What do you do when you get through a tough time related to your mental illness and you clearly know that God’s grace was involved? Do you tell your friends and family that you got through this spell with only medicine and therapy? Don’t get me wrong, I believe that medicine and therapy work wonders. I am on a handful of medicine myself trying to find the right cocktail to get me to be stable. I also see my Christian psychologist on a regular basis.
Did Jesus stick by your side when you were in that depression last month and your friends got tired of the blue skies always hanging around? What about the time you were so manic that you could hardly stand yourself, but He loved you through it? Was Jesus there graciously helping you make ends meet when you impulsively quit your job? Does Jesus listen to your repeated babbling when you have no other friends who understand what you are going through? Those are the times when you know that God had a hand in helping you through your mental illness
I have to admit, I do not always give the glory to God when I have had a difficult day and I got through it. When I encounter Jesus, I am changed. This should prompt me to share my experiences with others so they may know Jesus, too. I know, having a mental illness comes with a stigma. You do not have to go into specifics on why your day was “hard”. You can just say that “God got you through an extremely difficult day”. Focus on what God did, not on the circumstances.
Experiencing Jesus should compel us to talk about Him. You can use your pain to point the way to Jesus for someone else. Maybe as you tell your story of comfort and love, the people you share with will get to know a God they never knew existed.