Mental health has been a proliferated topic especially among this millennial generation that seems to “have it all” from women empowerment, feminism, affluence, improved technology and increased self-awareness (perfection). What we rather not admit is that occasionally the skeletons in sour closets attempt to haunt and disparage us and remind us of our fallibility and helplessness. Our mental health is seriously compromised when we fail to acknowledge our need to have faith in something (someone) greater than ourselves hence allowing fear to bare and weaken us.
In my formative years, there was this constant pressure to actually be the best in order to be deemed worthy. My thirteen-year-old self believed more in results than in faith. I did become the best or so I thought and I was sure that I would get sponsored to continue with my higher learning. So, imagine my frustrations and disbelief when I lacked the sponsorship opportunity I had meticulously worked towards. I thought my indigency wasn’t enough and that my load wasn’t heavy enough for someone to help me carry it despite showing them my broken back or so I thought.
No one is immune to mental health issues and Christians often find themselves in the verge of their own despair. However, trusting in someone greater than your mountain (God) gives you full relief and trust that someone else knows your demons and will help you slay them. God reminds us that no problem is insignificant and every tear is worth wiping.
Jeremiah 29:11 puts it deftly that He knows the thoughts he thinks towards us, thoughts of Peace and not of Evil, to give you a Future and a hope. He clearly understands that our past and present might be totally bleak and laden with iniquity but he promises a future to us who deem ourselves undeserving and unworthy.
Mental health needs a life of faith that is not based on practicality and logic but mere trust that with Christ as the epicenter of our lives, we are assured of victory over every insurmountable past and present and that our future is assured as well. In Isaiah 51:12, God says; “I even I, am He who comforts you .Who are you that you should be afraid of a man that will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like a grass?”
I know we are used to the phrase let go and let God and we sometimes term this as facile platitude which is not the case. Letting God is surrendering all of your life to him (good and bad) and having that inner peace and assurance that he will make things happen at His own time. In our quest to maintain a healthy mental space, it’s essential that we accept the longevity of the processes in our lives and make sure that all our steps are Up the ladder. When we do slip, let’s remember not to lose our momentum but rather continuously work ourselves up and take the next step.
I’ll conclude with Habakkuk 3:17-18 that says: “though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines: though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food: though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls- Yet I will rejoice in the lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
JKUAT CU Library