God's advice

For all the brothers and sisters in Christ who have come to church tormented by depression and mired in humanistic judgment about the meaning of life, I have a short hopeful message from the Lord : “ I have come that they may have life and have it to the full ”(John 10:10). Abundance is not full, nor is life profuse and important if it does not include the health of the mind and, consequently, a behavior consistent with the rules of conduct of the creator.

Every day individuals with unsustainable emotional burdens produced by the wounds of the world arrive in our churches in search of help they cannot describe: divorces, adulteries, loss of a loved one, romantics who feel hopeless and ill-reciprocated, sexually abused women, victims of domestic violence, etc. God has given us his Word to understand, conclusively, the roots of most disturbances and dysfunctions of the mind. Unlike the sciences that deal with alleviating these disorders, the Bible proposes the infallible remedy to eradicate them at the root with total authority: the very Word of God.

Many of our downcasts and depressions come from sin (confessed or not). Acknowledging our wickedness and rebellions before God is often the beginning of a healthy and necessary self-therapy that allows the Holy Spirit to work powerfully to begin the process of renewing the mind: “When you are downcast, you will speak with confidence and He will save the humble ”(Job 22.29). Dejection is synonymous with consternation, faintness, melancholy, pessimism; God is refuge, consolation, love, he looks for those who adore him, and turns "low self-esteem" into acceptance without conditioning.

Individuals with "low self-esteem" appreciate the world and themselves in a pessimistic way. The children of God must be perceived as people who have the highest esteem, because they believe what God says in his Word about them (heirs of the promises in Christ, blessed, citizens of heaven, forgiven, blessed, accepted, loved and reconciled, just and apart for him). God esteems his children in the same way that he appreciates his son Christ, the first-born of all creation.

"We destroy arguments and every arrogance that rises against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to submit to Christ" (2 Cor 10.5 NIV). The Lord wants our thoughts to be captive to His Word and obedience to avoid depression and disorders of the mind.

Many of the affective disorders of the individual happen when our minds and emotions get out of focus from the precepts of God. Be anxious about nothing; Rather, in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus ”(Phil 4.6-7). When God speaks of caring for our hearts and thoughts, he is saying that he has the power to offer us a life centered on beautiful and uplifting feelings and to subject our minds to thoughts that provoke an inner peace founded on the love of Christ.

One of the serious problems that lead to behavior disorders is the non-resolution of conflicts that we drag in life, whether with our parents, children, friends or relatives. Conflicts accumulate either out of pride, out of revenge, out of a deep desire to control others, because of a personal overestimate that borders on the superiority complex, fears, uncertainties, insecurities, etc., etc. This is the caricature of the deified man or the Christian who does not know his role in the Kingdom. They are sins of the soul that find a solution in the counsel of God. Forgiveness, humility, love of neighbor, well-directed altruism and above all, love of God above all things, are, among others, divine solutions to repair relationships broken by existential conflicts that we accumulate in life and they depress, oppress, defeat and defeat.

That is why the need to study the Word daily, of daily communion in prayer, the profession of faith when giving each day to the Lord, requesting his grace and protection, his advice and direction. Through the Bible, God can suggest more and better solutions to your existential problems in one day than a therapist could provide in your entire life. I affirm this from my own experience, not from the pamphlet of the self-help treaties.

Do you thank God in everything? No one has said that it is easy to give thanks when heavy trials come, but doing so will bring peace of mind and heart.

Today I raise my prayer for the brothers and sisters of faith who suffer from dysfunction of mind and behavior, for those wounded in the battle of life who have put their faith in the Lord and in his divine counsel. Don't hesitate; the best advice will always come from God.

God bless your Word!