For many people who struggle with mental illness, we do have a tendency to feel empty and unfulfilled in life. Some of us attempt to fix this issue through various forms of therapy while others will resort to our favorite coping skills. On a more dangerous side, some will even resort to what has been termed "high-risk behaviors"/ High risk behaviors are things such as excessive drinking alcohol, doing drugs, multiple sexual encounters, and so forth. In this blog, I will be discussing how the only thing that will ever truly satisfy us is the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. No amount of therapy, coping skills, or high risk behaviors will ever truly fulfill the void that is in each of our souls. The scripture that I will be referring to in this blog is Romans 8:31-39. This text says,
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
The first thing I would like to make note of is in verses 31-32. The Apostle Paul here is saying to us that in Christ we have every spiritual blessing that we need. Not only that, but I also believe that this is referring to the physical too. I say this because in 1 Timothy 6:8 Paul tell Timothy, "But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content." And also in Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus makes the point that we should not worry because our Heavenly Father knows what we need and will provide what we need for us. So, according to this text, we have everything we will ever need both physically and spiritually and this means we can truly be content. There is absolutely nothing that we need that God is depriving us of in this life or the next. God gave up His most prized possession (His Son) for us, so that means there is nothing we need that He will not grant us.
"Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of the Father, who also makes intercession for us"
This point is very vital for people who deal with mental illness because a lot of the times we tend to worry excessively about what other people think of us. However, according to this scripture the only opinion of us that ultimately matters is Jesus Christ's opinion. We may care about what our spouses think, or about what our friends think, or even about what our boss thinks. However, what Jesus says about us matters so much more than what our spouse, friends, or boss says about us. Our identity as Christians is found in Jesus alone and because of this God says that we are justified in His sight. He sees us as though we have never sinned because the perfect righteousness of Christ covers us. Not only that but God calls us a royal priesthood and a holy nation in 1 Peter, If we truly understood the ramifications of this, I suspect that this should radically change the way we conduct our lives,
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?.... For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord"
This a marvelous truth! The Apostle Paul concludes this chapter by reminding us that there is absolutely nothing that will ever cause God to stop loving His people. This is important because so many people with mental illness feel like they are unlovable and not worthy of respect. However, the Gospel tells us that in Christ we do matter and we worthy of the most important love from The Father. Our mental illnesses or even our sins cannot separate us from God's love. God loves us with an unconditional and eternal love.
Looking For Love-- Trip Lee
-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 christcenteredmentalhealth@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 (Christian Counselor): RoselynMorgan53@yahoo.com
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