Of course we can! We are human beings too!

After all, we carry the treasure of the Gospel in jars of clay (2 Corinthians 4:7). We are saved by the grace of Christ, not by our own merit or because we are better or healthier than other people (Ephesians 2:8–10).

All Evangelical Focus news and opinion, on your WhatsApp.

And the Bible is not afraid to show the anguish of many of its leaders.

• Even after achieving remarkable spiritual victories, Moses, Elijah and Jonah were distressed and asked God to take away their lives (Numbers 11:10-15, 2 Kings 19:3-4, Jonah 4:3).


• The Psalms express every kind of human emotion to God, from worship to the confession that ‘darkness is my closest friend’ and the cry, ‘Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief’ (Psalm 88:18, 31:9).


• Jesus “was deeply moved in spirit and troubled” at the death of Lazarus, was “in anguish” in Gethsemane, and felt forsaken by the Father on the cross (John 11:33, Luke 22:44, Matthew 27:46).

These examples confirm that Christians are still human beings. Rather than thinking that we are either believers or suffer from mental health issues, we learn to reconcile these two truths. It is not a dichotomy, but a spectrum on which we all find ourselves.

But what about today’s ‘men and women of God’? If they preach eloquently and lead impressive ministries, surely they cannot suffer from mental health issues, can they?

In fact, the opposite is true. Pastors and leaders are even more vulnerable, as they bear enormous spiritual responsibility, work at weekends and care for the suffering of others.

For example, Paul stated that “Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak?” (2 Corinthians 11:28-29).

Religious circles may even justify unhealthy personality traits, such as grandiosity, narcissism and obsessiveness, arguing that if they lead to ministerial success, their ‘fruits’ show that they are ‘from God’.

It is human and common to struggle with mental health, even for those who believe in God. According to Mental Health: A Guide for Faith Leaders by the American Psychiatric Association, 19% of the American population suffers from some form of mental illness each year. [1]

A study by Harvard and Queensland universities concludes that “half the world’s population will experience a mental health disorder” at some point in their lives.

This means you are surrounded by people fighting inner battles. We must have compassion for them – and for ourselves!

This understanding helps us to reconcile spirituality with caring for our minds and emotions.

Just as medicine, nutrition and exercise help Christians to look after their bodies, psychology, psychiatry and other disciplines help us to process our emotions and care for psychological wounds and illnesses.

Seeking professional help in this area is not a sign of a lack of faith, but of healthy self-care.

After all, Jesus taught us to love God with all our mind, spirit, heart and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves (Matthew 22:37–40).

Christians are not exempt from suffering, but we can suffer with faith, hope and surrounded by people who love us.

After the agony of the cross, Jesus brought peace to his disciples (John 20:19). Isaiah prophesied that ‘by his wounds we are healed’ (Isaiah 53:5). And Paul saw the redemptive power of his sufferings within God’s purpose.

‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God’ (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). 

In my next articles, I will examine the religious stigma that still surrounds this topic, present Christian resources to aid the care of our minds and emotions, propose biblical criteria for evaluating extraordinary experiences, and suggest sound books on the intersection of faith and mental health.

And I conclude this brief biblical overview with a question: in what ways can your pain become a place of encounter with God and a way of blessing others?

René Breuel, evangelical pastor, author in Rome. 

Notes

[1] Mental Health: A Guide for Faith Leaders (American Psychiatric Association, 2018), 4.

[analysis]

[title] Do you see a need for this kind of journalism? [/title]

[text] Evangelical Focus is a network of many people in Europe and beyond who strive to bring a uniquely Christian perspective to the big issues of conversation.

Through news, interviews, opinion and analysis, we seek to build bridges between evangelical churches and the societies in which they live.

As a non-profit entity, the big challenge is to be sustainable, month by month. We invite you to make a difference! Join the readers who make Evangelical Focus possible.

[/text][/analysis]