Theology of Mental Health 03 | Suffering
Introduction—Mental Health in the Biblical Story.
Mental health is not something that humans created or discovered in the modern world. Mental health is deeply rooted in the ancient biblical story. Mental health and every bit of human flourishing was God's design. He created well-being. He created our minds. He created our emotions. He created relationships. He created us to be in a relationship with him. To understand mental health, we have to understand God's intent for creation and the story of mental health within the biblical story.
The Bible tells a story of mental health from Genesis through Revelation. There is a mental health meta-narrative in scripture. From the story of creation to the fall to the death and resurrection of Jesus, the story of well-being threads through the Bible.
Within this meta-narrative are three significant moments.
Let’s look at the second significant moment—Mental Health after the Fall | Human Suffering.
Mental Health after the Fall | Suffering
Mental health after the fall is the story of human suffering and brokenness.
"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day." - Genesis 1:31
God created a world without suffering. When God created the world, he called it "good." (Genesis 1:31) Every aspect of creation—from plant life to the ocean to animals to humans—was in harmony with God's design. There was no decay, no seismic climate shifts, no natural disasters, no shortened life spans, no cancers, no diabetes, no chronic pain, no betrayal, no violence, no racism, no depression, no anxiety and no injustice. Humans lived in harmony with one another. The animal kingdom was in harmony with itself. Humans lived in harmony with God Everything was "good."
Suffering entered human history in Genesis 3. In Genesis 3, we watch the unraveling of God's good design for this world. The first humans decided to walk away from God's goodness. They pursued what God told them not to do—eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This was a boundary that God set for their well-being. They chose to disobey a good God who made a good world. And from that point on human autonomy apart from God and human rebellion against God's goodness began the undoing of God's design for this world. Suffering became a common human experience.
Adam and Eve suffered. They felt shame, guilt and anxiety for the first time in human history. They covered themselves from one another. They hid from God. They distanced themselves from all that was good and well. This story is a microcosm of humanity. We do the same. We turn away from the good that God created. We hide from God. We hide from one another. We are not different than Adam and Eve. And suffering resulted from this creation story.
The the theological term for this event is called the fall. The fall is essentially the entrance of human autonomy apart from God. And the fall affected every facet of what it means to be human.
We no longer live in a Genesis 1-2 world. We now live in a post Genesis 3 world.
Suffering becomes a major storyline in the Bible post Genesis 3. Immediately after the first humans chose to walk away from God's design for their lives, they experienced shame and relational fracturing. And from that point forward we read about every form of human suffering: relational fracturing, physical illness, natural disasters, shame, anxiety, depression, death, grief, injustice, starvation, and spiritual disconnection from God. This was the result of humans walking away from God's good design for the world.
God’s design for human health and flourishing was undone, and brokenness was felt in every facet of what it means to be human. We live in a broken world. We feel that brokenness in every crevice of our humanity. Mental health challenges are a form of human suffering. Suffering is not a respecter of persons. We all experience it at different moments in our lives. We should not be alarmed that people suffer in various ways. The Bible normalizes human suffering as a reality that everyone experiences, including mental health suffering.
At the fall every part of our humanity was affected. Suffering made its way into all of human life. The image of God was affected. The human body was affected. The mind was affected. Emotions were affected. Relationships were affected. And relationships with God were affected.
Therefore, it makes sense that many of us would, at times in our life, struggle with our well-being in one or all of these areas. This should normalize mental health challenges on a theological level. We should never be alarmed that people who love God suffer mentally, emotionally, relationally and sometimes spiritually. Suffering mental health challenges is not an indicator of a person's lack of spiritual strength or health. It is often an indicator that a person is a human living in a broken world.
This is why so many people in biblical history struggled with mental health.
Mental Health Challenges in the Bible
Think about a few examples throughout the story of the Bible.
Adam and Eve were the first to experience mental health challenges in human history. After they chose to live contrary to God's instructions and design for their flourishing, they began to suffer mentally and emotionally.
"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, 'Where are you?' He answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.'” - Genesis 3:6-10 (NIV)
They made coverings to hide because of their sense of shame and guilt. Shame and guilt make us want to cover ourselves and project a external image that hides the internal reality of these emotions. They hid from God. We hide from God. They hid from each other. We hide from each other. And they were afraid. I imagine fear and anxiety were at work as they felt the need to hide from God. We often are afraid of what is healthy when we feel unhealthy inside.
Hannah experienced mental health challenges as she lived with infertility. Her social relationships were affected. Her internal assessment of her value was affected. And her soul was in deep agony.
"In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, 'Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.' As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, 'How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.' 'Not so, my lord,' Hannah replied, 'I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.'" - 1 Samuel 1:10-16 (NIV)
Hannah felt harassed by her rival Peninnah. She experienced grief and insecurity because she was unable to have a child with her husband Elkanah. And she experienced severe anxiety as she cried out to God to heal her and give her a son. She suffered socially, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
David was the King of Israel and the prolific Psalmist. He experienced depression on multiple occasions. In multiple circumstances, a Hebrew term that refers to depression is used of David’s experience of deep sorrow and distress in his soul.
David experienced deep distress or depression when he lost his close friend, Jonathan.
2 Samuel 1:26 describes his loss saying, "I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me." (NIV)
David lamented over the loss of Jonathan. He used the Hebrew word צרר, tsarar, to describe his grief. This word can be translated "to be depressed or to be in distress."
The same word is used in Psalm 31:9, “Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief.” (NIV) The Psalmist describes the symptoms of his depression: he cried profusely, his body was sapped of strength and he felt intense grief in his soul and his body.
Elijah was one of the the great prophet's in ancient Israel. He experienced depression and suicidal ideation.
"Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. 'I have had enough, Lord,' he said. 'Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.' Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep." - 1 Kings 19:3-5 (NIV)
Elijah was being hunted down by Jezebel the Queen and feared for his life. And he was exhausted from an epic victory over the prophets of Baal. After a spiritual high, he was experiencing a state of exhaustion. Sometimes after a spiritual high point, we experience a mental and emotional low point. This is normal and can be attributed to exhaustion. As a result of this, Elijah was depressed and desired to die. A combination of factors led him to feel hopeless and helpless.
Saul was the first king of Israel. He died by suicide.
"The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically. Saul said to his armor-bearer, 'Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.' But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day." - 1 Samuel 31:3-6 (NIV)
He had experienced years of depression and sadness, and after being wounded in battle he fell on his sword.
Job was one of the most spiritual and successful people in the ancient world. He walked through immense tragedy and loss. As a result, he felt deeply depressed and wished for death to end his pain.
“'May the day of my birth perish, and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’ That day—may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine on it. May gloom and utter darkness claim it once more; may a cloud settle over it; may blackness overwhelm it.'" - Job 3:3–5. (NIV)
He had lost almost everything. His depression was all encompassing. Job was deeply depressed. Death seemed like the only answer to end Job's pain. So he prayed to die.
Jeremiah was a one of the great prophets in Israel’s history. He is known as the weeping prophet.
“Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.” - Jeremiah 9:1 (NIV)
Jeremiah had a challenging role as a prophet to God’s people. They were living in rebellion against God. His message to turn back to God and turn away from their rebellion was never heeded. No one listened to Jeremiah. And his heart was in agony. He felt pain for the rebellion of his people. He felt pain for the suffering of his people. And he felt pain that his message had no influence on his people. Rejection and loneliness was his ongoing experience.
Paul walked through seasons of anxiety, depression and utter exhaustion.
"We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself." - 2 Corinthians 1:8 (NIV)
"Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern (anxiety) for all the churches." - 2 Corinthians 11:28. (NIV)
The challenges of persecution, rejection and suffering were commonplace to Paul. His ministry for Jesus was incredibly effective and at the same time incredibly difficult. There were times that he experienced overwhelming suffering and despair. He also carried the mental, emotional and spiritual weight of the well-being of the churches that he planted throughout the Roman empire. He mentions that he was consistently anxious for the churches as they faced various challenges and problems.
Judas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He died by suicide.
"When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 'I have sinned,' he said, 'for I have betrayed innocent blood.' 'What is that to us?' they replied. 'That’s your responsibility.' So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself." - Matthew 27:3–5 (NIV)
Judas betrayed Jesus. And he felt the weight of guilt and shame for making that decision. Instead of humbling himself and seeking forgiveness, He chose to end his life.
Jesus experienced frequent grief, and mental and emotional pain.
"He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain." - Isaiah 53:3 (NIV)
We don't often think of Jesus as familiar with pain. That term for pain refers to mental and emotional pain. Jesus felt it frequently during his life on earth. He felt the burden of human suffering. And ultimately he experienced the greatest moment of suffering in human history on the cross. At that moment his mental, emotional and relational pain were to a degree no human has ever experienced. Jesus took the weight of human sin, guilt and shame so that we could be forgiven.
All of these examples illustrate the reality that we live in two realities—redemption and fall. And our lives interplay between these two realities. And yet, one day because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, suffering will be completely eradicated from this world. One day suffering will no longer be a human reality. We will be completely renewed. For now, redemption is a life lifelong journey toward this ultimate reality.
Check out Theology of Mental Health 04 | Jesus Understands Pain.
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