “for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” Thoughts make the man and if the thoughts and emotions are unhealthy, physical illness if present will tend not to get better or even get worse and if not yet present, often will tend to follow.
Joyce Meyer in Chapter 2 of her book “The Battlefield of the Mind” makes an emphatic statement very early which we should all bear in mind, “You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind.”
Today’s scripture reading comes from a great passage in the Bible. The situation was one where Jesus was specifically addressing the hypocrisy and deceitfulness of the Pharisees and other leaders who were supposedly the shepherds of the sheep. They had misled them for years and years before Jesus came, so much so that Jesus said in Matthew 23:13 “But woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” This untenable situation had been going on for too long and so He now had come and He established himself as the true shepherd of the sheep. He was and today still is the way, the truth and the life according to John 14:6, and when the Pharisee’s didn’t get what He was saying in John 10:6-7 He repeated it by indicating that He is the gate for the sheep, He is the gate though which we all have access into eternal life. In fact that’s exactly what He said in our scripture reading, the thief comes to steal, kill and to destroy but Jesus came to give us life or “Zoë” in Greek which is interpreted to mean eternal life. He also came to give us an abundant life here on earth while we await our gift of eternal life. The same text in the NASB states that Jesus wants us to have life “to the full.” This clearly indicates that Jesus’ intention is for us not just to have physical health but also to be well emotionally and mentally.
What evidence do I use to make this assertion?
Jesus intends for us to have joy, David says in Psalms 16:11 that he found joy and everlasting pleasures in the presence of the Lord. Nehemiah in Nehemiah 8:10 encouraged his brethren by reminding them that the Joy of the Lord was their strength.
Jesus intends for us to have peace, in fact Jesus is described as being the Prince of Peace in Isaiah 9:6 and He gives this peace to us all according to John 14:27 – not like the world gives but he assures us that our hearts need not be troubled or afraid. Have you ever watched a parody of beauty pageants like Miss Congeniality? The answer to every question in the final segment is always “World Peace.” However, the peace that God gives us is not tenuous and shaky like the peace that sometimes exists in the Middle East, that they have to fight a war to achieve, but his peace is so absolutely amazing that in Philippians 4:7 Paul encourages the brethren in Philippi by explaining that he couldn’t explain God’s peace. It passed understanding, in his words, and through this peace God was not only able to keep hearts but he also was able to keep minds.
Jesus intends to give us a purpose for living. One of the favorite texts in the Bible must be found in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Millions have asked the question, “What on earth am I here for?” This question is borne out of the innate desire to be purposeful and to achieve over the course of one’s life. Students of psychology learn very early on about Erik Erikson who postulates that there are eight developmental challenges which must be met and successfully accomplished across the life cycle. If they are not successfully met, they tend to crop up later and cause emotional difficulties. Another psychologist, Abraham Maslow came up with a hierarchy of needs that indicate that there are certain psychological needs that must be attained all en route to the place of “self-actualization” i.e. to become all that one is capable of becoming. The fact is that in order to have motivation for living, we must have a purpose and God supplies us with that purpose. He has general purposes which are the same for all His children. According to Dr. Rick Warren in his book “The Purpose Driven Life” there are five general purposes for us all:
• We were planned for God’s pleasure, so our first purpose is to offer real worship.
• We were formed for God’s family, so our second purpose is to enjoy real fellowship.
• We were created to become like Christ, so our third purpose is to learn real discipleship.
• We were shaped for serving God, so our fourth purpose is to practice real ministry.
• We were made for a mission, so our fifth purpose is to live out real evangelism.
However, in the same way that He’s numbered the hairs on each one of our heads and knows us individually, we can be assured as He said in the word that He’s got a plan for each one of us individually- a plan to give us a future and a hope. There’s something great He’s willing to partner with us on in this life and we will be truly blessed when we align ourselves with His purpose for our life.
Jesus intends for us to be free from guilt and shame. The weights of our sins are enough to crush us sometimes. We feel absolutely awful, hopeless, cut-off from God and this is exactly the plan of the enemy. In the book: Mind, Character and Personality page 457 under the caption “Hope for All” it reads, “None need abandon themselves to discouragement and despair. Satan may come to you with the cruel suggestion, “Yours is a hopeless case. You are irredeemable.” But there is hope for you in Christ. God does not bid us overcome in our own strength. He asks us to come close to His side. Whatever difficulties we labour under, which weight down soul and body, He waits to make us free.” My favorite passage of scripture is Ephesians 2:1-10. Where it clearly shows us that no matter how sinful we were, no matter how bad things are for us spiritually God is willing to forgive. He takes us from when we are dead in sin, and makes us alive with Him, sitting us in heavenly places. What’s more, He doesn’t do it because He expects something in return from us; He does it because he wants to show us His absolutely amazing love.
Jesus intends for us to be free from worry. Matthew 6:25-34 tells us “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
When the bills keep increasing and the salary stays the same – stop worrying because “my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19.
When there is an increase in crime and violence – stop worrying because “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Psalms 91:10-12.
When there is not enough food for you or your family to eat – stop worrying because “I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread. All day long he is gracious and lends, and his descendants are a blessing.” Psalms 37:25,26
When you or a loved one is sick – stop worrying and “…call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him” James 5:14-15
When things just look bad and you feel like you are not going to make it – stop worrying and remember that “…we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 “And that And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.
Jesus intends for us to experience love. This is what he holds in highest esteem. Through Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:13, he said that there were three lasting emotions, “faith, hope and love.” But of them three, the greatest was love. The word declares in John 15:13 that there is no greater love than the one demonstrated by choosing to die for a friend. And one Friday afternoon, way back over 2000 years ago, on a hill with a rugged old cross Jesus decided to demonstrate that kind of love for us. For after all, God is love. In 1 John 4:7-8, it is made clear that love is of God and God is the embodiment of love itself. God does not only intend for us to receive love from Him, but He has created for us families and friends who show us love as well: beloved, let us love one another.
With these principles in mind it should be clear that the thief who comes in to steal, kill and destroy our mental health is the devil himself. This is because he intends for us to miss out completely on the abundant physical, mental, emotional and spiritual life that Jesus’ desire is for us to have.
An article in the magazine “Network” produced by the Canadian Mental Health Association in the spring/summer of 2006 entitled “Getting a Physical for Mental Health” by Michelle Gold states clearly the following point, “Individuals with emotional distress or mental illness report poorer physical health and have greater rates of chronic conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke than the general population. This is why it is said there can be no health without mental health.”
Research has clearly documented the negative effects of chronic stress on the body. This article from the website webmd.com lists many of them.
In the book Mind, Character and Personality on page 482, Sis White begins the chapter by making the following point, “A contented mind, a cheerful spirit, is health to the body and strength to the soul. Nothing is so fruitful a cause of disease as depression, gloominess and sadness. Many of the diseases from which men suffer are the result of mental depression.”
But beyond its physical effects, in the book Healthful Living on page 54 Sis White says again, “The brain nerves which communicate to the entire system are the only medium through which Heaven can communicate to man, and affect his inmost life. Whatever disturbs the circulation of the electric currents in the nervous system lessens the strength of the vital powers, and the result is a deadening of the sensibilities of the mind.”
The fact is that “life happens.” Since the entrance of sin back in the Garden of Eden, human beings have been subjected to disappointments, tragedies, setbacks, hurts and failures. Even if we didn’t know this to be a fact, Jesus clearly informs us in his word. “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 And again in 2 Timothy 3:12 we read that, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Why should we expect any differently in any case? Jesus is the Son of God and he experienced hatred of the highest order when he was here on this earth as well. John 15:24-25 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’
Once again we learn that good emotional and mental health does not negate the fact that we’re going to have challenges in this life; rather it tells us that in spite of the inevitable challenges, we are able to conquer them.
Ultimately however, the choice to experience good mental health is ours. The injunction in Romans 12:1 is this, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Sis White says on page 13 of the book Mind, Character and Personality that “Satan takes the control of every mind that is not decidedly under the control of the Spirit of God.”
We are admonished in Colossians 3:1,2 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
There is discipline involved in correcting the old habits of thinking, it is hard work just like physical exercise is hard work, but it must be done if we are to experience life to the full as Jesus intended.
Here are some biblical principles you can employ to keep your head on as we go forward into this week.
1. Realize who your enemy is. The source of our problems is not the situations of our lives, our boss, our children or our spouses. The attacks at our mental and emotional health come directly from the enemy himself. Psalms 143:3 says: For the enemy has persecuted my soul; He has crushed my life to the ground; He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead. Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; My heart is appalled within me.” Do you see that our fight is not against other humans? Ephesians 6:12: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
2. Have a positive outlook. God is positive and if your thoughts are to match up with God’s ideal for you they must be positive as well. God thinks that faith, trust, patience, joy, peace, gratefulness among all the other positive emotions are of the greatest importance. If you are having negative viewpoints, attitudes, and conversations, and are surrounded by negative people – get them out of your life starting today. The word depress is defined in the Oxford Concise English dictionary as to “cause to feel utterly dispirited or dejected.” Does this sound like God to you? Psalms 3:3 says “But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.” Let me take this concept even further, if you are the one doing the depressing, you are not doing a work of God either. Huge amounts of research into why persons leave this church indicate that it is not disagreement with doctrines that push them away; it is the judgmental, condemnatory, unfriendly, exclusivist attitude of some of our members that turns their minds away. Many ex-members have a story of someone who has hurt them profoundly to the extent that they had no desire to be in the presence of God’s supposed people anymore. When someone has done wrong, they don’t need you to point out their wrong-doing and indicate clearly why they are a bad person. Sis White says in Mind Character and Personality on page 453 that “No one is ever made better by denunciation and recrimination. To tell a tempted soul of his guilt in no way inspires him with a determination to do better. Point the erring, discouraged one to Him who is able to save to the uttermost all who come to Him. Show him what he may become. Tell him that Christ died for him that he might be accepted in the Beloved. Inspire him with hope, showing him the possibilities that are his. Point him to the heights to which he may attain. Help him to take hold upon the mercy of the Lord, to trust in His forgiving power. Jesus is waiting to clasp him by the hand, waiting to give him power to live a noble, virtuous life.”
3. Depend on God for your help. God has given us the weapons we need to survive in this battle for our mental and emotional health. He says that in 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5: “for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7 (AMP)” So just what are those weapons we have at our disposal?
a. Praise. Psalms 150:6 declares that everything that has breath ought to praise the Lord. There is no qualification of this statement to suggest that we praise only if we feel like, only if things are going sufficiently well that we think God has done a good enough job to deserve it. The only parameter is whether or not you have breath. If you meet that criterion, then God expects your praise. In Psalms 34:1 the psalmist states that he intends to bless the Lord at all times and that praise will continually be in his mouth. The good thing about praise is that it takes your mind away from your problems and how big they are and re-focuses it on your God and how big He is!
b. Thankfulness. Psalms 100:4 says “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” 1Thessalonians 5:17 says, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Think about it, how can the devil get the victory over us if no matter what he does, our response is one of praise and thanksgiving?
c. Prayer: Through prayer we ask for God’s help, we listen to the Lord, we ask for deliverance, we obtain our forgiveness and we seek God’s wisdom, knowledge and leadership. That’s why the exhortation from Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 is to “pray without ceasing.” The fact is that God is our friend, and the Holy Spirit is our comforter, the way we maintain our communication with the only one who can heal our minds, the one whose mindset we are actually to adopt is through prayer.
d. Meditate (think about, ponder and study) on God’s word. Instead of spending our mental energies on feeling badly for ourselves, rehashing our problems and worsening our mental state, we are encouraged to meditate on God’s word. Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” Psalms 1:2,3 says of the Godly man, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither;
and in whatever he does, he prospers.” Doesn’t this sound like a balanced man, a man who is emotionally healthy? The fact of the God’s word is that according to Psalms 119:130, “The entrance and unfolding of your words give light; their unfolding gives understanding (discernment and comprehension) to the simple.”
Today the concept is simple. There is a thief, the devil himself whose intention is to cause us to steal, kill and destroy our joy, love and peace and fill us with worry, depression, discouragement and despair so that we would eventually lose our grip on God and our salvation in the process. But there is a Shepherd, our shepherd who is the gateway to eternal life, He has come to give life and give it more abundantly. God’s desire is for us to have life here on earth, to the full, and then eternal life eventually. The choice is yours, what is it that you want? Do you want to enjoy the blessings of mental and emotional health? His desire is still encapsulated in 3 John 1:2, Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.
