Mental Illness and Spiritual Healing

I recently encountered a gentleman who suggested that my Bipolar Disorder was from Satan and that all I needed was enough faith to seek healing from God and I would be "cured".  He went further to point to psychology, psychiatry, and counseling as man's failed attempt to rely on one's own understanding rather than seeking God.

After a wave of both disbelief and disappointment, I came to the realization that there are many in the church who view mental illness in this light. To this end, I offer my own observations and personal experience as well as sound biblical knowledge and wisdom.

Mental Illness

There are many different approaches to treatment of clinical mental disorders; medication, counseling, group support, diet and exercise, and spiritual development to mention a few.  The issue often arises when a person becomes an advocate of one or another of these approaches as a substitute for the others.  The reality is that God has provided each of these options to work in concert with each other.  In other words, the most effective approach is almost always a combination of one or even all of these in order to find balance.  As a person fearfully and wonderfully made by God with Bipolar Disorder on purpose and for a purpose, I can tell you that the best tools I have used are medication, diet and exercise, sleep and routine, individual and family counseling, and Celebrate Recovery for support. I cannot stress enough how beneficial the support I have received from those at Celebrate Recovery has been for me personally and for my family as well.

Depression is an unfortunately inadequate word to define a very wide spectrum of issues; ranging from sadness and emotional discontent commonly associated with life issues to deeply debilitating mental illness that impacts physical health, and mental stability.  The Word is full of opportunity, hope, and guidance for those feeling depression all along this spectrum. Counselors provide professional and objective recognition and accountability that family members and those with the disorder themselves often lack.  I would caution against anyone recommending that medication or counseling should be a last resort or even abandoned as a matter of faith.

I absolutely believe I am fearfully and wonderfully made on purpose, for a purpose, with Bipolar Disorder. Many feel that there is a stigma to mental disorders; that somehow they are afflictions. I see them as part of the tapestry of God's design. I don't feel like a mistake or that Satan reached into my life at birth and corrupted me somehow.  I see my mental illness as God's opportunity to use me in a way He makes me uniquely qualified for. Withholding medical attention from anyone and relying solely on prayer for healing is God's not will.

The reality is that there is a brilliance and an ability that I have as a result of my Bipolar Disorder that will escape others. Because God wired the chemicals differently in my mind, I am able to make connections and conceptualize things that others cannot. To express that Bipolar Disorder is something that I must seek God's healing from as it is an affliction from Satan is akin to telling a person born with a physical birth defect that medical science cannot help them and that they should pray for God's healing if they want to avoid worldly wisdom. This is not a proper stewardship of the intellectual gifts God gives to His children nor a proper stewardship of the physical bodies God blesses us with.

Spiritual Healing

The spiritual gift of healing found in 1 Corinthians 12:9 is actually plural in the Greek.  Charismata iamaton is literally translated “gifts of healings.”  This spiritual gift is closely related to the gifts of faith and miracles.  All spiritual gifts are to be exercised in faith, but gifts of healings involve a special measure of it.  This gift is interesting in that there is no guarantee that a person will always be able to heal anyone he or she desires.  It is subject to the sovereign will of God, as all spiritual gifts are.

The Disciples were given authority to heal and cast out demons, but they were not always successful.  The Apostle Paul was not able to heal himself and was told that God’s grace was sufficient to carry him through his infirmity without removing it from him (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).  This gift is given at various times and places to reveal the God of heaven to the sick and tormented.  If healing is not granted, then we can conclude that God has greater plans for letting the person go through the illness or infirmity.

The spiritual gift of healing is an intimate one as it reveals the heart and compassion of God.  Jesus is the Great Healer and Physician and during His ministry on earth He healed countless people and cast out demons (Matthew 4:23-24; 8:16; 9:35, Mark 1:34).  Healings reveal that God is near to His people and He cares about their sufferings.  Healings are meant to draw people to God through His Son Jesus Christ.  God wants those healed to respond in faith with thanksgiving and love as the leper did in Luke 17:15-19, and as the demon-possessed man did in Mark 5:18-20.  By God’s grace, physical healing should lead to spiritual healing (faith in Jesus) and eternal life with Him in heaven.

Another key point in looking at those that Jesus healed is to understand why he healed them. Jesus healed people of their afflictions so that He may be glorified and that His message would be spread. God is currently using the Bipolar Disorder in me to spread His message and to glorify Him. Why would he want to take that tool away?  Is there nothing God can't use to reach the lost?

The 1-step, "name it and claim it" healing and restoration lie that Satan has perpetrated on believers is a fallacy that keeps Christians coming back to their struggles instead of following the biblical concepts of living presented in Matthew 5. God always presents healing as a process. It always requires an action (often many actions) on the part of the believer that God reacts to with healing.

God's ultimate concern is the spiritual well-being of those being healed and their relationship with Jesus.  He yearns for the day that there will be no more pain and suffering, and sin will no longer wreak havoc on His people.

Conclusion

I would have to disagree with the gentleman's position regarding the rejection of doctors as worldly wisdom.  It is important to remember that God also creates the intellects and resources that go into the medical profession.

One of my favorite songs on the radio is "Do Something", by Matthew West. The concept behind the song is that the singer is upset that God isn't addressing the needs of the world and asks God why He doesn't do something.  God's response is "I did.  I created you."  The fact is that God uses man to heal man just as much (if not more so) than He uses divine intervention. Otherwise, we could treat broken bones, cancer, and the flu solely through the healing power of Christ and not through medicine. God wants us to use our intellect in conjunction with our faith.

 One final caution with mental illness is the illusion that it is God's plan or desire to heal someone from it.  The reality is that God created me with this illness intentionally and with a purpose.  He reveals that purpose more and more each day and uses it to allow me to speak Christ into the lives of people who share the illness in a way that those without the illness cannot. I look back at 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 when I think of my mental illness.  For Paul, the thorn in his side kept him humble. For me, it is a daily reminder that I can't rely on my own strength (as I am prone to do) and that I have to ask others for help and to rely on God. Should God choose to take it from me, I will praise Him. Should I live out my life with Bipolar Disorder, I will praise Him.