Life Update #2: It's a learning period...

I suppose when your in a waiting period, it can swiftly turn to a learning period if you decide that is what you want to do with your life. This last weekend I was learning so much. The topic was Anxiety, Depression and the Gospel. And honestly, it was so enlightening.

I feel the whole subject is quite taboo in the church. This is less true in the 21st century, when mental health and awareness is quite heavily advertised. However, the church can sometimes seem to turn away those struggling with such issues - and I think the reason is because of our perception of God.

If there is one thing I have learnt this weekend is to be sympathetic of people with mental illness - which I think is where the church can sometimes get it wrong. If you have some of these issues, you immediately aren't having enough faith. If you struggle with anxiety and depression, you have not been properly trusting in God. And in some ways, the latter can be true for many, this I will clarify later. However, I think we forget that in spite of our sinful nature, our flaws, the sin that may have caused us to struggle mentally, we are in sight of a loving God, if he has chosen us for him.

DEPRESSION

Psalm 88 was the place we went when we talked about depression - and, boy, is it a depressing psalm. The psalmist is in such a dark place, one that many of us might be quite familiar with. But some key points the speaker mentioned, especially for Christian struggling with depression, were very helpful...

1. Christians can get very down, especially as this life is full of suffering

2. Prayer is very important when we are down

3. It is important that we know God when things are good.

4. Our own suffering and how we handle it can minister to others.

All were such helpful points, and I can relate with the third point very clearly. I am in quite a good place right now. I do not feel that I struggle too much, especially in terms of depression. However, I know the hardest of times has not yet come, and I know that I will have to learn to trust God when it does come.

And this is not going to be easy to hear, for those with depression. But I feel it is an important reminder: We can't always trust our feelings but we can always trust God. God is a loving father. In Psalm 88:1a, he says "O LORD, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you..." He trusts that God is the one who save him. He is in a dark place, but right from the beginning, he trusts God. I feel this is important to point out.

ANXIETY

I suppose as Christians, when we talk about anxiety, we look to some of the key passages. In particular, we look at the section of Jesus' sermon on the Mount where he gave the command "Do not be anxious..." I think, especially after what I learnt this last weekend, we must realise that it is possible to be anxious about the right things. In fact, the word Greek word for anxious was used in other places such as Philippians 2:20, where it says that Timothy is "anxious" for their welfare. But in other places in the Bible people are anxious in the wrong way. Our speaker pointed out Mary and Martha from Luke 10:38-42, where Martha is seen to be busily working whilst Mary is putting her trust in Jesus and listens to him.

The Speakers main points for this kind of physical, material anxiety were:

1. Anxiety is against common sense: particularly as we look at Matthew 6:26 where even the birds are feed by God. We are more valuable to God than the birds, so we can rely on him for material provision

2. Anxiety is against faith: God does have a track record for providing for us. We don't always have what we want, but we are always given what we need. It is actually a sin to not be trusting God.

--- [a sidenote you can skip] ---

In addition to point two and as a side note, I think we should understand that God even provides for us according to his plan (otherwise known as his 'decree'). When we see the poverty-stricken, the hunger, the impoverished people of this world, eventually die from hunger or whatever their situation seems to cause, we can easily turn to these verses and blame God. We might say "No wonder people have anxiety about material provision - God isn't providing for them!". Firstly, God allows people to succumb to death, and I think we can trust that God has in mind what they need. And death seems like the worst thing for us, but for Christians in poverty, it is the greatest relief from suffering. Secondly, death is the result and punishment of sin that we committed and turned to. God is gracious and merciful, and we are undeserving. I have never seen a day where God hasn't provided in abundance. Some only have the bare essentials. But all of us are undeserving of either circumstance. Thirdly, I would encourage anyone reading this to see if God is calling for you to help alleviate some of their suffering. Instead of picking on God, could you instead see a way to help alleviate anxiety. Perhaps then we might be in a better position to give them the greater news of the gospel - our main concern should be for their eternal lives.

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But anxiety can be more than the physical. In fact, for some, it will be an ongoing struggle. Whilst I can't say I have anxiety, as I have never been diagnosed, I definitely have a tendency to be anxious. I know for certain that there was a period in my Year Twelve life where I was having terrible stress cramps that meant I did not feel like eating anything, I was crying erratically and was struggling to concentrate on anything but study. I was in no danger of self-harm, but I was certainly not in a good place.

I think for those who are struggling with anxiety and have been for the long-term, there are a few things you should really know:

1. You really matter to God: this is a direct quote from some of my notes from camp, but it is a good reminder. I think we see that in the Matthew 6 passage. What's good about this is that is a fact, and it is not based off of your feelings at all. No matter the anxiety, stress and emotions, you can know that God really cares for you.

2. Anxiety often has a trigger - face that trigger. The truth is, the more times you face what makes you anxious, you lose some of your fear or stress. For example, I probably could have managed my stress and anxiety a bit better in Year 12 if I had faced the amount of work and the emotions I had from it. I could have responded to it much better. There was always gonna be work - it was how I was going to cope with it.

3. "Lean into the reality of God's word": it is in the Bible that we find the source of truth. So many people in our culture want to diverge from that. No wonder we find ourselves losing sight of the truth. As we grow in the knowledge of the word, we come to know truths about God and his love. We also realise we have a hope, and we can look to the future.

IN CONCLUSION

In reality, this was less of a life update, and more of a rant about Anxiety and Depression. But there is a final statement I would like to close with that I think really sums up the camp: "In our weakness, we must put our dependency on Christ." Weakness could really cover a lot of things, not just anxiety and depression. But one of the greatest needs, I see, with mental illness is that we put out trust in God.

But, because of our flaws, we are given more reason to live in hope of eternal life. And, in spite of our flaws, God will give us strength to carry on, just as he always has. Let me leave you with these words from God in Paul's second letter to the Corinthians: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:1-10)