Mental illness is one of the major health problems of today’s society. Medical science recognizes that emotions such as fear, sorrow, envy, resentment, and hatred are responsible for the majority of our sicknesses. Mental health problems like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia can affect anyone at any time, and it’s likely that many people in our community have been affected. Depression is one of the greatest problems in the world today. It has been called the common cold of mental illnesses. There are very few things as destructive to our mental health as worry.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that depression (by bringing down life expectancy) would be the second leading cause of death in the world by 2020. WHO predicts that by 2020 mental illness will go from the 20th to the 2nd largest illness worldwide. Health is the state of complete physical, mental and social (not forgetting spiritual) well being and not merely the absence of disease. Many mental illnesses can be prevented, and the Bible provides helpful information to that end. After all, it is a handbook from God on what we should think and how our minds should work. If we want good mental health, we should discipline our minds to avoid a degrading mental diet. We live in a culture that is constantly feeding us stress- mostly negative information. None of us are immune to stress.
Everyone is afraid of something. Some fears are healthy, but some are not. Although most people are not phobic, almost everyone has to struggle against worry, which is a form of fear. Our age is the era of anxiety. We all know what it means at times to feel emotionally fatigued, physically drained and spiritually defeated. The Bible says: “For as a man thinks within himself, so he is.” (Proverbs 23:7a) God destroyed an entire civilization because of their thought life. (Genesis 6:5) If you think in a negative way – you’re going to feel depressed. Your emotions are caused by how you interpret life. That’s one of the reasons the Bible says: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” The fact is that our emotions are controlled by our thoughts. “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”(Romans 8: 6)
Many New Testament passages offer comfort and reassurance to those who are feeling anxious or disturbed. For example, Jesus Does Not wants us to Be Anxious. He said “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life,”.... (Matthew 6:25-34) when Jesus said, “never be anxious,” he was advising his disciples to avoid undue worry—an excessive fear of tomorrow that can take the joy out of living today. Jesus gave a compelling reason for avoiding undue anxiety: It is useless. “Who of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his life span?” asked Jesus” (Matthew 6:27) Focusing on our worries will not extend our life by even a fraction of a second, let alone improve it. Besides, things often do not turn out as we feared. One scholar put it this way: “Worry about the future is wasted effort, and the future of reality is seldom as bad as the future of our fears.” How can we avoid anxiety? First, trust in God. A relationship with God is fundamental to overcoming our anxieties and fears.
Jesus said ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid’ (John 14:27) ‘Trust in God; also trust in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you’ (John 14:1-2) Paul said “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”(Philippians 4:6)
St. Paul’s gives us five-point plan for better mental health:
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me--everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. (Phil 4:4-9).
Now let’s look at each of the five points.
I. Rejoice in the Presence of the Lord – the above text says, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
If you love somebody, what you long for more than anything else is that person’s presence with you. Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. When we honour God, we celebrate Him as the Source from which all goodness flows. The psalmist says. “In your presence there is fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Ps. 16:11).Joy can be nurtured in the heart and cultivated continually in the Lord’s presence. This should happen, not apart from daily life, but in the midst of the everyday. The heart which rejoices in His presence can flourish in the life of His Spirit at all times. “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10) It is the Fruit of the Spirit. It is a gift from God. Joy is the evidence of the presence of God in our lives.
2. Rely on the Power of the Lord – the text says; don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need.
We often hear about the power of God, of His greatness and how we can rely on it to get us through difficult times. First, God is powerful enough to do anything. There is nothing that God can't do. Since God is the one who works all things for our good and He has the power to do anything, we can rely on His power in everything. If we meet the requirements He lays down (we love Him and are in a right relationship with Him and ask according to His will), we can rely on His power in all circumstances. “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”(Philippians 4:13) “May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace” (Psalm 29:11)
We Need To Rely on God’s Power. However great our problem is today, understand that the Lord is greater than our problem!
There’s no problem He can’t solve.
There’s no need He can’t supply
There’s no misery He can’t relieve.
Step 3. Remember the Provision of the Lord – The text says, “… Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”
God realizes that we often forget what he has done for us. God wants to see prayers that are filled with genuine praise and thanksgiving for what He has done in the past. He wants our hearts to be filled with awe and gratitude for His blessings. He wants us to set up memorials in our hearts testifying to the provisions He has given us. God answers our prayers to strengthen our faith in Him, to help us trust in His Word, to glorify Himself, and to express His love for us. Imagine how He feels when we respond to His grace and love and mercy with indifference and forgetfulness and presumption. When we face difficult times, we often become blinded by our problems and forget how God has always provided the solutions to our past troubles. God wants to see that His past aid did not go unnoticed or unappreciated. He wants us to come to Him confidently in prayer, gratefully acknowledging His past mercies. After we have spent time in praise and thanksgiving, we can then ask Him to again help us so that our blessings can glorify Him. We Need To Remember God’s Provision. 1 Samuel 12:24–“Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.”
Step 4. Rest in the Peace of the Lord – The text says,” then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds”
Rest is one of the greatest gifts God gave to mankind. Rest is synonymous to peace. The dictionary word for rest: quiet, calmness, tranquillity, peacefulness, serenity and stability. Jesus came to give us peace. In Matthew 11:28-30 He said: "Come to Me all who labour and are heavy laden AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I’m gently and lowly in heart, AND YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS, For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" He also said “my peace I give to you” (John 14:27) Our strength is in RESTING in the Lord. In quietness and confidence! (Isaiah 30:15) The greatest possession we shall seek in our entire lives is “God's Rest which is synonymous to Peace.
Step 5. Reflect on the Plan of the Lord – The text says, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me--everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you”.
God’s plan for creation is a good plan. The goal for which it was instituted is of the highest good. It is good in a functional sense, because the plan is certain to work, producing the ends for which it was ordained. Ultimately, it is good because it is God’s plan. When we speak of “God’s plan for creation” or of “God’s plan for the ages” we will sometimes refer to this as God’s will, and rightly so. Jeremiah 29:11 God says “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
The Bible tells us that our purpose, as believer is to be conformed into God’s image so that we can reflect His characteristics in all we do. God doesn’t just want us to have a revelation of Christ, He wants us to be a reflection of Him. God is eternal, and so is His plan. God’s plan is a mystery because it is the product of the divine mind of God and not the finite mind of man: God’s children must therefore live by faith, trusting in God’s promises even when present circumstances seem to contradict them. This is why Paul says “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.”
Those who consistently apply these positive words will practice positive thinking, a habit crucial to mental health. The characteristics of an optimistic mind-set include the ability to focus on the positive when the negative seems overwhelming. The key lies in turning a problem into a challenge and then working to meet it. As we begin to undertake these steps, our mental outlook and health improves. Gradually, serenity becomes a deeper and more stable reality for us.
