Hello everyone and welcome back to Leaving Lesser. I am so glad that you are here! Today we are going to be discussing mental health. This is a big topic and something that I’m sure everyone has struggled with at some point in time. I’ve personally struggled with anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember. This is something that I don’t typically talk much about but I am feeling called to discuss this today in hopes that it can give someone hope and encouragement where many feel like all hope is lost. As someone who has struggled with mental health issues for virtually my entire life I understand how scary it can be at times. I understand how guilty it can make you feel. How it can make you feel useless, unworthy, unwanted, unsaveable, alone. I’ve been there. I’ve had and still have days where it takes all that I can just to get out of bed in the mornings only to mosey on into the living room to sit on the couch because I just can’t do anything else that day, or maybe even that week, or maybe even that month. I’ve been there where my depression has cornered me and made me feel like I couldn’t go on, where the world would be better off without me, where I felt like a total and utter mistake, where I questioned God as to why I was even here and why He hasn’t called me home yet. I’ve been there, where my anxiety has debilitated me and kept me from living my life because I was so anxious about the future and the what if’s and the why’s. I’ve been there, where panic attacks took me over and all I could do was sit on the floor rocking back and forth, hyperventilating, terrified. I’ve been there, where I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t talk, all I could do was cry. I’ve been there, asking God, begging God to please take it all away. I was sent to all of those places by the devil, not by God. I have actually been thinking about making this post for a few weeks now but I let the devil slip in and tell me that people wouldn’t believe what the Lord has laid on my heart or that they would criticize me for sharing my thoughts and feelings. I’ve been putting this off because I have been weak but let me tell you something, I may be weak, but my God is strong. He is stronger than anxiety, worry, fear, depression, and the devil. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and that includes overcoming my mental health issues. This is not a pity party post because I know my testimony is not unique. I know that there are millions of others that have a similar or much more traumatic story than mine but I’m sharing this post in hopes that it can help someone to find peace and comfort in Jesus because without Him I would not be here today. Praise be to God that I am able to share this message with you now! Jeremiah 29:11 KJV says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” God has good plans for us. Not plans for us to sit and dwell and worry and cry. Those are the plans of the devil, the one whispering lies of insecurities into our ears filling our heads with doubt and despair. 1 Peter 5:7 ESV says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” God cares for you! How amazing! He cares about your struggles, your worries, your tears. He says at the PROPER TIME, not our time but His, He will exalt us and all of our worries will be cast on Him. We have to remember in the waiting that God is there, working our plan out for us. We have to trust in His plan and know that we know that we know He is true and faithful to us. He tells us that this world is not our home. Our home is not of this world but in the kingdom of Heaven. Our troubles are in this world but Jesus has overcome this world and all of our troubles. He has created for us a place of perfect peace. John 16:33 KJV says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” We spend our lives seeking peace and joy but peace and joy does not come from this world. My husband just told me that we can not work ourselves into joy because joy comes from the Lord, not from this world or our works. Our hearts may be heavy, our minds may be weak but our God is strong and he can carry any weight that is thrown at us if we just let go and let Him. We can’t do it on our own. He asks that we lay it all at His feet so that we can find rest in Him. Rest for our souls, rest for our minds, rest for our bodies. Matthew 11:28 KJV says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” How awesome is it that our God wants to take all of our troubles and give us rest for our weary souls. What a good, good God! To find peace we must also find rest. We can work ourselves into a tizzy if we don’t give our minds, body, and souls rest. Not laying on the couch rest but rest in Jesus, rest in His word and in His praise. I know that right now it may be hard to see the light but I promise you, hold on tight to the Lord, trust His word, and you will see that the light is coming. All of your trials were not in vein. God has a purpose and a plan for your life that is greater than you could ever possibly comprehend. The book of Job is a great example of someone who suffered immensely but never turned from God and was blessed greatly thereafter. We may face troubles, (mental, physical, spiritual) here but Jesus has a place prepared for us where no troubles lie. Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” We may not always know why things happen or why we are the way we are or what’s going to happen next but God does and we have to trust that He will direct our paths to perfect peace. We will always have trials and tribulations but we can surely rest easier knowing that God is there to fight our battles with us and that we truly are not alone. Praise God! I pray that this post has touched someones heart today. I pray that you were able to let go of some of your mental battles and lay it all at Jesus’ feet finding rest and peace in Him. I pray that you allow God to come into your life to heal all that has been hurt and that you allow Him to help you fight the wars that you have been facing seemingly alone for so long. I pray that you are able to deny the devil access to telling you lies that just aren’t true. I pray that you have gained a deeper understanding on how to fight mental battles with Jesus at your side. I pray that you felt God’s presence surrounding you today. I pray that you have grown closer to Christ while reading this post and that you were able to leave a little bit of the lesser you behind. Thank you for joining me on studying what Gods word had to say about casting all of your cares on Him, I hope that this has encouraged you today.
~Love and Prayers, Nadene