"Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life" -Proverbs 16:31
As some of you may already know, my birthday is on June 17, 1988. So, this means that tomorrow I will be turning 34-years-old. While I readily admit that I still have a lot to learn, The Lord has blessed me with some lessons concerning life and godliness in the 34 years that I have been on this earth. In this blog, I will share some of the valuable insights that I have learned from the Lord. Before I get started, I do want to clarify that I am not talking about some divine special revelation. My theological perspective is cessationism, which means I believe that the spiritual gifts and miracles have ceased and are not for today. This blog is not about that but I just want to make it clear what this blog is not about. God works through means, primarily through Scripture and then through creation and people. The lessons I have learned in my life are truths that I have gleaned from Scripture and from just living life. My prayer and hope for this blog is that anyone who reads this will be edified and encouraged to trust in the Sovereign Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Life Lesson #1: God's Word defines reality
In a previous blog, I talked about how my Schizoaffective disorder makes it difficult for me to distinguish what is real and what is not real. The solution to this problem is being grounded in God's word, the Bible. I have found that the word of the Living and True Triune God is the Truth. Anything that contradicts the Bible is not reality. For instance, when my voices tell me that I am God and that people are praying to me, well, I know that is false because the word of God says that there is only one God and I am not Him. This truth has really helped me refute the lies that my voices and intrusive thoughts attempt to deceive me with.
Life Lesson #2: There is no reason to worry when God is sovereign
This truth took me many years to fully grasp because I tend to worry a lot. I think that is a symptom of my mental illness because it also causes me to stress out a lot too. However, when I read Scripture, the common thread I see running through every page is that God is sovereign over all of creation. This means the Lord not only rules over all of creation but He also orchestrates everything that comes to pass. He has also promised to uphold me and to sustain us too. I find this truth to be rather comforting because I understand that as I go through life God is at work guiding me through everything. I no longer have to try to manipulate things to make them happen the way that I want to because I understand that everything will happen just as God has planned and his plan is ultimately good because He is good. Romans 8:28 promises us that God is working all things out for our good. This means that no matter what happens in this life, whether they are good things or even really heinous evil things, they are all working together for our good. We may not fully grasp how God is doing this but we can trust that this is true because God cannot lie.
Life Lesson #3: God's Providence
This next lesson is closely related to the lesson on the sovereignty of God, but it is a little different. Since the Lord is sovereign over all creation and He is actively ordaining everything that comes to pass, I know that God will always provide for me. I no longer have to worry about what I will eat or how I will pay my bills or even how I will get my psychiatric medication or ostomy supplies because The Lord always provides. I am commanded to seek and follow Him first and everything will be provided to me. This does not mean that The Lord will give all sorts of luxurious material possessions but it does mean that He will always provide for my needs. This also does not mean that I do not have to work for what I have either. Like I said earlier, the Lord works through ordinary means. This means that if I need to pay my bills, He will provide me with an income to do so in either the form of social security disability or through a job. If He provides me with a job, He will sustain me and give me the strength to fulfill the duties of that job. Right now, my job is being a Christian mental health advocate and while the income is not that much, I know that the Lord will provide in His time. I can rest by trusting in His providence.
Life Lesson #4: Forming genuine relationships is superior than being right
This lesson is something that has taken many years for me to finally understand. I have a tendency to be zealous for my beliefs and I tend to be very vocal about them too. This has caused me to make a lot of people very angry with me and I have lost a lot of relationships. However, the Lord has been good to me by providing me with certain relationships with people who have never left my side and I appreciate them for it. I have learned that sometimes for the sake of the relationship it is best to lay aside your pride and focus on what unites you with your friends or family instead of what divides you from them. It also takes wisdom to admit that you do not know everything and on some things you can be wrong too.
Life Lesson #5: Being a good husband to my wife
This lesson I have been learning recently since I have been married. As a husband, it is my responsibility to lead my wife into godliness and righteousness before God. She should submit to me, only as is fitting unto the Lord. This means as long as I am doing what I am supposed to do as a man of God, she should submit to me, but if I try to lead her into sin then she has no obligation to submit to that. I am blessed to have a wonderful godly marriage but sometimes my mental illness does cause me to do destructive things. It is in these moments that my wife must step up and handle business until I am stable enough again to handle being the leader. This is a hard truth for me to admit because I do tend to be very prideful but it takes great humility to admit that I cannot always lead the way I am supposed to. My wife understands this and she is incredibly patient and loving towards me.
Life Lesson #6: The grace of Christ is sufficient
I confess that I have not always fully understood this concept but in recent years I have come to appreciate it. The fact is no matter what we go through in this life, the grace of Christ is enough for us. We honestly do not need anything else. We do not need money, cars, women, family, friends, or anything else because all we truly need is the grace of Christ. Any blessing that the Lord chooses to give us is solely because of His kindness and mercy to us. It is the height of arrogance to think that God owes us sinners anything at all. God does not owe us anything but wrath and condemnation for our sin and rebellion against Him. When we suffer, we should not expect God to heal us or our circumstances because He does not owe that to us. No, when we suffer, we should remember that Christ's grace is sufficient. So, even if we die, we will trust in Him and in His grace. When things are going well, we need to remember that Christ's grace is sufficient because we can lose everything over night.
Life Lesson #7: Our Identity in Christ
This lesson has been the most powerful lesson I have learned in my life. The Bible says that our very identity is so closely united to Christ that we can literally base our identities in Him. This means that nothing in all of creation defines who we are. Our mental illnesses, our physical disabilities, our relationships, or fame or fortune, or anything else does not define us. Our identity in Jesus Christ is the only thing that defines us. The word of God tells us that those who are in Christ are new creations and that we are holy and that we are royalty. We will one day reign on the New Heaven and New Earth with Jesus Christ and we will judge even the angels! This is an astounding truth that should completely revolutionize our self-esteem by affecting the way we see ourselves.
I hope that these truths have a profound impact on you the way they have had a profound impact on me. We serve a good, holy, righteous, and just God. In a world that is increasingly becoming more and more evil, we can trust the God is always good. Please allow these truths to sink in your mind as you go throughout your life and always remember to stay in God's word because God's word is where we can see the Jesus Christ. Thank you for reading my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-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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