Mental Health in the Bible
With rising awareness of mental health issues, many are exploring the Bible. What are biblical perspectives on anxiety, depression, and emotional well-being?
The battle of the mind is a real and fierce one. Even as believers in Yeshua, we face this battle everyday. Our thoughts and mental state deeply affect our relationship with God and others. Therefore, it is extremely important to guard our hearts and minds in Yeshua.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
Now more than ever, after isolation from COVID and the trauma of the long wars in Israel and Ukraine, people need to know where to turn to find true peace of mind. So, let’s take turn to the only one who offers peace that is not of this world… Yeshua. And let’s take a look at some scriptures to discover more about what God thinks about mental health.
And let us not forget the commandment that Jesus called the most important one, which will get us started on the right path to mental health:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ (Matthew 22:37)
Does the Bible Talk about Mental Health?
Indeed, the Bible does talk about mental health! God cares deeply about our thoughts, and they affect our relationship with God and others. As we read through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we can see how much God cares about the hearts and minds of His people. He knows their thoughts and what they truly believe, even if their lips say something else.
Let’s take a look at a few scriptures that reveal God’s concern for our mental and spiritual health.
“The Lord says: ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Isaiah 29:13)
God can see when we are just “going through the motions” of doing the right thing or even talking about God, but not actually being close to Him. Nothing is hidden from God. He can see right through our outward actions or talk. God sees our hearts and where they really are. He hears our thoughts and can tell when our minds and hearts are close to Him or when they are far away.
“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
We serve the greatest King and Lord, and yet He cares about our every thought! He heard the thoughts of the people during the days of Noah, and “every thought of the human heart was only evil all the time.” This broke God’s heart.
And in the above verse, from 1 Samuel, the prophet declares the truth that God looks at the heart of people and He cares. God knew the thoughts and the heart of David, and that’s why He chose this shepherd boy to be king. God knew David would be a man after His own heart.
The Gift of a Sound Mind
God also knows your heart. He knows that every human is born with a sinful mind and heart. Without God, we literally cannot think correctly or think true thoughts, because only God Himself is the truth.
2 Timothy 1:7 explains, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (KJV)
In this verse, we can see that without God our minds would be fearful. However, our Heavenly Father gives us another way to live…with His power, His love, and His mind. This is a precious gift that God has given us through the death and resurrection of His Son Yeshua – His mind…a sound mind!
“For ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16)
The Bible also tells us that if we want to have good mental health, then we need to wage war against everything that sets itself up against God and His thoughts. Even though we have been given the mind of Yeshua, we still have to battle to stand firm in this truth.
Keeping Our Minds Healthy
We are called to “demolish”, take down, and destroy everything that comes up against the Lord. Our human minds are naturally disobedient to the Lord. Therefore, we need to be prepared for the daily battle of the mind by “taking every thought captive” to keep our minds healthy and rooted in God’s truth.
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)
One practical way to take a hold of our thoughts is by sharing our thoughts with God and asking Him to give us His thoughts instead. We can also declare God’s Word and His truth over our minds, our lives, our families, and our life circumstances.
The Power of God’s Word
God’s Word is our sword and is a powerful weapon to help us fight against depression, anxiety, fear, trauma, and all of the emotions that can easily overwhelm us. And we can put on the full armor of God everyday to help us fight this very real battle.
“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:17-18)
Now that we have established that God’s word clearly expresses the importance of our mental health, let’s jump into the Book of Psalms. This book in the Bible is filled with thoughts of the human heart, especially of David’s heart, and how our mental health relates to our spiritual life.
(Out of the 150 Psalms, King David wrote at least 75 psalms, and he wrote them right here, in the land of Israel!)
Finding Hope in the Psalms – Honesty & Truth
God gives us great wisdom in His Word about how to have a healthy mind, and one book that expresses this well, is the Book of Psalms. Through the Psalms, we can hear the deep cries, real battles, fears, anxieties, and joys that the human heart experiences through emotions here on this earth.
King David chose to articulate many of his emotions and thoughts through writing songs and poetry. He wrote psalms. He cried out to the Lord in deep and honest ways. And now, we can learn from David and how he prayerfully and honestly brought his overwhelming emotions and thoughts to the Lord.
In Psalm 6:6-9, David explains: “I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes. Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping. The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer. “
In this psalm, we can vividly hear the sorrow, weariness, and heaviness that David is feeling. He doesn’t withhold his true emotions and act like everything is okay. No, he honestly shares that his couch is drenched with his tears! Can you relate to this kind of sorrow?
And yet, David doesn’t stay in this place of sorrow. He rises up and tells the enemy to get away from him! He declares the truth that God has heard his crying and his prayers!
Keys from the Bible to Improve Mental Health
In David’s psalms, we can see over and over how David uses this principle of honesty and truth to keep His mind healthy. In Psalm 42:11, David encourages himself saying, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
This verse is amazing because it holds keys that can unlock the doors of depression, sorrow, and darkness. Immediately after David expressed His deep and downcast emotions to God, David takes authority over his emotions and commands himself to “put his hope in God.” And he doesn’t stop there, he chooses to PRAISE God and declare the truth of who God is – his Savior and his God.
Here are some practical keys to help us unlock the doors that hold us in darkness and sorrow:
- Share your honest feelings and thoughts with God.
- Choose hope. Right after sharing your heart with God, say: “Even though I feel all of these things, I choose to put my hope in you, God.
- Declare the truth of who God is. The enemy is trying to place lies in our minds about who God is. Therefore, it is vital to remember and declare the truth about who God is, especially in difficult times.
Through the Psalms, we can see how David and others shared their hearts with God, and yet also chose to speak the truth, praise God, and worship Him. Speaking God’s truth will pull us up out of the battle raging within our mind and heart. It will help us stand firm in Yeshua with a sound mind.
Who Struggled with Mental Health in the Bible?
Every man and woman of God struggles with mental health to some degree. That is because we live in a sinful world where our flesh and our spirit are at battle. But, there are some examples in the Bible which show us how to fight the battle of the mind and heart.
Let’s take a look at some men and women in the Bible and how they struggled with mental health.
Mental Health of Jonah
Jonah was troubled and distressed; however, it was a result of disobeying God. From within the belly of the fish, he said, “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.” (Jonah 2:2)
This verse shows us a beautiful truth: God still speaks to us even when we disobey Him. There will be consequences for our disobedience, but God is gracious to listen to our cry, answer us, and help us!
Later in Jonah chapter 4, Jonah expresses a deep anger towards God, because God relented from punishing the people of Nineveh. Jonah became so angry that he wanted to die. “But the Lord replied, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’” (Jonah 4:4)
God knew that it wasn’t right for Jonah to be angry, especially to the point of wanting to die. But, He allowed Jonah to share these honest feelings. And God also took care of Jonah by providing shelter for him and trying to help Jonah see the truth.
Hannah’s Struggles Mental Health
Hannah was a woman deeply loved by her husband. However, she was also barren, taunted by an enemy, overcome by sorrow to the point that she didn’t want to eat, and would weep bitterly before the Lord. One day, she came to the temple to pray once more.
“Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.” (1 Samuel 1:16-18)
What we can learn from Hannah is that she never gave up. She didn’t give up praying to the Lord for the deepest desire of her heart. She didn’t back down when the sorrow overwhelmed her. And in the end God honored her prayers by answering her and blessing her with a son.
Other Examples in the Bible of Mental Health Struggles
The Bible shows us that even great kings struggled with mental health. King Saul was tormented by an evil spirit so he could not sleep or find true peace. This is why he brought David to play worship music in his presence, to help calm his soul and fight off the evil spirit.
“Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.” (1 Samuel 16:23)
What we can learn from Saul is that sometimes when we disobey God, it allows the devil to get a foothold in our lives. When an evil spirit has a stronghold in our lives, it can create deep unrest, sorrow, and heaviness. In this case, it is important to ask the Lord for deliverance.
King David also experienced great sorrow, as we were able to see in some of the Psalms. There were many times throughout his life that he was distressed, overcome with regret from sin, or deeply troubled. But unlike Saul, David chose to cling to God at all times – not just in times of trouble.
David was greatly distressed because many wanted to take his life, and he also experienced great hardships in his family. But David found strength in the Lord his God.
God’s Heart Towards Your Mental Health
Is your mental health on God’s heart? Absolutely! He cares more than you realize about your thoughts and the condition of your heart. Jesus is near to the brokenhearted. He is a refuge in times of trouble. Our Messiah is the great comforter. He is the prince of peace.
These are words He described Himself with, because of the great love He has for mankind.
He also cares so much about us that He doesn’t want us to be alone. First, He promises He will always be with us. Second, He gives us His Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and comfort us. And lastly, He gives us each other.
God has blessed us with one other, so that we can walk with each other through the good and hard times. And in the book of Proverbs it says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”
Community helps us stay on the path of righteousness. The accountability of others speaking into our lives can help us stand firm in God’s truth, especially in the hardest times of our lives. Iron sharpens iron. Staying connected with the body of Messiah can remind us of God’s hope and the peace of mind we can have when we trust in Him!
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)
I pray that as you trust in the Lord with all your thoughts, emotions, and deep cries of your heart, you will experience God’s perfect peace in your healthy mind.
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