Warriors
By Tonya King
I heard yesterday of another suicide due to mental illness. I was saddened by the news, but I was also angered by it. I know that for some who suffer, suicide seems to be the only way to get relief and peace for their troubled mind. But, when you get down to the nuts and bolts of it, suicide is giving up.
What we suffer from is difficult to manage. Our illnesses permeate every aspect of our lives and I know from experience that trying to live a normal life with a mental illness, at times, seems impossible. But, we must never give up. Our fight is a fight for our lives. This fact should send us running and screaming toward our Savior. Without a faith in God, we have very little hope that things are going to improve.
In my own life, and the lives of others I have talked to, faith in our loving God is necessary to function. I know I would not be here if it wasn’t for my walk with God. I go to Him for everything. I live my life tuned into the Holy Spirit and I allow Him to guide me through the highs and lows of my Bipolar Disorder. When I was first diagnosed in 2003, my symptoms were out of control, as was my life.
I gave my life over completely to Jesus and surrendered my illness to Him. Things began to change. Change did not happen overnight. It has been years in the making, But I can honestly tell you that I am pretty much symptom free and have been for about a year now. I owe this to my faith in Christ, my wonderful Doctors and a great therapist. All these things work in tandem to bring about stability.
Many people try to get mentally healthy but do not incorporate God into their wholeness plan. I can tell you that is a big mistake. If we do not put our hope and healing in God’s hands, who do we put our faith in? Ourselves? I am sure if we are honest with ourselves, we know down deep that this does not work. God is the only one who can lift our depressions and our anxiety.
He is the only one who can calm the voices and the manias. He has created us to be warriors. We must fight for our mental health. We must fight for our lives. But we must fight under the guidance and direction of our God. He is our commander. He will protect and heal.
Please know that with God there is hope. Always hope. Do not think that you must walk this road alone. Jesus is one cry away. The darkness does not have to win. The voices do not have to be validated. The angst and pressure do not have to take over. We can fight. We need to fight.
This is our life we are fighting for. So many give up and when they do, the darkness wins. I truly believe that Satan is behind our illnesses. I am not saying we are demon possessed, not at all. What I am saying is that Satan is the father of lies and he is so good at finding our weaknesses and expounding them.
We begin to believe the lies he is spewing and lose sight of what God says about us. Finding out who we are in Christ and living those truths will set the enemy to running. But if we do not put our faith in Jesus and do not believe He is fighting for us we will give up and the enemy will win. Please don’t let that happen.
You are more than your illness, you are a child of the most high God who is always in control. Trust Him. Believe in Him and continue to fight because the fight we are in is for our very life. Never give up!! change.
Change did not happen overnight. It has been years in the making, But I can honestly tell you that I am pretty much symptom free and have been for about a year now. I owe this to my faith in Christ, my wonderful Doctors and a great therapist. All these things work in tandem to bring about stability.
Many people try to get mentally healthy but do not incorporate God into their wholeness plan. I can tell you that is a big mistake. If we do not put our hope and healing in God’s hands, who do we put our faith in? Ourselves? I am sure if we are honest with ourselves, we know down deep that this does not work.
God is the only one who can lift our depressions and our anxiety. He is the only one who can calm the voices and the manias. He has created us to be warriors. We must fight for our mental health. We must fight for our lives. But we must fight under the guidance and direction of our God. He is our commander. He will protect and heal.
Please know that with God there is hope. Always hope. Do not think that you must walk this road alone. Jesus is one cry away. The darkness does not have to win. The voices do not have to be validated. The angst and pressure do not have to take over. We can fight. We need to fight. This is our life we are fighting for.
So many give up and when they do, the darkness wins. I truly believe that Satan is behind our illnesses. I am not saying we are demon possessed, not at all. What I am saying is that Satan is the father of lies and he is so good at finding our weaknesses and expounding them. We begin to believe the lies he is spewing and lose sight of what God says about us. Finding out who we are in Christ and living those truths will set the enemy to running.
But if we do not put our faith in Jesus and do not believe He is fighting for us we will give up and the enemy will win. Please don’t let that happen. You are more than your illness, you are a child of the most high God who is always in control. Trust Him. Believe in Him and continue to fight because the fight we are in is for our very life. Never give up!!
In 2003, Tonya was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder and has been advocating to include faith in Christ as part of treatment and wellness plans. She has been walking with the Lord most of her life but has drawn very close since her diagnosis and truly lives her faith.
Tonya lives in Perry, Ohio, USA with her husband of 31 years, Kevin. She has four children, two girls and two boys. She is available for speaking and coaching engagements.
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