Wisdom for Mental HealthSample

Lighthouse 4: Reading Scripture

Holding on to hope can be hard, especially when experiencing mental health challenges. Life might feel chaotic, and that might make it difficult to know how to move forward. Maybe you can’t escape negative self-talk, and you feel yourself sinking into hopelessness.

How do you silence your negative thoughts and replace them with life-giving confidence? One of the best ways to do that is to keep doing what you’ve been so good at for the past few days—reading Scripture regularly.

Scripture grounds us in truth. That’s always important, but all the more so when we’re facing mental health challenges, which can make it easy to believe in worst-case scenarios. Without truth to stand on, we can end up convincing ourselves that we’ll never feel healthy, or that no one will ever know our real selves. As our thoughts are swirling, sometimes we just need to hold on to something firm and true. Let’s hold on to truth and let go of lies.

Today, we read a few verses about God and His love for us. Let the words wash over you again, silencing the unhealthy self-talk in your mind. You may even choose to memorize one of the verses, so that you can repeat it to yourself whenever you feel alone or hopeless.

Consider this one:

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. Psalm 103:8 NIV

This verse reminds us of God’s love for us. He walks with us through both the healthy days and the days filled with setbacks. No matter what, He’s present, and He cares. God will help you throughout your mental health journey by His grace.

Our thoughts aren’t always grounded in truth. But the Bible contains truth we can rest in. God is with us, no matter what.

Pray: God, thank You for giving me strength through Scripture. Help me to remember Your words every day so I can silence negative thoughts. In Jesus’ name, amen.