The dark times of any mental illness are hard. They are also lonely times. Believe it or not, they can feel even lonelier for Christians suffering with mental illness. But there is hope (more about this below).
According to NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, roughly 1 in 5 people in the U.S. general population experience some kind of mental illness in a given year. Lifeway Research found that roughly the same 1 in 5 Christian pastors confess to having struggled with mental illness. So that same 1 in 5 ratio is most likely the same among Christians. Let me get something straight. I will avoid referring to the 4 in 5 as being the "normal" ones, as if the 1 in 5 are somehow abnormal. The one thing all 5 in 5 of us share is that we live in fallen bodies in a broken world. So I will refer to the two groups as the 20percenters and the 80percenters. So why is the loneliness especially difficult for us 20percenter Christians? It has to do with the stigma attached to mental illness. In the Lifeway Research study, only around half of churchgoers with mental illness felt the church was supportive of them. So we 20percenters can feel even more isolated.
But I said there is hope for the lonely 20percenter Christian. It has to do with God's "with-ness." We know that God came near in the Incarnation. This is captured in the name given Christ at his birth, "Immanu-El," or "With us-God." So God came near in the Person of Jesus. This is a wondrous truth, but do you know that God came even nearer? According to the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus tells his disciples that when He leaves, the Holy Spirit will be sent in His place. He told them, "You know him, for he dwells with you (now) and will be in you (then). (John 14: 17) But this indwelling of God is more than just the Holy Spirit's indwelling us. Jesus goes on to say, "If anyone loves me (Jesus)...my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him." (John 14:23) What a fantastic reality, the Triune God indwelling his people! And this is as true for the 20percenters as for the 80percenters. I take great comfort knowing that my bipolar brain is also "home" to the God of the universe. Let that truth sink in. Lean into the One who indwells you. As Christians we are never alone.
Blessings!
The Christian Bipole
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