The church has been silent too long on the subject and integration of mental health. Where the world has mistakenly addressed the issue as too one-dimensional, the church has also failed to respond with any comprehensive treatments that are rigorously Biblical and spiritual. The reality is everyone’s soul is in need of healing, and Jesus is the central answer for navigating the soul.
- Problem #1 – Individuals and families struggling with mental health are far less likely to be active in church
- Problem #2 – Mental health and mental illnesses are often stigmatized and lack ministry modeling
- Problem #3 – Societally, we’ve adopted mental health treatments that have excluded both God and man
2 Categories of Soul Strain i.e. Mental Health:
- Acute – A functional inability to fully process your world
- Accumulative – The accumulation of unprocessed life stressors that result in unhelpful & ungodly coping mechanisms
Observations:
- Everyone needs restored mental health and spiritual healing
- Because of human complexity the answer is never singular
- The answer to soul restoration is only King Jesus holistic rule
Psalm 23 – Divine Therapy
A restored soul is the result of embracing all of:
- God’s Control – vs 1,2
- God’s Identity – vs 3
- God’s Presence – vs 4
- God’s Promise – vs 5
- God’s Purpose – vs 6
- God’s Security – vs 6
Conclusions & Applications: How do I navigate the soul?
- Relational: You don’t – God does
- Holistic: Bring God with you, even on wrong turns
- Habitual: Meet God in this moment
Matthew 22:36-37
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
John 10:27
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
Psalm 139:9-10
“If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
Matthew 6:25-27
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”