Faith and Mental Health: Finding Hope and Healing

### Bible Reading
1. **Psalm 88:1-18** - This passage captures the deep emotional distress and feelings of abandonment that many people experience, setting the stage for a candid discussion on mental health.
2. **Philippians 4:8** - This verse encourages believers to fix their thoughts on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable, aligning with cognitive behavioral principles for better mental health.
3. **Ephesians 6:10-18** - This passage describes the full armor of God, emphasizing the importance of spiritual warfare in addressing mental health challenges.

### Observation Questions
1. What emotions and feelings are expressed by the psalmist in Psalm 88? How do these emotions relate to the topic of mental health? [51:00]
2. According to Philippians 4:8, what types of thoughts should we focus on? How does this align with the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy? [01:15:55]
3. What are the different components of the full armor of God mentioned in Ephesians 6:10-18? How do these components help in spiritual warfare? [01:18:46]
4. How did the sermon describe Jesus' emotional distress in Mark 14? What does this tell us about His empathy towards our struggles? [55:45]

### Interpretation Questions
1. How does the psalmist's cry in Psalm 88 reflect the reality of mental health struggles among believers? What does this teach us about expressing our pain to God? [51:46]
2. In what ways can focusing on the qualities listed in Philippians 4:8 help improve our mental health? How can this practice be integrated into daily life? [01:15:55]
3. How does understanding the full armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18 equip us to handle spiritual attacks that may affect our mental health? [01:18:46]
4. How does recognizing Jesus' own emotional distress challenge the stigma around mental health in the Christian community? What implications does this have for how we support each other? [55:45]

### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you felt like the psalmist in Psalm 88. How did you cope with those feelings, and what role did your faith play in that process? [51:46]
2. Philippians 4:8 encourages us to fix our thoughts on positive qualities. Identify one negative thought pattern you struggle with. What steps can you take this week to replace it with thoughts that align with Philippians 4:8? [01:15:55]
3. The sermon emphasized the importance of community in mental health. How can you actively seek or provide support within your church community to combat isolation and loneliness? [01:11:00]
4. Consider the spiritual aspect of mental health discussed in the sermon. How can you incorporate the practice of putting on the full armor of God into your daily routine to protect against spiritual attacks? [01:18:46]
5. The sermon highlighted the importance of seeking help. If you are struggling with mental health, what practical steps can you take this week to reach out for support, whether through prayer, counseling, or medical help? [01:03:05]
6. Reflect on the role of hope in your mental health journey. How can you remind yourself of God's promises and faithfulness during times of despair? [01:01:10]
7. How can you be an advocate for mental health awareness and support within your church or community, helping to dismantle the stigma and encourage others to seek help? [01:27:05]

Day 1: Jesus Understands Our Emotional Struggles
Jesus Christ's own experiences on earth included moments of profound emotional distress, akin to what many today would describe as depression or severe anxiety. This understanding of Jesus' emotional depth is crucial for believers as it reassures us that our Savior is not a distant deity but one who has intimately known human suffering. This realization allows believers to approach Him without shame, acknowledging their struggles openly. It is a profound reminder that one's mental health challenges do not diminish their faith or spiritual standing. Instead, they highlight the need for a compassionate, empathetic approach to spirituality, where struggles are met with understanding and not judgment. [55:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIvf3bm71iw&t=3330s)

"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not." Isaiah 53:3 ESV

Reflection: How can recognizing Jesus' own emotional struggles change the way you approach Him with your own mental health challenges?

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Day 2: Community as a Catalyst for Mental Health
The sociological aspects of mental health emphasize the significant role of community and interpersonal connections in fostering mental well-being. The biblical principle that "it is not good for man to be alone" serves as a foundational truth, underscoring the healing power of community. During times of increased isolation, such as the COVID pandemic, the rise in mental health issues highlighted the critical nature of social support. Believers are encouraged to actively participate in their community, recognizing that such engagement is not only beneficial but divinely instituted for their holistic well-being. [01:11:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIvf3bm71iw&t=4245s)

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV

Reflection: In what ways can you engage more deeply with your community to enhance both your and others' mental well-being?

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Day 3: The Transformative Power of Our Thoughts
Philippians 4:8 is not merely spiritual advice but aligns closely with psychological principles that advocate for managing our thought patterns to combat anxiety and depression. By fixing our thoughts on what is true, noble, and right, we engage in a therapeutic practice that can lead to significant improvements in mental health. This directive encourages believers to be mindful of their mental processes, understanding that their thoughts can either be a source of renewal or a pathway to distress. This integration of faith and cognitive behavioral principles offers a robust framework for mental health management. [01:15:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIvf3bm71iw&t=4540s)

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8 ESV

Reflection: What are some practical ways you can start to 'fix your thoughts' on more noble and true things daily?

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Day 4: Spiritual Warfare in Mental Health
Acknowledging the spiritual dimensions of our struggles is essential for a holistic approach to mental health. The enemy's schemes can manifest as mental health issues, making it crucial for believers to don the full armor of God. This spiritual armor is not metaphorical but represents practical tools—truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God—that protect and empower believers in their daily battles. Understanding and utilizing these tools can significantly impact one's mental resilience and spiritual health. [01:18:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIvf3bm71iw&t=4711s)

"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." Ephesians 6:11 ESV

Reflection: How can you more effectively use the armor of God to combat the spiritual dimensions of your mental health challenges?

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Day 5: Ever-Present Hope and Help
The promise of hope through God's faithfulness is a cornerstone of Christian belief, applicable to all aspects of life, including mental health challenges. This hope is active and involves reaching out for help through prayer, community support, and professional care. Believers are encouraged to view seeking help not as a sign of weakness but as a demonstration of wisdom and strength. God has equipped the church and professionals to provide support, reflecting His care and concern for our total well-being. [01:03:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIvf3bm71iw&t=3770s)

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15:13 ESV

Reflection: What are some steps you can take today to actively seek help and hope in areas of your life where you are struggling?

God, you are my savior. I've been praying to you day and night. Please pay attention to my prayers. Listen to my prayers for mercy. My soul has had enough of this pain. I'm ready to die. People already treat me like a dead man, like someone too weak to live. So look for me among the dead, like a body in the grave. I'm one of those you've forgotten, cut off from you and your care. You put me in that hole in the ground. Yes, you put me in that dark place. Your anger presses down on me like a heavy weight. It's like one wave after another just pounding against me. You made my friends leave me. They all avoid me like someone no one wants to touch. Like a prisoner in my house, I can't go out. My eyes hurt from crying. Lord, I pray to you constantly. I lift my arms in prayer to you. Do you do miracles for the dead? Do ghosts rise up and praise you? No. The dead in their graves can't talk about your faithful love. People in the world of the dead can't talk about your faithfulness. The dead who lie in darkness can't see the amazing things you do. Those in the world of the forgotten can't talk about your goodness. Lord, I'm asking you to help me. Early each morning, I prayed to you. Lord, why have you abandoned me? Why have you abandoned me? Why do you refuse to listen to me? I've been sick and weak since I was young. I've suffered your anger. I'm helpless. Your anger, it covers me like a flood. Your attacks are killing me. They surround me on every side. I feel like a drowning man. You caused my friends and loved ones to leave me. Now darkness, darkness is my closest friend.

Psalm 88. I recognize today that that is a very heavy way to start a sermon. But as I read through that chapter this week, my heart broke. Not just because of the obvious pain that the original author was going through as he wrote those words, but because I know of too many people in this room right now and too many people watching this video that could have written those words themselves. That maybe you've been there this week where you've been asking God those questions. God, why have you abandoned me? You've been telling him that you feel like you're drowning, that your eyes are hurting from all the pain. That your soul has had enough of the crying. That your soul has had enough of the pain. And maybe you've even asked this week, God, where are you? And my heart, it breaks for you.

And so today, for You Asked For It, we're going to try our best to answer the question, what does the Bible say about depression or other mental health issues? And as we address this very serious, very real question, I need you to understand that I'm a pastor, not a doctor. Okay? And I'm not a replacement for your doctor. I'm not a replacement for your therapist. I'm not a replacement for your counselor. I'm a pastor. I'm just a guy with a Bible. But I'm also a pastor with a burden to help people. And so my hope today is that although I'm not a doctor, my hope is that I can point you in the right direction so that you can find healing and you can find help today.

So I want to start off by telling you how we're going to finish. Because I think what we're going to do today, what we're doing at the end of this service today is more important than anything else we do today. Because I really, I just want to get out of the way so that we can have just an altar call, a place where you can receive prayer, a place where we can worship and have an encounter with a living God. That we would be able to worship and pray to the God who still performs miracles today. The same God that can bring healing to your physical body can also bring healing to your hurting mind, to your broken spirit. In fact, that's scriptural. James 5:13 says, "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing." And so that's what we're going to do today. We're going to pray and we're going to sing. Because I believe that the power of God is what transforms lives.

But we're going to talk for a little bit first. Because there's a few truths that I think you need to hear about this subject. And I think there's some things that the Bible does teach on these subjects that we need to be aware of. So we're going to talk for a little bit and then I'm going to get out of the way and we're going to have an encounter with the living God.

So there's four things that I think we need to know. It's four truths. For anyone in the room that's been suffering from depression or anxiety or any other mental health issue, there's four truths that you need to know today. And the first one is that you are not a bad Christian. Okay? You, I don't care what somebody told you that one time, you are not a bad Christian because you struggle in this area. Okay? If mental and emotional anguish made somebody a bad Christian, if things like anxiety or depression made somebody a bad Christian, then Jesus was a bad Christian. This is what Jesus said to his disciples in Mark 14. He said, "My heart is so heavy with grief, I feel as if I'm dying." Then he tells them to wait there while he goes off to pray. It says that Jesus went a little further away from them and fell to the ground and prayed. That's not a man who knelt down. That's not a man who bowed down. That's not a man who sat down. That is a man who fell to the ground over the weight of his anguish and the pain that he was experiencing emotionally. This is a Jesus who understands.

And so for any church or any Christian that has ever made you feel less than, that has ever made you feel like you're a bad Christian and you just lack faith, and all you need to do is just put a smile on your face and pretend like everything's fine and stop being so worried about this. And so for any church or any Christian that has ever said that to you, all I can say today is I'm sorry. And I genuinely am. They were wrong. They spoke, I don't know, out of ignorance or out of just confusion. But whatever made them say that, I'm sorry. And I can't take away the additional pain that that put on you, but I hope today I can set you free from their words. I hope today that I can set you free from the doubts that those words planted in you, that those words planted in your mind.

You know, I wear glasses. And I actually put these on because my contacts were bothering me. But I wear glasses because I can't see anything. But no one has ever come to me and said, "Brent, you lack faith. That's why you have to wear glasses." And in the same way, no one should have ever come to you and said, "You lack faith. That's why you're hurting in this area." Never should have happened. You're not a bad Christian. And I'm sorry that somebody made you feel that way.

But the second truth that you need to know is that you're not alone. Okay? Favorite people in the Bible had some serious mental health issues and struggles. Think about King David. Man after God's own heart. The greatest king in the history of Israel. I could show you scripture after scripture after scripture that gives you a glimpse into the struggles that man had. But I'll leave you with just Psalm 6:6. David said, "Lord, I am so weak I cried to you all night. My pillow is soaked. My bed is dripping wet from my tears." This is a man who had a struggle.

How about Jeremiah? You know Jeremiah because you love to quote Jeremiah. We all do because "I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and give you a hope and a future." Who doesn't love that? But you know what else Jeremiah said? Jeremiah also said, "Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame." That sounds like somebody who's struggling.

How about Elijah? Elijah is arguably the greatest prophet in the history of Israel. In fact, he's such a special person that in the transfiguration that happens in the New Testament when Jesus is seen talking to people, he's seen with Moses and Elijah. That's a unique group of people right there. A beautiful moment. Well, look at what Elijah says after one of his greatest victories. It says, "Then he sat down under a bush and asked to die. He said, 'I have had enough, Lord. Take my life. I'm no better than my ancestors.'"

How about this one? This is found in Isaiah 53:3. "He was despised and rejected by men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." You know who that's talking about? Your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. A man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. So if you're struggling with anxiety or depression or any other mental health issue today, you have got to know that you are not alone. But it's not just that you're not the only one to suffer. It's also that you are actually not alone in this. Because Jesus makes a promise in Matthew 28 that you can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of time. Jesus is with you in this. You are not alone.

But that's not even the only comfort that we have today. Because the third truth that you need to know is that there is hope. And this is probably the most important thing I have to say today, is that there is hope. Because with God, there's always hope. Let's look at David again. It says in Psalm 42, "You know what those two statements are? That's depression and anxiety. Why are you cast down on my soul? That's depression. Why are you in turmoil within me? That's anxiety." And yet, what does he say next? "Hope in God." He's encouraging himself. "Hope in God. For I shall, again, praise him, my salvation and my God." In the midst of the depression and the anxiety, David still held on to hope. And so can we. Because the same God that sent a savior for your soul also cares about your mental health. And the pain, there's hope. Because the pain that you're suffering today, it is temporary. I promise you, it is temporary. Psalm 30 says, "Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning." And I can't tell you how long the night's gonna last, but I can promise you on the authority of scripture that joy does come with the morning. The morning is coming. Just hang on. Don't give up because there is hope. And I know that you feel helpless, but just because you feel something is true, doesn't mean that it is true. Okay? And you may feel like God has abandoned you in this, but I can promise you that he has not. In fact, in Hebrews 13, the writer quotes an Old Testament promise. So he could take that Old Testament promise, bring it into the New Testament, so that we would know that it is timeless, that it applied then and it applies now for all of us. And this is the promise he left us with: "I will never leave you or forsake you." God can't. He cannot, will not, and has not abandoned you, and he never will. And when God's in the picture, there's always hope, right? And he's right there with you in this struggle, which means there's hope even in the struggle.

The fourth truth you need is that there is help. Today's message is not God's great, so trust him and good luck. God actually also provides help for us when we're in need. Right. And there is hope. There is help today. Psalm 121, David says, "I look up to the hills, but where will my help really come from? My help will come from the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth." There is help available to you today. There's both a supernatural and a natural help. And the great news is both of them are a gift from God. God in his brilliance and his compassion for us equipped doctors and therapists and counselors so that you could find help. You can find the help that you need in this pain. So use them with no fear, with no shame, because they are, in fact, a gift from God to a broken world.

But he didn't just give us them. He also gave us intercessors. There's help from God, both naturally and supernaturally. And that's why we're going to close today with this altar call, because I believe that the help that you need is going to be found in this altar today. And so if you have been struggling with mental health issues, do not ignore them. Get the help that you need. And that help, it may come in a lot of different forms. It may come in the form of a trained professional. That help may come in the form of a trusted friend. Or that help may come in the form of an intercessor in an altar call today. But there is help available to you. And the worst thing that you can do if you're struggling with your mental health issues, the worst thing you can do is try and fight that fight all by yourself. Do not fight it alone. Don't ignore it. Get help.

In fact, at CLC, we offer a lot of help in this area through our counseling department. You can reach out to them at counseling at clc.tv. They offer counseling services to our members, but then they also have resources available to non-members. In fact, there's some support groups that we run through our counseling program that's available to both members and non-members. We have a lot of support groups that we run through our counseling program. We've got Grief Share. We've got Divorce Care. We've got partners that we use for addiction recovery. But there's even a new support group that's gonna be started this summer, an online group dealing with anxiety. And so you can get all the information about those groups and the counseling services that we provide by emailing the team. In fact, one of our elders here at CLC has such a passion, such a burden for this area of mental health that they're actually putting together a group over the summer to talk about these things. And you can meet them. I believe they're gonna be out in the lobby today. If not, just email us and we'll get you connected so you can hear more about what CLC is doing to help people in this area. But there's help. That's what we need to recognize, that there is help. And that help comes in a lot of various forms because our mental health struggles have different causes. There's different sources to the problems we face. And the same solution doesn't always work. It doesn't always work for every cause, right? There's a unique reason why you're suffering this, which means there's probably a unique way to find healing. There's a unique way to get the help that you need. And we can't apply the same solution to every form of the problem, okay? You can't medicate a demon, but you also can't cast out a biological problem, okay? So we need to address the sources, the causes of these mental health issues so that we can take the right approach to finding healing.

Help. And so you may receive an incredible touch from God in the altar today, but mental health is a process even after supernatural intervention, okay? So you may receive prayer and you may receive healing today, but there's still a process that you need to go through, okay? Because if you don't correct some thought patterns, if you don't correct some behaviors that brought you to that place, you can get healed here in the altar, but leave it. Leave healed and come back sick a little bit later because we need to address all of it, not just one thing, okay? And so our mental health issues rarely have a single cause or a single cause. It's usually multiple sources or multiple causes overlapping in our lives. And so we need to address those things. And what I've found is that there are four primary sources for our mental health issues. There is a biological component. There is a psychological component. There's a sociological component. And there is a spiritual component. And we need to understand all four of them so we can find the help that we need.

So that's what we're gonna do. We're gonna walk through these four. We're gonna start with the biological causes because I feel as a pastor, it is imperative that I let you know, as a pastor, there is, in fact, biological causes to mental health issues. There's both a genetic issue and a trauma issue. So the genetic side, you may have been born with a chemical imbalance. There's something in your body, in your brain, that just doesn't work the way it was supposed to. And the only solution to that problem is to get on a medication that's gonna bring you back into balance, okay? And it also can be caused by trauma, that when we experience a significant trauma in our lives, we actually, our brains will sometimes change the, it'll change the brain chemistry, right? And so now, all of a sudden, because of this situation you went through, now your body is reacting in a weird way. And it's either creating too much of something or not enough of something. And so you need to talk to a doctor who can prescribe a medicine so that you can bring those things back into balance. And please hear me as a pastor. Taking that medicine is the godly thing to do. God created the substances that medicine is made from. God inspired, inspired and gave the wisdom to the doctor that formulated it. It is a godly thing to do to take the medicine your body needs. In fact, you don't lack faith for taking medicine your doctor prescribes. And we already know this with other things, right? A believer who's diabetic is not showing a lack of faith by taking their doctor prescribed insulin. They're simply using the help that was provided to them. And the same is true for our biological mental health struggles, okay? It is not a lack of faith. You are trusting in God through the medicine, okay? So if your depression or your anxiety or whatever your struggle is, if it has a biological source, the solution is to talk to a doctor and do what they recommend, what they tell you, okay?

Second cause is the sociological cause or the sociological source, which basically is just saying that there are some social reasons why we suffer mental health issues. In fact, COVID proved that to everyone. As isolation and social distancing increased, you know what we saw? An increase in mental health disorders, including anxiety and depression. As isolation went up, those issues went up. And then as social distancing decreased, guess what we saw? The mental health numbers dropped down as well. They were in relation to each other, right? And so here's the problem though. You can be isolated and lonely even without a pandemic. And it will still lead to negative mental health even without COVID in the picture. So isolation and loneliness does influence our mental health. In fact, the very first problem in the Bible, you know what it was? It wasn't Eve eating a piece of forbidden fruit. The first problem in the Bible was God created man and then he looked around and said, "Uh-oh, we got a problem because it is not good for man to be alone." It was true for Adam. And it's true for you, okay? It's not good for you to be alone. That's why one of our values at CLC is we do life together. It's why we talk about getting in a life group so much. It's why we keep pushing you to join the dream team. Please understand, being a part of the dream team is not about what you do for the church. It's about what that team does for you and what you do for the other members of the team. Because all of us need to be around people who can encourage us, who can carry our burdens, who can cry with us and who can laugh with us. We need people because it's not good for us to be alone, okay?

But the sociological causes, it's not just the isolation and the loneliness. There's actually a really big one that I wish we had more time to talk about, but it's this idea of comparison, okay? See, when we're constantly comparing our lives to somebody else, we never feel like we measure up, which leads to anxiety, right? You're trying to keep up with the Joneses, that's anxiety. What happens when you fail to keep up with the Joneses, which you will inevitably do? That leads to depression, right? In fact, there have been numerous studies that link social media use and mental health disorders. Now, a huge part of that is this right here, the comparison trap, right? Because as we are constantly comparing our real life to somebody else's highlight reel on Instagram, we walk away with poor mental health, with anxiety and depression. In fact, Theodore Roosevelt, way before Instagram, said, "Comparison is the thief of joy." So, if your depression or your anxiety, your mental health struggles have a sociological cause, you may need to turn down social media for a bit and reconnect with real people in the real world to get into a small group, to get into a support group, to get with a counselor where you can build relationships, where you can work through some of these sociological issues.

The third cause is the psychological. This is our thoughts. And in my studies, I came across a lot of different psychological sources for our anxiety, our depression, all of that. But the one that stood out to me the most was this idea of rumination. And rumination is when you just keep rethinking a thought over and over and over again. You keep replaying that failure in your mind over and over and over again. In fact, it's the same word used to describe a cow chewing the cud. I know we're kind of a city church, not a lot of farmers around. But a cow chews the cud. What it means is the cow will chew some grass, swallow it, then throw it back up to chew it again, to swallow it again, to throw it up again, to chew it again, to swallow. And it gets nasty, right? You know that grass didn't get any better the second time, the third time, the fourth time. It just got worse. It just got grosser. It just got nastier. The same is true for your thoughts. When you keep bringing that thought back up, it's not getting any better, right? It's just getting worse on the second time around, the third time around, the fourth time around. We need to stop chewing the cud. And I get this one personally. Like, as a pastor, this is my issue, right? Sunday nights can be a dangerous time for a pastor, right? In fact, a lot of pastors say that they wanna resign on Monday morning. It's because no matter how good Sunday morning was, by Sunday night, all you can think about is what went wrong, what I should have said that I didn't say, that wasn't clear, I should have done this. All you're thinking about is, you know, it's not the 10 people that said great job, it's the one person that said, "Well, you know," right? And that's all you can think about. And then you're thinking about not the 10 new families that were at church, but you're thinking about the one family that wasn't there and you're trying to think, why weren't they there? How long have they not been there? Is it my fault? What did I do, right? And we just rehearse these things over and over and over again. But it's not just a pastor problem, it's a people problem. Because we all do that with our thoughts. In fact, have you had any of these thoughts stuck on replay? I'm such a failure. It's never gonna get any better. No one cares about me. No one understands how I feel. What's the point? What's wrong with me? And if you've ever gotten those thoughts kind of stuck in replay, on repeat, just going over again, you've been ruminating on those thoughts, your thought patterns have negatively contributed to your mental health. And the solution, according to scripture, is to fix your thoughts. Philippians 4:8 says, "Dear brothers and sisters, one final thing, fix your thoughts on." And we're gonna pause right there because I love this. The fix your thoughts, yes, that is a corrective measure. You're gonna fix something that's broken. But there's also this component of we're gonna fix it on something, which means another word for that could be a fix. We're gonna affix our, we're gonna attach our thoughts onto something good and we're not gonna let it wander and we're not gonna let it ruminate on other things. It's going to be so attached to these things that it never drifts. And so we're gonna fix our thoughts on what's true and honorable and right and pure and lovely and admirable. We're gonna think about the things that are excellent and worthy of praise. A few weeks ago, we addressed this verse when we talked about thinking like Jesus and how we talk about thinking like Jesus. We take our thoughts and then we measure them against this list. And anytime our thoughts aren't living up to this list, we cast them down. We get rid of those thoughts. Don't ruminate on those thoughts, replace them. Fix your thoughts because you can either chew or you can choose. You can keep chewing the cud like a cow or you can choose to fix your thoughts on the right thoughts. And the result of that behavior is actually found in verse nine. The very next verse, it says, "Then after you've done all this, then the God of peace will be with you." And so if you want peace in your mind today, you need to fix your thoughts. And so in the CLC app on today's notes, at the very bottom of the page, I put about a dozen or so verses for you that I think if you would meditate on those verses, it will help your mental health incredibly. It will help you fix your thoughts on the right things. Let that be the thing that you meditate on. Not your failures, okay?

And that brings us to our fourth cause and that is the spiritual cause. Okay, mental health issues are not all chemical or psychological. There is also a spiritual component to it. Now, I gotta preface this by saying, if you know me, you know I'm not the devil's behind every bush kind of guy, okay? Because he's not omniscient, omnipresent or omnipotent, okay? Those are qualities of God. Stop attributing them to the devil, okay? He doesn't have them things, okay? But at the same time, please understand, you are his enemy. And he is, according to scripture, scheming against you. This is what he said in Ephesians. "Finally, be strong in the Lord." Why do we need to be strong? Because there's attacks coming. "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God because when you walk around with 50% of the armor, you're 50% vulnerable to attack. You need the full armor of God. In fact, maybe you need to study Ephesians 6 this week so you can learn more about that armor. But there's a purpose to it. So that, I love it when the Bible throws a so that for you, right? Because it just tells you what you're supposed to be doing. So that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. And so you may be under a spiritual attack. And we see this throughout scripture. In the Old Testament, we see King Saul is being tormented by an evil spirit. In the New Testament, we meet a guy that's naked, stark raving mad, living in a cemetery filled with demons. And then Jesus says, Jesus shows up, casts out the demons. And the next verse, he's clothed and talking in his right mind and having a great conversation, right? So you may be, your mental health may be affected by evil spirits. And supernatural problems do require supernatural solutions. And so if your mental health does have a spiritual component to it, you need prayer, okay? But please hear me and remember, we talked about there's rarely a single cause, which means if your doctor has prescribed a medication for you to take, don't throw it away just because somebody prayed for you. That would be foolish, okay? In fact, this is a process that we're going through. And so yeah, we come down and we believe that there is victory in our prayers, that God is moving in this altar. It's gonna be an amazing time. But then you're gonna leave here, you're gonna get the prayer, but then you're also gonna go fix your thoughts. And you're gonna get the prayer, but then you're also gonna talk to a counselor. You're gonna fix your thoughts, but you're still gonna get into a group where you can have community and relationship. And you're gonna get prayer, but you're still gonna go talk to your doctor and take the medicine that he prescribes to you, okay? So we get prayer, but we also do more because prayer is not a get out of work button, okay? Prayer is us partnering with God and saying, "God, I'm gonna do all that I can do, but I know that it's still not enough. God, I need you to do what only you can do in this." And so we're gonna work together on this. That's what prayer is all about.

So when it comes to these four areas, how do you know if your struggle is biological, sociological, psychological, or spiritual? And the answer is, I don't know because I'm a pastor, not a doctor, okay? I can't diagnose everybody in the room and just point at you and tell you which one of these things it is. In fact, it might be multiple of these things, right? That's why you need to talk with a counselor. If you're struggling in this area of mental health, you need to talk with somebody so that you can be open and honest with them so that together you can work through some of your past, some of the things that are going on, some of your thought patterns, so that together, and this may take months, but together you can work through, okay, where is the source of my struggles? But as a pastor, I will say, regardless of where it came from, the starting point for healing, I believe, is prayer. That we pray first. We go to God first. And as we come to God in honesty, in vulnerability, and ask him for help, I believe he meets us there. In fact, I love this quote from S.D. Gordon. He said, "You can do more than pray after you've prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed." So we're gonna pray first. And whatever mental health struggle you're facing today, let's face it together with God.

And as we prepare ourselves for prayer this morning, I really do believe that God is going to do some supernatural work for us. Do some supernatural healing. Do some supernatural work in your life today. As I was thinking about this message, I kept going back to Psalm 23. David, the man after God's own heart, who clearly struggled with mental health, he wrote a beautiful song. It's found in Psalm 23. It says, "The Lord is my shepherd." And just that first sentence right there, we could unpack that for weeks of what that means. But the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. I love the picture this is painting. The green pastures, the still water. It's not the chaos waters. It's not the raging rapids. No, no, no. There's a still, calm water. There's a peace to the picture he's painting. And then he says, "He restores my soul." And that's what some of us in the room today really need. We need the good shepherd to restore our souls. And this picture that David paints for an anxious mind is actually a good shepherd. And it's absolutely incredible. What he's telling us is that there is hope and there is help. And it's in the name of Jesus. And it's in the name of Jesus that we can find healing today. And I believe that your healing can also lead to others finding their healing as well. I believe that's my personal testimony, but it's not just me. It's what the Bible says. 2 Corinthians 1 says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Father who is full, full of mercy, the God of all comfort." I love that this is one of the qualities of who God is. It's an essence of who he is. He is the God of all comfort, which means when you are struggling and you need, when you're hurting, what you need is the God of all comfort to show up in your life. The very next verse says, "He comforts us every time." Somebody say every time. "Every time we have trouble." So that, remember there's a purpose to this. So that when others have trouble, we can comfort them with the same comfort God gives us. And I've shared this many times from the stage. I've battled with anxiety pretty much my entire life, but I found comfort. I found peace in Jesus. And I believe that he's brought me to a place of comfort so that I could then comfort others. And if you're here today and you've been struggling with anxiety or depression or any kind of mental health struggle, I believe that the God of all comfort is here today to heal you. To give you his peace. But it isn't just comfort and peace that he has for you today. I believe that when you come up here for prayer, you're also gonna receive victory. That's another one of his promises. Romans 8:37. "But in all these troubles, it's not some of the troubles, it's not a few of the troubles, it's not just the physical troubles. No, no. In the emotional ones too. In the mental ones too. In all these troubles, we have a little bit of victory. We have partial victory. We have a couple of things in victory." What does it say? "We have complete victory." There's another translation that says, "We are more than conquerors." I love the more than. It doesn't just leave it at victory. It is complete. It is total. It is 100%. It's more than complete victory through God who has shown his love for us. And whatever you've been struggling with this week, whatever you've been struggling with this year or this decade, we do have victory. I have complete victory in God.

So I'm gonna invite everyone in the room to stand to their feet. I'm gonna ask our altar ministry team to come down to the front. The worship team is gonna come and begin to play. For those of you in the room that you're saying, "Brent, this is not my struggle. I don't have even the faintest issue with any of this mental health stuff. I'm good." I can almost guarantee you that somebody in your life is not good. And so what you need to do in this moment is pray on their behalf. Worship on their behalf. Stand in the gap for somebody else. Be the intercessor that somebody in your life needs today. And it may be a coworker. It may be a relative. It may be one of your own kids. But there's somebody in your life that you need to be praying for in this moment. But then I also believe that there are people in this room that this is your struggle. That as you are sitting here, you may have even had to pull out a tissue as we read Psalm 88 because it felt like you wrote, and you've been hurting. I believe that there is comfort, and there is healing, and there is victory that's gonna begin in this altar. And so I'm gonna pray, and then I'm gonna invite you to come and receive prayer. And I need you to know today, there is no shame, and there is no condemnation when you walk up here. The strongest thing that you could possibly do today is say, "I need help." And so we are celebrating with you that you have the strength and the courage to say, "I need help." And that's me, Brent. I need help. So I'm gonna pray, and then I invite you to come.

So Father, we just, we thank you. We thank you because you didn't stay silent on this issue. That our struggles with mental health, that this anxiety, this depression, this battle that we're facing, whatever it looks like, whatever form it's taken in our lives, we are not alone. That you are there with us, and you are a God who understands. And Father, we want you to know that. We want to worship you today because you are the God of all comfort. And there is peace, and there is healing, and there is victory in your name. And we believe that you are going to move in this place right now. And we've seen you do it in scripture. We've seen you do it in this altar. We're gonna see you do it again now. That our healing is gonna be found in you. So Father, we just say thank you. We ask that you would move in our lives. In Jesus' name, amen.

We invite you to come down now for prayer. The victory belongs to Jesus. We're gonna continue to minister here in the altar. We're gonna continue this time of prayer. And so if you still need prayer, please don't go anywhere. Or for those of you that need to leave, I just wanna pray the blessing over you. I want to encourage you that if you need help, we're here. We want to help you. So you can email counseling at clc.tv. We can give resources to you. We can help you on this journey. But if you need prayer, just don't leave this place. And if you've got nowhere else to be, stay in the room. Continue to pray. Continue to worship. I believe that God is moving here today. If you're ready for the blessing, now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May He lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. In Jesus' name, amen, amen, amen. God bless. Please come for prayer.

"But the sociological causes, it's not just the isolation and the loneliness. There's actually a really big one that I wish we had more time to talk about, but it's this idea of comparison, okay? See, when we're constantly comparing our lives to somebody else, we never feel like we measure up, which leads to anxiety, right?" [01:11:40](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"In fact, Theodore Roosevelt, way before Instagram, said, comparison is the thief of joy. So, if your depression or your anxiety, your mental health struggles have a sociological cause, you may need to turn down social media for a bit and reconnect with real people in the real world." [01:12:25](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"But the one that stood out to me the most was this idea of rumination. And rumination is when you just keep rethinking a thought over and over and over again. You keep replaying that failure in your mind over and over and over again." [01:13:11](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"Taking that medicine is the godly thing to do. God created the substances that medicine is made from. God inspired, inspired and gave the wisdom to the doctor that formulated it. It is a godly thing to do to take the medicine your body needs." [01:09:13](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"Because Jesus makes a promise in Matthew 28 that you can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of time. Jesus is with you in this. You are not alone." [01:00:42](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"Because the pain that you're suffering today, it is temporary. I promise you, it is temporary. Psalm 30 says, Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. And I can't tell you how long the night's gonna last, but I can promise you on the authority of scripture that joy does come with the morning." [01:01:10](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"God, you are my savior. I've been praying to you day and night. Please pay attention to my prayers. Listen to my prayers for mercy. My soul has had enough of this pain. I'm ready to die." [51:00](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"God, why have you abandoned me? Why do you refuse to listen to me? I've been sick and weak since I was young. I've suffered your anger. I'm helpless. Your anger, it covers me like a flood. Your attacks are killing me." [51:46](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"Because all of us need to be around people who can encourage us, who can carry our burdens, who can cry with us and who can laugh with us. We need people because it's not good for us to be alone, okay?" [01:11:00](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"There's different sources to the problems we face. And the same solution doesn't always work. It doesn't always work for every cause, right? There's a unique reason why you're suffering this, which means there's probably a unique way to find healing." [01:06:13](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)