As many of you may know from reading other posts here at Joy with Jamie, I suffer from anxiety. I have battled it since childhood. It is not as bad as it is for some, but at times, it absolutely kept me from living my best life. I wanted desperately for my mind to work properly, to behave, but it just didn’t. I knew how I wanted to feel, what I wanted to think, and my mind gave me the opposite response. Our minds can do a quite a number on us at times. Maybe yours causes you a lot of pain as well. I am so sorry.
The Pain of Mental Illness is Real
To give you an idea of what I deal with, in case you aren’t familiar with what anxiety can feel like, I’ll tell you how I am feeling right now. As I write, I feel panicky. I can feel small rushes of adrenaline surging through my body, like energy waves. I feel like something is wrong or is about to be. I can feel just a few tiny beads of sweat forming and chills resulting. The hairs on my arms feel like they are standing on end, even though they aren’t. I feel uneasy and a little scared. I agree. This is definitely not a pleasant state to be in, but I do have good news though. I bet you knew I would. This is Joy with Jamie after all.
Our State Has Us Needing God Daily
Those of us with battles of the mind live in a unique state of consciousness that can bring us closer to God daily, if we let it. Our mental pain is like a thorn in our side. It requires we reach out for help every single day or face the real possibility of not being able to function productively. The pain of that thorn will be debilitating. We may have counseling, medication, or friends to help us, but if we know the real secret to living life to the fullest, despite our circumstance, we will be reaching out to our creator first and foremost, the one who controls all things and loves us beyond measure. And that is precisely why He sometimes chooses to leave that thorn right where it is.
Help is Available in Many Forms
I take medication. I seek counseling when I need to. And I have a support group of wonderful friends. God had a hand in providing each of those helps. There is no shame in reaching out. You’d be surprised to find out how many people you know are in counseling, support groups, or are on medications. All of these have a place in battling mental illness, but more important to my healing and enduring is my relationship with Jesus Christ.
The Secret to Living with a Thorn
I talk to God throughout the day and tell Him I am thankful for Him. I tell Him I love Him. I tell Him I need Him. I remind myself He loves me and is for me. Sometimes I cry to Him, and sometimes I beg to be healed. He listens and comforts me. He strengthens me. Because I suffer, I find myself reaching out to God more and more often, like a child reaches out to their parents in times of trouble. I cannot do life without Him.
The Source of All Help
Because God has allowed my continued battles of the mind, to leave this thorn in my side, He has given me what I need to live with it. He gave me a support group of friends and family, a wonderful counselor, physicians who helped me find the right medication, and best of all, the gift of constantly needing to be in His presence.
For a Christ follower, when you are close to God, you are in the most peaceful and safest place there is. It is easier to swallow. Like medicine with sugar. Are you singing that song right now from Mary Poppins? You know, the one that says a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. When I seek Him first, everything else is much easier to take.
Sometimes, You Need to Change Some Things
Being close to God, I am also better able to hear what He has to say to me. Sometimes, I find out there are actions I am taking that are contributing negatively to my current mental state, things I need to do differently to bring about healing. When He shows me those, I do my best to act, and I ask him to give me the strength to change the habits and hang-ups or situations that I need to. I also ask for forgiveness for anything I have done and repent of that sin. I can tell you, a lot of my pain comes from missteps. I am so glad I am close enough to Him to realize that and correct my path. Needing God daily helps me have peace and strength and the wisdom to know what I need to do to feel better.
Thorns Led to Thankfulness
Having this thorn also makes me uniquely aware that I have a lot to be thankful for. People who haven’t endured suffering often forget to be thankful. I have suffered, and I am exceedingly thankful when God gives me relief from my pain in whatever way He sees fit. I want to tell Him how much I appreciate the good moments, the moments where my mind is calm, or the moments where I can feel His strength carrying me through the day.
The Most Joy Filled People Have Suffered
I look back on some very difficult battles, and I know it was God helping me through those moments. Whether mental, physical, or situational, He was there. How do I ? Because on my own, I never would have made it. People who have endured a lot of suffering are often the most joyful people there are. If you stop and take the time to talk to them, you will find out that by the world’s standards they should be broken, bitter, and just plain miserable. But they aren’t. They’ve learned the secret to having joy despite their circumstances. The source of all joy is God.
Finding Joy: If the thorn in your side is more than you can take, have you reached out to the Great Physician? If not, talk to Him right now and tell Him how you feel and what you need. Ask Him for healing. Ask for the strength you need to live each day. Ask Him to reveal any habits and hangups you have that may be contributing to your condition and be prepared to change those.
Seek God’s presence and the wisdom that comes from being close to Him. Ask Him to reveal anything you need to do on your part, besides changing habits and hangups and seeking Him, to reduce your pain. Would counseling help? Have you talked to a physician about medications? Do you have good Christian friends that can encourage and support you when times are rough? God can direct you and provide for you and help you find joy.
Related Scripture:
2 Corinthians 12: 8 – 10 – Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it [the thorn] away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Isaiah 41:10 – So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Psalm 119:76 – May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.
John 16:33 – I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
James 1:2 – 4 – My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a]patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
1 Peter 5:7 – Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Psalm 57:1 – Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, until the destroying storms pass by.
No Comment