Mental Illness and Grace
I have learned a lot about grace through my mental illness. I didn’t do anything to earn God’s love or faithfulness for Him to walk with me through my depression, manic episodes and mixed states.
God has shown me through the bipolar that His grace is not up to what I do. I cannot earn God’s love nor can I be separated from it. Paul tells us in Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I would like to add to that list neither a mental illness can separate us from God’s love, too.
Never-ending Love
Just because I am unable to spend time with Him during my depression, does not mean that God stops loving me. He proved this to me countless times during a very dark period in my life. He walked every painful step with me. I was never alone because I felt my God beside me when I would cry out in Jesus’ name. During the times I was manic or had mixed states and I could barely function, God was beside me the entire time. His presence or love for me was not about what I could do for Him.
Grace Just Is
I experience God’s grace in a beautiful way daily through my bipolar. I have done nothing to deserve his abiding presence. He is there because God is love. He is there because He has promised to never leave me or forsake me. You don’t have to have a mental illness to experience God’s grace. All you have to do is realize that you do not have to earn his favor. God loved you so much that He sent His Son to die for you. He even chose the cross when we were still sinners, too. We did nothing to deserve His grace. We should just accept grace.