Anxiety disorders are rising rapidly worldwide. While therapy is an important intervention, Psalm 91 will guide you to lasting refuge in Jesus.
The post Psalm 91: A Door to Mental Health in Troubled Times appeared first on Bible Gateway News & Knowledge.
I have been a lover of the book of Psalms for more than 40 years. I read them, study them, memorize them, pray them. I’ve been a Christian therapist for almost the same amount of time. Over the years, my calling and career have grown into a ministry with global reach — which has given us a unique look into the mental health of the church and of the world in general. And I’m concerned with what I see.
On the one hand, mental health resources have never been more widely available. The number of mental health professionals (therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers) are at an all-time high, as are community centers, campus services and even grade-school mental health programs. The developments in science, like neurofeedback and psychopharmacological drugs to assist mental health, are also at their most advanced point in history.
And yet, every mental health professional will tell you we are not anywhere near meeting the need. The scale of our global mental health crisis is overwhelming even all these resources.
I do not know a single therapist that has an opening; everyone has long waiting lists. When you read statistics like the fact that nearly one in every two young adults report a struggle with anxiety, I feel that data is not a reflection on their personal weakness. (Many of you reading this can empathize.) I believe the tsunami of anxiety and depression are a kind of canary-in-the-coal-mine, an alarm.
In the last 30 years anxiety disorders have risen 50 percent among adults. Currently, 45.3 percent of young adults have symptoms of an anxiety disorder. These are folks living in the unprecedented safety and comfort of America; I wonder what would the data be in places around the world experiencing civil war, earthquakes, political collapse? Humanity is feeling the intensity of the hour, and the need for a true place of emotional, mental, and spiritual refuge.
While I believe in the important place of therapy and other medical responses to this, there is a spiritual angle too, which must not be forgotten. I am convinced that the resources of Jesus Christ, the Scriptures, and the church have been and will always be God‘s answer for human need.
Enter the power of Psalm 91.
Refuge for the Soul
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him.
For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection. (Ps. 91:1-4, NLT)
The refuge being described here is unlike any other refuge in the world, because it is situated within God himself — the all powerful, unchanging, almighty Trinity!
Now today, we are all children of the Enlightenment, living in the era of the Internet, so we need to remind ourselves that the refuge being described here is real, substantive, actual, and not just a comforting thought. The shelter being offered in Psalm 91 is the presence of God. As the great English preacher Charles Spurgeon said in his commentary on the psalm in his book The Treasury of David,
“No shelter can be imagined at all comparable to the protection of Jehovah’s own shadow. The Almighty himself is where his shadow is, and hence those who dwell in his secret place are shielded by himself.”
If we could lead people into an actual daily experience of this, I wonder how much those anxiety rates would plummet? When the soul feels safe, our bodies respond; our cortisol levels drop and we begin to experience the peace that has felt so elusive.
And the great offer of Psalm 91 does not stop there, as you know…
If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your home.
For he will order his angels
to protect you wherever you go.
They will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. (Ps. 91:9-12, NLT)
So then, we are faced with a question: How can we make this our own personal experience? How can we help others into it? I believe this requires a fresh way of thinking about and teaching Psalm 91.
Not Merely Poetic Assurance
First off, we need to say very clearly that being safe and feeling safe are not the same thing. People with a fear of heights feel a surge of anxiety as they peer out the glass windows of a 17th story office building, but they are perfectly safe. There is zero chance of them falling. The child in its mother’s arms might leap in fear at the bark of a dog, but she is perfectly safe.
Psalm 91 is a truth we embrace before it is an existential experience we enjoy. That is very important to grasp.
Next, there is a critical “If” located in the psalm, right there in verse nine: “If you make the Lord your refuge.” Psalm 91 is something we choose not only to believe, but to participate in. This is the same “if” of John 15, when Jesus lays out a condition for life in him:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (Jn. 15:5, NIV)
If you remain in me. People take a very naïve view towards the refuge of God, and abiding in Christ (which are the same thing). I think most of us assume it’s just something that happens because we are Christians. Not at all. It is something we choose.
We choose to believe it, regardless of what our feelings might be doing in the moment.
We choose to move towards it, when we love God, draw near to him, and practice his presence.
We choose to stay within the refuge when we keep his commands.
But there is more.
We Are After Experience, Not Just Inspiration
One of the great failures of Christian discipleship in this hour has been the over-emphasis on the delivery of left-brain rational content, and a lack of mentoring into experiential union with Christ. If you read the saints of ages past, they speak of intimacy with Christ as if he were their best friend (the very thing Jesus himself spoke of throughout John 15, and in many, many other places).
Listen to these words by the French noblewoman Jeanne Guyon (who was imprisoned for her faith):
“I have found it easy to obtain the presence of God. He desires to be more present to us than we desire to seek Him. He desires to give Himself to us far more readily than we desire to receive Him … this is easier and more natural than breathing.”
“Easier than breathing” — wouldn’t that be lovely? But this isn’t just a spiritual dream. We can come to know this for ourselves. This experience of God’s presence and refuge is entirely available to you. The humble friar Brother Lawrence wrote the famous little book The Practice of the Presence of God in the 1600s. Listen to his daily reality:
“I cannot imagine how religious persons can live satisfied without the practice of the presence of God. For my part I keep myself retired with Him in the depth of the center of my soul as much as I can; and while I am so with Him I fear nothing; but the least turning from Him is insupportable.
“There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual conversation with God; those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it.“
Notice he said, “practice it.” This is so important. Intimacy with Jesus, coming into awareness of his presence and moving more deeply into it — is something we practice, just like riding a bike or playing an instrument. This is how we come into the experience of Psalm 91. And then, having learned the practice for ourselves, we can disciple others into it.
A Few Simple Steps
Let me suggest a few simple steps to guide you:
You do have to create sacred space, free from all distraction (hard to do in this hour when we are tied to our phones). Try ten minutes to begin with. Get into a quiet place.
Use simple, soft instrumental music without lyrics. I like the offerings of William Augusto. (If you need your phone for music, put it on airplane mode.)
Begin with simply loving Jesus: I love you Jesus. I love you, Lord. I love you. Not just once, but over and over.
And then ask the Holy Spirit for his help:
Holy Spirit, help me into the shelter of the Most High. Help me into the secret place of God’s presence. I choose to believe you are before I feel it. Thank you that you are. Now help me, Holy Spirit, to tune in. Help me experience the presence of God with me, in me, surrounding me.
And then you just linger, loving Jesus.
Your soul is made for union with Jesus Christ, and it will gravitate towards him. And just like anything else you’ve learned in your life, you will grow better at it over time. Ten minutes becomes twenty, then thirty, and the intimacy deepens.
Then the “secret place” of Psalm 91 will become home for us, something we are able to access anytime, anywhere. Imagine how that would transform the spiritual dimension of our mental health and holistic wellbeing. Imagine with me what it would feel like if that became experiential reality for each of us. Imagine what that would mean for the world!
Learn more about finding refuge, strength, and wonder through everyday encounters with God in John’s new book and video Bible study, Experience Jesus. Really. Watch Session 1 below:
The post Psalm 91: A Door to Mental Health in Troubled Times appeared first on Bible Gateway News & Knowledge.