Jesus is our medicine
Mental health.
It’s something that everyone seems to be talking about these days. And for some people, it’s like a badge of honor. They have a diagnosis (that isn’t caused by chemical imbalances, by the way. That’s just a myth.) along with psychotropic drugs. Drugs that studies show aren’t a cure because they can’t figure out how to cure these illnesses; it’s just something that manages symptoms (along with causing some more). They are touted by almost every medical professional, along with family, friends, maybe even a stranger on the street. “Take the drugs,” they say. “They’re for your good. They’ll help.”
But what if you say no? What if you were like me months ago, suffering from a severe mental health crisis from years of trauma, saying that drugs weren’t for you? Not after you saw how they heavily affected your late mother.
Well, in my situation, my no wasn’t listened to. It didn’t matter that I was in obvious distress. Almost every medical professional I talked to at that time refused to fill out my FMLA forms for my now former job, but they saw fit to keep pushing drugs on me, even after I said no multiple times. Even when I explained why I was saying no.
It was after all of these infuriating incidents that God opened my eyes to what was really going on: these drugs are being pushed because they are sorcery. Before you pull out your pitchforks, let me explain why. It’s not about the fact that the words pharmaceutical and pharmacy come from the Greek word pharmakeia, which means sorcery in the Bible. It’s about the fact that these drugs are pushed as something that is needed over God by the world, a supplement to the healing God gives by some Christians, and something that is made with the intent to mimic God’s healing, even when the people making them don’t realize it.
With these drugs, there is no healing, no cure. There is only masking a festering wound underneath. To make matters worse, those very drugs can make someone go through the worst things imaginable. Either while they’re on it or when they have to go through withdrawal. And they can take away a sound mind.
Mental health is not something a drug can ever cure. Mental health is not secular. Mental health is spiritual, just like everything else in life. And of course, as a Christian, I don’t expect non-believers to understand this, but I expect Christians to. I expect that my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who may be reading this now to understand that our enemy is not flesh and blood but principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12).
The principalities and powers that want to make our minds go against God. The God who promises perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). Peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7). The God who says to cast our cares and anxieties to Him (1 Peter 5:7). Not a drug. Not the world. Him.
And we cannot expect to have any of that perfect peace when we are living contrary to God. As God says, there is no peace for the wicked (Isaiah 48:22). And there will be no peace for a so-called Christian living wickedly either. To be clear, I am not saying every mental health issue is coming from something we are doing. Sometimes it’s from what has been done to us or from a trial or tribulation we’re going through. But regardless of the source, we still have to cast our cares upon God and lean on Him for strength.
And let me tell you, when you lean on God, when you surrender everything to Him, and live your life according to His commandments, He really brings that perfect peace. I went from being in the ER with a blood pressure of 159/105 and a racing heart nearly every day to peace. Real, lasting peace even in the middle of the storm He so lovingly orchestrated for me. And I got all of this after fighting for the leave that those medical professionals denied. If I had listened to them, I wouldn't be where I am now.
With all of that said, at the end of the day, I am a child of God, not a doctor of any kind. So please consult a medical professional when making the decision to get off drugs, keeping God in mind, because there’s a chance they won’t.
