2Peter 1:3-4 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: (4) Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
The verse above makes an amazing claim. It says that through knowing God in salvation, by His power He gives us everything we need for life and godliness. Do you believe that? Those "all things" would include a Holy Spirit within us, the crucifixion of our old man, and the promises and commands of Scripture.
However, many Christians do not believe that we have everything we need in life. Emotionally, mentally, in counseling, many believers are following the world of popular psychology rather than digging into Scripture and/or seeking the counseling of godly people for their mental and behavior issues. They have bought into the lie of Satan that God and Scripture are not enough (not sufficient).
In 1946 a man named Dr. Benjamin Spock turned the hearts of millions away from God with an anti-Biblical approach to childrearing. He advocated that Mothers should do what they "feel" rather than conventional order and childrearing. Spanking was taboo. Children were encouraged to "act out" their anger rather than behave and God's Word was placed on the shelf as thousands of believers read his book rather than followed the Bible.
We are a generation of "Dr. Phil's". Even Christians have bought into the lie that the Bible, preaching, Biblical counseling, etc. is inadequate to meet their thinking, emotional, mental issues. We have received the "labels" of psychiatry as gospel for why we do and think wrong. We have sought the medication of drugging as the answer to why we are "imbalanced" rather than taking time through the Scriptural correction, godly advice, changed obedience, fasting and prayer, etc. to address the true reasons for our anxiety, depression, fears, and "baggage".
There are definitely time for "drugs". Organic damage, true body disease, thyroid problems, etc. all lend themselves to the help of stabilizing drugs. There are times when fears, depression, and anxiety have not been handled Biblically that a person becomes overwhelmed and truly imbalanced and drugs must be used temporarily for 6 months to a year to bring the chemicals in their body under control. These imbalanced states escalate to the point of hopelessness, terror, and even suicidal thoughts. In these extreme times, medication is necessary and vital to quickly bring the body and mind to a managable state. When these extreme terrors are under control and the person can think reasonably clearly again however, they must seek a skilled Biblical Counselor to deal with the reasons for the anxiety as they gently under a Doctor's care wean slowly off of the medication.
I do not share this thinking from ignorance or arrogance, but from the position of a Pastor who has personal experience in these issues in dozens and maybe hundreds of counseling situations in the past 18 years.
Anxiety medication does not heal, it manages. In many ways it "band-aids" the unresolved problems. Mental illnesses that are not organic (accident or disease) like labeled bi-polar, manic depression, anxiety attack, etc. are labels placed on you in the world of psychology. These are not viruses, cancers, or diseases that have diagnosis like a broken arm, a tumor, high blood pressure, etc. Doctors are giving names to your symptoms but have no physical test to prove it. There is no medical test for "chemical imbalance". They have learned to use medication to control your body to calm itself, but this is not the same as taking a Bible and looking at verses to change your heart about improper fears and anxieties within. Satan has convinced believers through popular opinion that the world of psychology is more athoritative on the issue than the God who made your body and wrote the Bible.
The life of psychology is a constant cycle of failed talks, drugs, treatments, clinics, programs, etc. There is constant correction of medication, labels, and failed sessions. Unsaved Doctors can never heal the issues of the mind and heart because they approach the treatment from Humanism and not God's thoughts. Secular doctors councel from the perspective of either "God doesn't exist" or that "He is a general helpful crutch of "having faith". They are not giving the Wisdom of the Word of an involved, specific, commanding God in your life. God must deal with your issues through renewing your thinking in those "baggage" issues from God's Word. It often takes a skilled Pastor or Biblical Counselor to get to the heart of your thinking, but when they do, you will change if you will obey the Word.
We must place our confidence again in God who has given us all things that pertain to godliness. Deal with your fears and anxieties with the Bible and a Pastor or godly Christan who knows the Word while they are small or they will get out of hand and you will be overcome with anxiety, fears, and depression.
We must reject Dr. Spock, Dr. Phil and return to Dr. Jesus.
AMEN!!!!!
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