May is Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness month. Mental health includes our emotional, social, and psychological wellness and may affect all areas of our lives including how we think, how we act, how we handle stress, the choices we make, and how we relate to and treat others. Each year millions of Americans struggle with a variety of mental health concerns so this month we’ll be taking a look at some simple truths from God’s Word which offer support when we need it and also help us help our loved ones who may be suffering.   

Today, let’s read I Thessalonians 5:23, “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.” Each of us consists of three parts – spirit, soul, and body – which make up the whole. God is continually at work in us to align these parts so we can experience His best in our mental, physical, and spiritual health and well-being.

 Our thoughts play a huge role in overall health – especially our mental health. In our busy world, we are continually faced with ideas from a myriad of worldviews and perspectives, and we know not every thought or idea is helpful or healthy. Our mental health is the way our thoughts affect our feelings, which in turn affect our behaviors, and ultimately our lives. 

While the Bible doesn’t address mental health in the contemporary language we use today, there are a number of verses that do provide great wisdom on the topic. For example, Psalm 23:3, says God “refreshes our soul.” Romans 12:2 tells us God renews our minds. Jesus promises us peace in John 14:27. Proverbs 4:23 (CEB) offers this warning, “More than anything you guard, protect your mind, for life flows from it.”

 This week may each of us ask God to help us consider our thoughts and weed out those which are not helpful or healthy.