How My Schizoaffective Disorder Displays The Glory Of God

 :"As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus answered, 'It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him" -John 9:1-3 

It may seem strange for someone to say that his mental illness displays the glory of God. After all, how could something so deformed and ugly possibly bring God glory? Well, if we believe what the Apostle Paul says in Colossians 1:16 that "...all things were created by Him and for Him" then that would include mental illness. As we see in John 9 that the man born blind was not born blind due to any sin of his own or because of any sin of his parents. He was born blind so that the glory of God could be displayed in him. I imagine that when Jesus first uttered these words, his disciples were probably stunned into silence because blindness is typically seen as something shameful. What a surprise they were in for when they realized what Jesus was saying! In this blog, I will be listing some ways that my Schizoaffective Disorder really does display God's glory. These ways are: 1) It reminds me of His divine providence, 2) It shows that God is a faithful Father, 3) It reminds me of His abundant grace and mercy, and 4) it keeps me dependent on His will. My prayer is that this blog will be edifying to anyone who reads it but also I want to show people a different perspective to view mental illness with. I hope that that purpose is accomplished here. 

Divine Providence
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My mental illness reminds me that I am literally nothing without Christ and that everything I need comes from Him. Something as simple as my need for psychiatric medication for my treatment shows me that the Lord really does provide. Sometimes I do worry about when I will be able to get my medication but then the Lord always pulls through by making sure I get my medication no matter what. This might seem simple and ordinary but God typically operates in the simple and ordinary. I know that as long as the Lord keep providing for me I will be sustained and I have nothing to worry about. My trust is in Him and Him alone. 

Faithful Father
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My mental illness has shown me that God is my Father and He is faithful to me. This is an important lesson because I know that I typically push people away but I know that I could never push God away. Even when I am unfaithful to Him, He still remains faithful to me. He lovingly guides me through life's trials and tribulations and when He needs to He lovingly disciplines me too. He demonstrates that He cares for me especially in my darkest moments when all I want to do is rage at him by being patient with me. 

Grace & Mercy
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This is one of the most beautiful truths I have come to learn about the Lord. His grace and mercy covers all my iniquities. I typically stumble into sin every single moment of every single day. As a matter of fact, I can identify with Paul when he says that the good he wants to do he does not do but the evil he does not want to do he does do in Romans chapter 7. However, the simple truth is that no matter what I say or do, whether I am on psychosis or not, it is all covered by the blood of Christ. It is because of this amazing truth that I am saved and I can never lose my salvation no matter what. God sees me as though I've never sinned because of what Jesus did on my behalf. 

Dependence on His will
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My mental illness helps me to realize that His will is perfect and that I need to constantly submit to His will over my life. It does not matter how I am feeling or what I am thinking. As a matter of fact, my Schizoaffective Disorder shows me that even on my best days I cannot trust my own thoughts, or feelings because they can be distorted. So, I must trust in God's will because His thoughts and ways are much higher than my thoughts and ways. My favorite verse in the Old Testament is Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths." 

Whenever I am tempted to doubt or just trust in my own reasoning, I remind myself of this simple Bible verse and the truth that this verse is telling us. 

Conclusion
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I sincerely hope that after reading this that you will not see mental illness in a more positive light because mental illness does not necessarily have to be something negative. As I have shown, mental illness can and does show the glory of God. Thank you for reading this blog. 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate 

For 24 hour peer support, please call the Christ-Centered Mental Health ministry line at 567-343-3727 or email me at christmentalhealth@gmail.com Lydia Sarchet: mrssccmh@gmail.com Britton Garleb: britaingabriel@protonmail.com Joe Roman: Twiztedmembrain@gmail.com Scott AKA Johnny Kangaroo: scottsoconmhs@outlook.com Dwayne McLeod: psyconatics@gmail.com Veronica Talbot: vtalbot747@gmail.com Amber Williams: shayneedm18@gmail.com Chuck Ward: wcw50@aol.com Sarah Olivia: sarahjesseolivia@gmail.com Amber Marie: amarie0193@gmail.com Zachary Uram: Netrek@gmail.com Joseph McDermott: jpmlovesjesus@live.com 

Roselyn Morgan (Christ-Centered Mental Health Christian Counselor): RoselynMorgan53@yahoo.com

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