Tag Archives: strength in Jesus

Christ, the keeper

This is another blog post about the characteristics of Jesus, which is different than how He is portrayed in culture. Today I want to introduce Him as a keeper:

Someone who will carry you through and cause you to endure. 

While I was going through mental suffering, I can honestly say that it was the intimacy with Jesus that has kept me. 

Intimacy with Jesus is like an anchor, one thing that is steady when everything else around you is shaking. In intimacy with Him I found, hope, strength, and the ability to move forwards step by step. 

I will be your God throughout your lifetime until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will carry you. I will carry you along and save you. – Isaiah 46:4

Trials and tribulations are inevitable in this life, whether they take place mentally or in other areas. Furthermore there are numerous examples of people in the bible that went through suffering. One biblical figure I want to highlight in this post is the life of Joseph. This man was a free man and sold into slavery by his own brothers. Later in his life, he was detained as an innocent man. God allowed Joseph to go through a tremendous amount of suffering. However, what is also seen in the story of Joseph is the way God blessed Him in his difficult seasons. The bible says that as a slave and a prisoner, God was with him and allowed everything he did to succeed, favoring him in his difficulties (Genesis 39). Although Joseph went through unfair suffering the Lord carried Him through and caused Him to endure. 

Have you felt imprisoned, because of your mental suffering?

Have you felt like you are not capable to do certain things or to live in a certain way?

When you give your life to Christ, He will keep you through your mental suffering. This will happen in such a way that you’ll look back and question how you kept yourself standing or how you survived certain things. This is one of the benefits of having an intimate relationship with Christ. I don’t know why some people go through mental suffering and others don’t.

However, I do know that Christ will keep you in the midst of it. 

Christ, the surgeon

My heart needs a surgeon, my soul needs a friend – Run to the father 

During my life, I’ve come across lots of people that have an opinion about Jesus or claim to know Him. The ideas I refer to are mostly negative and not even close to the truth. If you are one of those people that think to know Jesus and if this opinion carries a negative connotation, let me reintroduce Him to you: 

As a surgeon. 

Someone that operates on people to heal wounds. 

Psychological treatment is very helpful and necessary, but unable to truly heal emotional wounds. I learned a lot of tools to deal with emotions, thought patterns, and toxic behaviours. But none of these treatments were able to heal the trauma that was underneath. 

However, Jesus is able, because the one who made your heart is the only one that has the ability to heal your heart. 

He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. – Psalm 147:3

In practice, this healing is achieved by letting Him in. Let Him reintroduce Himself as a healer and learn to express your pain to Him. He will lead you toward your healing through His word (the bible) and His presence. 

I know a lot of people that walk through life with deep emotional pain and shrug it away as ‘ this is life’. Pain is certainly a part of life here on earth, however, your life does not have to be marked or defined by pain. 

Jesus sees your hurt and cares about you. 

He will heal you or He will give you the strength to endure the emotional pain you are experiencing. 

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak – Isaiah 40:29 

I want to apologize to you if the world gave you a wrong perception of who Jesus is.  

We refer to the gospel as good news. This is because Jesus is the good news. Yes, He died on the cross for our sins so we can be made right with God. 

But, He also experienced enough pain while being here on earth to understand you. 

We serve a God that felt emotional pain (Matthew 26:38), cares for our emotional pain, and has the ability to heal our emotional pain. 

Your life does not have to be marked or defined by pain.

Your redeemer is alive.

Surviving suffering

‘Suffering is a subject that is not covered enough in churches’.

This is a saying I’ve heard often during my healing process. When one goes through a season of suffering, it often goes together with questions. These are often centred around the unfairness of the trials in comparison with the good deeds of a person. Suffering is a part of life, and I want to help you to get through seasons of suffering. 

The story of Paul in prison is an inspiring story. Paul was a man in the bible and known for preaching the gospel in every circumstance. His motivation was that he wanted to give himself fully to the purposes of Christ. He describes his life as follows: 

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20

During his life, he was imprisoned and beaten multiple times. Although, he never did an act that actually deserved imprisonment. He even ended up in prison once  because of a lie that was told (Acts 21:28). He certainly did everything right, because he devoted his entire life to Christ. However, he endured immense suffering. 

Paul kept his focus on spreading the beautiful message of Jesus. During one of his imprisonments, in 66 B.C. , he wrote letters (2 Timothy 2:8–9). In an age where there was no such thing as a pen or pencil, one would not know where he found an object to write. However, he was determined to spread the message of Christ. 

Paul is an inspiration when we go through seasons of suffering. In the way in which he kept His eyes on Christ, our true price, during his multiple hardships. His love for God and His truth outweigh the suffering he had to endure. 

I want to invite you to seek intimacy with Jesus in your season of suffering. Where you will truly experience the beauty of an intimate relationship with Christ, that will help you to see your suffering in perspective. If you survive your suffering, then Christ will get the glory and if the suffering is so bad that your body decides to give up, you’ll be with Christ. 

But Paul said it better:  I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. – Philippians 1: 20-21 

It is not over

‘… many suicides happen impulsively in moments of crisis with a breakdown in the ability to deal with life stresses, … ’. – World health organization (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/suicide) 

Suicide is often a side effect of severe depression. The black and white thinking that often comes along with a depressive episode tricks your brain into thinking that there is no way out. 

I am here to encourage you that whatever your situation is, and how impossible it may seem, it is not over. At moments when life sweeps you over, and you feel too weak to carry on, Jesus wants to show his strength and make up for your weakness. At moments when the mountain in front of you is that big, that it makes you question whether to stay alive. Know that there is no mountain that Jesus is not able to move. 

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. – 2 corinthians 12:9 

I often found myself stuck in black and white thinking. I always had thought patterns along the lines of: ‘ I would never recover from my mental illnesses’ or ‘I would never get over certain traumas’. Because of the severity of the diagnoses I had at the time, medically speaking, there was indeed a small chance I would be able to function healthily. 

Yet, I also believed that Jesus loved me. Therefore, He would never allow me to be in a situation which I would not be able to handle with Him. 

And I was right. 

During my recovery process, I became more sensitive to His voice and he showed me exactly which way to go, one step at a time. 

At moments when the mountain in front of you is that big, it makes you question whether to stay alive. Know that Jesus wants to show you what to do in your situation. At times He will show you the way to go and at other times He will encourage you to stay still and trust in Him. 

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” – Isaiah 30:21 

He is the way (part 1)

In this series, I want to discuss the popular saying of Jesus being the way, the truth, and the life. 

This is derived from the famous bible verse John 16:4, which says: ‘Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ 

I believe he is also all of these components when you are suffering from mental health problems. In this post, I want to discuss how Jesus not only is the way, but will also help you through the way. 

When you think about a road, you can only look forward for a certain distance. After that, it gets blurry, and you will have to trust that there is still a road left, beyond what you can see. This is precisely the same when you are recovering from mental illness. Oftentimes, it seems like you are in a never-ending battle. However, you can trust that there is a way to your recovery. Since Jesus is the way, and he promises to make one. 

”Behold, I am going to do something new, Now it will spring up; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.” – Isaiah 43:19 

Throughout your recovery, you can trust in this promise. But also knowing that during your process, you can lean on him. I will not lie, recovering from mental illness is a harrowing and challenging road. However, it is one of the best decisions you will ever make. There will be moments when you will feel too weak to fight this battle, but within these moments, leaning on Jesus will give you strength. 

He will strengthen you in unimaginable ways, in moments where it feels like you have nothing left.

”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. ”

– 2 Corinthians 12:9. 

An intimate relationship with Jesus has helped me through years of treatment. In crying out when it was too hard, reminding me to not give up, and assurance that better times were coming. 

I, myself, was not able to go through this process of recovery. However, I was convinced that Jesus could. So with Him, I believed I was capable. 

And I know you are too. 

”For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13

The great illusion

The belief of an end to your mental suffering. 

Or a magical solution for all the current problems you are facing. 

The dream of the idea that you do not need to fight or hang on any longer. 

Add the above to the thoughts in your head that go towards a negative spiral. Which makes life look even darker than it in reality is.

However, all together is the intense desire of suicide nothing more than an illusion. 

An Illusion can be described as an unjust interpretation of reality. The reality is that mentally you are suffering, and it seems like it is never ending. The illusion is that suicide is the solution. 

But if suicide is not the solution, you may ask, then what is? 

A relationship with Jesus in combination with the right medication and professional treatment. 

A relationship with Jesus while being suicidal makes you experience that you are not facing this battle alone. Because the One that literally overcame death is standing next to you. 

He is there to counsel you, to strengthen you, and to be a safe refuge when you need to get away from your suffering. 

He can be all that and so much more if you let Him. 

I personally have never experienced Jesus’ presence and strength more in my life than the moments when I was at my lowest. Therefore, I am a witness of the way in which Jesus carries you through painful seasons. 

‘’The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. – Psalm 34:18’’ 

In practice, when you find yourself in a place where you feel like your negative thoughts are taking over and with that you feel out of control. Run to His presence and cry out to Him. 

Tell Him everything that goes on in your mind and do not hold back. Make this a habit every time you find yourself at such a bad mental place. 

You will see for yourself the effectiveness. Thereby, you will experience the biblical promises of who Jesus is when someone is suffering. And with that you will learn to get to know the heart of Jesus. 

The cross was the first time He saved you. And He wants to do it again. 

“There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor. The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you. He drives out the enemy before you; he cries out, ‘Destroy them!’. “So Israel will live in safety, prosperous Jacob in security, in a land of grain and new wine, while the heavens drop down dew.”- ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭33:26-28 ‭

In His presence

The power of God’s presence isn’t unfamiliar to Christians. My favorite song about His presence is called ‘Where I belong’. Where a phrase literally says, ‘I’ve finally found where I belong. In Your presence.’ 

I usually get in the presence of God through worship or prayer. And when this happens, it comes along with a feeling of safety and a sense of belonging. I’m brutally honest when I say that expressing my emotions while being in the presence of God has gotten me through my darkest days. 

There are new perspectives in His presence. 

Being in His presence fixes your focus from current pain to future freedom. 

Being in His presence fixes your focus from darkness to light. 

Being in His presence fixes your focus on Himself. 

“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.” ~ John 16:33

Jesus already knew we would suffer. Sadly, no one on earth will be spared from suffering. 

But we can take heart, not because ‘what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger’, or because ‘everyone is going through hard times’. 

No, we can take heart because of Jesus Christ. 

He overcame. 

I am here to testify that there is safety in His presence. 

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. ~ psalm 139:1-4  

People may be scared of your thoughts and emotions. You may even be scared to admit your deepest struggles. However, they are already known by God way before you speak them into life. 

So I dare you to share the innermost pieces of your heart with the one who not only overcame the world and all the pain it brings. But also, to the one who went personally before you.  

He personally went before you in the hardships you are facing today. They are not a surprise for him. 

And you know what he has to say? 

I will be with you.

I will never leave you.

I will never forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:8)