The Bible and Mental HealthÖrnek

‘Abundant life' in a challenging world

Many of us imagined that after lockdowns were lifted in 2022, life would soon return to something like ‘normal.’

While Covid restrictions have disappeared, a secondary epidemic is working its way, less visibly, among humanity: an epidemic of struggles with mental health, of people asking the very question the psalmist asks: ‘How long?’

Initially, it may have been, how long will this last? How long will we be unable to see loved ones? How long will I have to home-school? How long will my job be at risk? How long will I fear for those I love? Now many have moved to weariness and heightened anxiety due to economic pressures as well as international conflicts.

Not everyone struggles with their mental health, of course, and not all who struggle do so in the same way. But statistics indicate that one in five adults worldwide suffers from a mental health issue.

In our congregations, places of work, schools, and among families and friends, there are people for whom the question ‘how long?’ is a pressing one, for whom the world is a threatening and unsafe place, and where the absence of God feels far stronger than His presence. What does speaking of ‘good news’ mean when we or those around us are struggling?

Jesus promises to give us ‘fullness of life.’ It’s easy to feel a sense of disconnection with fullness when you struggle with crippling anxiety, deep trauma, or any other form of poor mental health. It’s easy sometimes to simply focus on one aspect of Jesus’ teaching – ‘fullness of life’ – when things go well, and ‘take up your cross’ when life is more challenging.

In the teaching of Jesus, however, the two go together. The abundant, or full, life we are promised is an invitation to share in the life of Jesus Himself, to be ‘in Christ.’ This fullness is a promise of the presence and the love of God alongside us, a life where we can follow God fully even when our thoughts and emotions are in disarray.

As Christians, we can share the good news that God, Immanuel, is with us, transforming our lives and our world from the inside, with the promise that no experience in our world, our bodies, or our minds can possibly separate us from his love.

Action

How might you learn to see who around you is struggling and share the good news that God can be with them in the struggle?