God's Answers For Mental Wellbeing

Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals is found in the Scripture below.

He said, “If you diligently listen to the voice of Adonai your God, do what is right in His eyes, pay attention to His mitzvot, and keep all His decrees, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians. For I am Adonai who heals you.”Exodus 15:26

There are other Bible verses about healing, here are a few...More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:3-5

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Corinthians 10:13 Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases Psalm 103:1-3

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Mental (heart, mind and soul) wellbeing is near and dear to my heart because in my personal and family life this has affected me. I've always been intrigued with the mind. Studied to be a psych nurse, took philosophy and many psychology courses; it's so interesting to me...and I want to start discussions about the correlation of mental health and God's answers. If you read the Bible you can see that mental health strategies and treatments are in there...

Ok, let's take CBT - cognitive behavioral therapy - in CBT they teach you that if you change your thoughts you will change your behaviors. If we take captive our thoughts and make them obedient to Christ - we too change. However, the large difference here is who is doing the work and Who receives the credit!

What about being mindful and present?

A core component of DBT - dialectical behavior therapy - mindfulness techniques help individuals stay present in the moment and observe their thoughts and feelings without judgment. Doesn't the Bible encourage us to constantly aware of God's presence in our lives and spend time with Him; not just during prayer, but in every action and thought? Doesn't it say count it all joy and rejoice always, be thankful and to not cease praying.

We have to be present to be thankful for each day!

What about when we speak about addictions?

First, as believers we have Christ whose blood washes us clean and then we have the Holy Spirit who works in us and through us. It is through this work that we are purified and sanctified.

1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Ephesians 5:18: Paul says, "Don't get drunk on wine, but be filled with the Spirit". We need the Spirit of Truth who guides us to all truth.

John 2:16: “For everything in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life— comes not from the Father but from the world.” There are ways that seem right to man that lead to death.

Then we could go into spiritual warfare; things that attach to us from the doors we open or our ancestors in our bloodline have opened. We then need to renounce those things. The answer will always be God's; He has the answer for every need, for ailment, for every affliction...I want to have more dialogue surrounding this area. We can help each other; some things are challenging and we weren't designed to do it all alone.

My prayer:

Father, I pray You are with the one reading this if they need care and support to have the courage to reach out. I pray they hear my words spoken from love and concern for their wellbeing. Jesus, we thank You for Your grace is sufficient and I ask for more grace for this reader to overcome. Lord, I ask to send Your wisdom for all the difficult decisions needed to help the one here. I pray the one reading this will trust that in Your purpose; Your plans are to give them hope and future and not harm them. I hope the ones here sense Your presence even stronger right now. I'm interceding on their behalf to assist them in their recovery. In the mighty Name of Jesus, Amen.