Stay Here: God's Plan to Restore Your Mental HealthSample

It's Okay to Not Be Okay, But It's Not Okay to Stay That Way

The church needs to talk about mental illness more. The church needs to talk about depression more. The church needs to talk about suicide more.

Most often, the church hasn’t publicly talked about suicide. When someone took their own life, at their service, no one said how they died. I’ve been to services like that. No one mentioned the person had committed suicide, except in hushed conversations in the hallway. We didn’t want to talk about suicide. We didn’t want to surface the reality of mental illness.

Or maybe a family member was in the psych ward, and we just said, “Oh, she’s in the hospital dealing with an illness right now.” We never mentioned it was a mental hospital. Or maybe someone we loved was out of commission because of depression. We said, “Yeah, he’s going through a tough season.” But we didn’t want to tell people, “He’s curled up in a fetal position at the house and he hasn’t moved in weeks.”

On average in the U.S., about fifty thousand people take their own life annually. Around the globe, that number jumps to eight hundred thousand annually. Every forty seconds someone dies by suicide. It’s not some problem way out there either. It’s in your hometown.

Just the other day I was preaching to more than four thousand teenagers at Gateway Student Conference in Dallas, Texas. At the end of my message, during the altar time, I said,

I believe somebody here has already made a plan. I believe you’ve written it in your journal, and it’s in your drawer in your bedroom right now. You’ve already made a specific plan to take your life on a specific day. And if that’s you, I need you to know that you’re not the only person who’s read that journal entry. Jesus has read every word, and He’s here tonight. He wants to bring light into your darkness. He wants you to know that He loves you and is with you. And He is for you. You’ve got the power to step toward Jesus right now. I know it’s a bold step, and it will take bravery with four thousand of us standing around, but if that’s you, I invite you to please put up your hand and let me see it, because I want to pray for you in Jesus’s name.

And I would say that, in the next second, more than a hundred hands went up. It took my breath away, but in that moment I knew Jesus wanted to step into the conversation.

He wants to step into the fight. He wants to step toward people who are thinking about giving up on it all.

After the event ended, a young woman named Nicole approached me to tell me her story. She said, “Jacob, on July 12, 2022, I was within minutes of taking my life, but to calm myself down, I decided to watch a few videos on TikTok. Your video was the first one that popped up on my For You page, and it saved my life.” Nicole also encountered the love of Jesus that night at the conference she attended just months later. Now she’s spreading hope to others who are in the same place of pain she was in.

Let me tell you, we’re winning if we choose to talk about it. The culture is trying to speak to depression and suicide, but honestly, I don’t think society can save the world. The church can’t afford to remain silent on the sidelines. We must speak up and talk about mental illness. And that’s why we’re talking about it now. Whether for you it’s depression or crippling anxiety or suicidal thoughts, we’re not going to hide in the darkness. We’re going to point to Jesus, because He has triumphed over everything.

It’s time to open up and be honest if you’re not okay. . . . And after that, healing is waiting for you. Jesus can heal what you’ve been hiding.

Prayer

Jesus, help me overcome the intrusive thoughts that come my way. I believe you can set me free from self-hatred and self-harm. Please do it now. Surround me with your love and with loving people who can help me find healing. Thanks so much for staying with me in this battle. I know you will help me overcome this. In your name, amen.