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Healing of Crushed Emotions & Disturbed Minds
by Segun Olumide Healing of Crushed Emotions & Disturbed Minds Healing & Health Series Volume 4 Segun Olumide All rights reserved. Unless otherwise stated, all scriptures quoted in this book are from the King James Version of the Bible. KEYS TO BIBLE VERSIONS: AMP-The Amplified Bible NIV-New International Version TLB-The Living Bible Gideons-The Gideons International RSV-Revised Standard Version NCV-New Century Version NKJV -New King James Version YLT-Young's Literal Translation MSG-The Message Bible BBE- Bible in Basic English Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation; New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Living Bible (TLB) The Living Bible copyright 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.; Revised Standard Version (RSV) Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.; New Century Version (NCV) The Holy Bible, New Century Version. Copyright 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. 2016 The New Apostolic Movement The New Apostolic Movement, E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] +234 - 8161297781; +234 - 8142543796; +234 - 8053053578; + 234 - 7085951514. SPECIAL! SPECIAL! SPECIAL! A MUST READING/VIEW (Google the following free of charge on the Internet and God will change your life forever.) 1. Holiness Required For Heaven by Carillo from Bolivia 2. Eternal Destinations: Godly Attire and Adornment 3. Another Warning by Kingsley Ubani 4. Time Is Over : Run For Your Life by Kingsley Ubani 5. 9 Testimonies on Tithing from Heaven and Hell Visions 6. The Dangers of Eating Gods Tithes and Offerings 7. The Visitation of Jesus to Samuel Oghenetega (Crosscheck these testimonies with the Scriptures and if you have questions you may send us an email.) Healing & Health Series Vol 1 - Ten Things You Should Know about Healing Vol 2 - Why Some Are Not Healed Vol 3 - How to Receive Your Divine Healing Vol 4 - Healing of Crushed Emotions & Disturbed Minds Table of Contents Chapter One ... Seven Wrong Notions about Emotional & Mental Healing Chapter Two ... Healing of Crushed Emotions and Disturbed Minds Chapter Three ... Secrets of Inner Strength Chapter One ... Seven Wrong Notions about Emotional & Mental Healing i. There is no permanent cure for emotional or mental illness; you can only get temporary relief. TRUTH: "And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27). JOHN 8:31 Jesus, therefore, said unto the Jews who believed in him, `If ye may remain in my word, truly my disciples ye are, and ye shall know the truth, 32 and the truth shall make you free.' 36 if then the son may make you free, in reality ye shall be free (YLT). This notion is a pure lie because God cures or heals emotional or mental illnesses naturally, supernaturally or scientifically. For example, Jesus healed or delivered an insane or mad man supernaturally, and he was completed restored (see Mark 5)! On the other hand, Dr Rex Russell in an interview titled "Fasting for Physical and Mental Health" cited how Dr Yuri Nikolayave, a psychiatrist in the University of Moscow treated patients with schizophrenia (terrible mental disorder) with 25 to 30-day water fast (not fasting and prayer, but only fasting involving drinking water without food) followed by about 25 to 30-day eating food in its pure form (suggesting natural or unprocessed food). Interestingly, 70 per cent of the patients remained healed and free mentally and emotionally for the 6 years of the study. He also gave the instance of Dr Allan Cott of New York University who employed fasting treatment (not fasting and prayer, but just fasting) for 28 schizophrenics. He had 60 per cent success as they recovered from the mental illness. In fact, he explained that Hippocrates, the father of medicine, used fasting to treat disease over 2,400 years ago and the ancient Ayurvedic healers recommended weekly fast for sound digestive health. 1 These are natural healings. Also there are wonderful drugs that can help improve or restore one's mental or emotional health. But one needs to be under extremely careful professional monitoring. (It's good to merge medicine and prayer like the mandate the Lord gave to Oral Roberts to merge medicine and prayer). Though medicine has its limitations, yet God may use it sometimes. ii. Jesus' stripes or wounds made provision for only the healing of our bodies; not of our souls (minds and emotions) nor of our spirits (consciences and intuitions). TRUTH: Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised," (Luke 4:18). "When the even was come, they brought unto him [Jesus] many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses" (Matthew 8:16-17). The first scripture above talks about Jesus healing the brokenhearted. So God has provision for the healing of our spiritual heart, that is, spirit and soul. The second scripture mentioned our infirmities and sicknesses. Since it was not limited to the body, so we can conclude that Jesus took away the infirmities of our spirits, souls and bodies. Also the sicknesses referred to here could be spiritual, mental, emotional or bodily. You see, the Scripture doesn't say, "... by whose stripes your bodies were healed." But it says, "... by whose stripes ye were healed." This suggests to us that by his stripes or wounds we were healed in our spirit, soul and body. I believe that verse is saying, "... by whose stripes ye were healed in thy spirit, soul and body." I call this: three dimensional healing. Our consciences, intuitions, minds, emotions and bodies may need healing at times. iii. A truly born-again child of God cannot come under the attack of emotional or mental illness. TRUTH: 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 reads, "Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." Jesus warned, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). Solomon also warned, "He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby" (Ecclesiastes 10:8-9). I never thought Satan could afflict me with mental and emotional crisis until he did. That's why we need to watch and pray lest we should become a victim of Satan's attack. You see, if you think you are standing, just be careful because you are not really standing except on two 'crutches' namely grace and truth (John 1:16-17, 1Peter 5:12). I broke the hedge and the serpent bit me hard. For years, my mind and emotions were very very sick. Oh, there was a great struggle. What a great fight. I had unprecedented confusion. Thank God I didn't give up. It was just his mercy and grace. Yes, it was the hardest season of my life, yet the most blessed season because I learnt the greatest lessons of my life and God has used these to shape my life and ministry today. Glory to God! iv. Only psychiatric drugs and psychological treatments can bring temporary relief or cure to those suffering from emotional or mental illness. TRUTH: Psalm 107:20 says, "He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." I believe medicine will work for some people with mental or emotional issues, but if there is an evil spirit present binding or oppressing the mind or obsessing it one way or another, then one needs more than medicine. I learnt from one of my teachers that when trying to help mentally challenged people, if their minds are coherent, that is, able to listen to others and understand what they say partially or completely, then one may preach the word of God to them and get them free. But he explained further that if their minds are not coherent, then one would need the operation of the gift of the Holy Spirit (working of miracles, gifts of healings or gift of faith) to help them. As a matter of fact, he exhorted that there is need for patience when dealing with such people because there is sometimes a test of faith. There was a mentally deranged woman who attended his 10-day meeting. On the first 2 days, she displayed insanity. By the 4th day, she was a different person taking notes during the teaching. Before the 10 days was over, she was born-again and filled with the Holy Ghost, speaking in an unknown tongue. Also she was completely free from insanity through the Word of God without being prayed for (Romans 1:16)! Psalm 107:20 says, "He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." Another woman who had spent over 19 years in a mental institution read one of his books and ordered more and read them. She became totally delivered from insanity (John 8:31-32, 36)! He also gave the example of another insane woman he dealt with through the gift of faith who did not receive her deliverance immediately, but 4 days later, while at home, she was completely delivered.2 Isn't it interesting that listening to God's word can bring deliverance and healing? Some years ago, somebody was playing the tape of a popular preacher here in Nigeria when a mad man passing by requested that he wanted to listened to the second side of it. And he was delivered. Let some mentally or emotionally disturbed people listen to Bible reading on a CD, phone, laptop or so for 1 to 2 hours daily for weeks or months without interruptions or distractions. I also believe that every believer can cast out the spirit of insanity if they can pay the great price as Brother Von Shield did in chapter 2 of this book (Mark 16:17-18, John 14:12-14, Matthew 17:19-21). Beyond Healing or Deliverance After one is healed or delivered, one needs to renew one's mind daily. Some healings or deliverances are instantaneous while others are gradual. Jesus alerted: "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation" (Matthew 12:43-45). To have lasting healing and deliverance as well as to enjoy health and dominion, you may need to cast out some evil strongmen and pull down their evil strongholds, too. How do we pull down the strongholds the devil has built in our minds or emotions over a period of 10, 20, 40, 60 or more years? The Scripture says, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" (2 Corinthians10:3-5). There are two ways of pulling down strongholds as revealed in verse 5 above, namely: 1. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God through your mouth. Jeremiah 1:9-10 confirms it: "Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant." That's a call to confessing God's word continuously (see also Joshua 1:8, Matthew 4). 2. Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ through choosing what to think on carefully. The most important thing is to be transformed by the daily renewing of the mind. Paul urged: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:1-2). It's terrible to see someone who is healed or delivered emotionally or mentally, but untransformed! v. We can seek help from the New Age Movement or the Occult to manage emotional or mental illness better. TRUTH: 2 Kings1:2-4 says, "And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease. But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed." Help must never be sought from the New Age movement and the Occult. Don't ever read occult books or listen to occult messages because you need emotional and mental healing. Also don't visit occult churches, witch doctors, Islamic alfas, false prophets, and so on for deliverance. It may cost you both your spiritual and physical lives. Let me sound a strong note of warning here that Christians should desist from using visualization (forced imagination), yoga meditation, astral travel, spirit guide assistance, sublime tapes or CDs, mind blanking, and so on when seeking emotional and mental healing or health. vi. Righteousness and holiness can cause emotional or mental illness. TRUTH: "The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness. In the way of righteousness is life: and in the pathway thereof there is no death. Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner (Proverbs 11:6, 12:28, 13:6). True righteousness and true holiness cannot cause mental or emotional illness, but over-righteousness and over-holiness as well as false righteousness and false holiness can. (Please read Ecclesiastes 7:16-17). vii. All emotionally or mentally challenged people should be avoided because they are all demon-possessed, violent, abusive and irresponsible. TRUTH: This is not true. There are different degrees of emotional or mental illnesses. One may be 10 per cent, while another is 50 per cent and still another is 100 per cent emotionally or mentally sick. Some may do almost everything normally whereas some others may do nearly all things abnormally. Then some are just inbetween. So we must know who and when to avoid and who and when not to (Romans 8:14). While some of them are demon-possessed, some others are just demon-oppressed or demon-obsessed. Chapter Two ... Healing of Crushed Emotions and Disturbed Minds In this part, we shall be looking at the causes of emotional disorder and mental disturbances and how to deal with them. Cause 1: GUILT/CONDEMNATION Paul wrote, Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that CONDEMNS?... (ROM. 8:33 34a, NIV). Hal Lindsay shared the story of a beautiful young lady in his book, Satan Is Alive And Well on Planet Earth. While her husband was on a long trip abroad she slept with another man. Realizing she had sinned she confessed it to God but she couldnt just claim Gods forgiveness for herself. So she couldnt forgive herself. And this produced a guilty conscience in her. A few years after her husband had come back their first child was born. But because of the unresolved guilty in her mind, she became self-condemned until she until she had severe mental disturbances. In an attempt to clear her conscience she confessed her adultery to her husband. Although he forgave her, yet she couldnt forgive herself. Eventually, she reasoned that killing their child would remove her guilt. On a fateful day, her husband walked in while she was trying to strangle their child. Killing the child would have added to her guilt. She would have added sin to sin. But the scripture warns us against adding sin to sin (see Isaiah 30:1; 2 Samuel 11-12). Do you have to punish yourself or your loved ones or even your enemies to rid your conscience of guilty or condemnation, which is one of the main causes of mental illness? The truth is: two wrongs cannot make a right. Those who try to make right a wrong with another wrong will end up with an increasingly guilty conscience. Gods Remedy for Guilt 1. Don't be sin-conscious a. Receive God's forgiveness (1John 1:7-9). Similarly, Proverbs 28:13 reads, "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." b. Receive forgiveness from others (Mat 5:23-24). c. Forgive your offenders (Mat 6:12) d. Forgive yourself Hebrews 8:12 says, "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." 2. Be righteousness-conscious (2 Cor 5:21, Eph 6:14). Righteousness is more of who you are while holiness is more of what you do. You need to be both righteous and holy to make heaven. You can, however, be righteous but unholy and hence go to hell (Rev 22:11). But the truth is: whenever you sin against God you are unholy, nevertheless, you are still his righteousness in Christ. This is very dangerous because you can be righteous and go to hell! Just confess your sins and forsake them. God forgives sins. But he does not always forgive the consequences of sins (1Thes 4: 6; Gal 6:7-8). Say this aloud: "I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Sin has no power over me. Righteousness means right standing with God. Therefore I have right standing with God. "It is also the ability of the recreated or born-again human spirit to stand before God without guilt, condemnation, sin-consciousnesss, unworthiness, inferiority complex, fear or bondage as though he had never sinned. Therefore I stand before the Father in faith and freedom without guilt, condemnation, sin-consciousnesss, unworthiness, inferiority complex, fear or bondage as though I had never sinned." 3. Don't let anyone condemn you (Rom 8:1, John 8:2-11). There was the story of a man who kept on condemning his wife that she would go to hell for using lipsticks, jewellery or such like until she became insane. Though it is true that those things will take one to hell, yet it can be presented in a manner that will not condemn or accuse anyone unnecessarily. The Bible says we should speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15) and that God has not given us the ministry of condemnation (2Cor 3:6-9). I, myself, neither believed nor preached against jewellery, make-up, wigs, hair attachment, and so on for about 20 years until recently. Please read my materials "Overcoming Hindrances to Making Heaven" volumes 1 and 2. 4. Don't live with regrets. God said, "Give no thought to the things which are past; let the early times go out of your minds. See, I am doing a new thing; now it is starting; will you not take note of it? I will even make a way in the waste land, and rivers in the dry country" (Isaiah 43:18-19, BBE). After Kathryn Kuhlman, the great woman evangelist had lived with another woman's husband for about 6 or 8 years, she repented and left the man. God forgave her when she confessed it and forsook it. Then one day, she mentioned that mess to God in prayer and He told her that He couldn't remember that sin in her life again! Why? Hebrews 8:12 says, "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." So if God does not remember your sins any more, then you have no business remembering them any longer! Just forgive yourself and don't wallow in regrets. 5. Go and sin no more (John 8:11). 6. Carry out full restitution as the need arises (2Cor 7: 11; Gen 20:7). Cause 2: ANXIETY I discovered that anxiety is different from worry. You see, worry is a form of anxiety. There are 4 major sources of anxiety, namely: i. natural source This form of anxiety is caused by some foods and drinks we take. Also lack of some vitamins can cause it. Ask a doctor or do a personal research on the internet along this line. ii. medical source This may be caused by drug use, drug misuse, drug abuse or drug disuse. iii. human source Our wrong thinking in the midst of our daily challenges is responsible for this. This may be easily influenced by people's words and actions. This is where worry comes in because this type of anxiety is called worry. You see, there are more people on earth today with mental or emotional illnesses than people with physical or bodily illnesses. As a matter of fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that mental illnesses "are fast becoming the number one health issue of the 21st century." This reminds me of the prophecy of Jesus, and there shall be signs.. upon the earth distress of nations, perplexity (complicated confusion of mind) the sea and the waves roaring: Mens hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the power of heaven shall be shaken.. "Be careful, or your heart will be weighed down {depressed} with dissipation {over- eating}, drunkenness and the anxieties {worries} of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. "Be always on the watch and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen and that you may be able to stand before the Son of man (Luke 21:25-26 KJV; 34-36 NIV). I believe more human minds are sick today than human bodies. We need to realize that some of the people in our clinics, general or private hospitals are suffering from psychosomatic diseases, that is, bodily diseases caused or worsened by mental or emotional illnesses. For example, mental breakdown or emotional strain can result in paralysis in the body. And until and unless one deals with the internal illness first the external one cannot be thoroughly dealt with. Friend, are you worried by lifes challenges? You dont have to worry. I remember the case of a woman who became worried at her menopause. The thought of not being able to menstruate again in life made her worry herself out until she lost her mind and wound up in a mental institution. iv. demonic source This is caused by the spirit of anxiety, spirit of heaviness (depression), spirit of fear, and so on. [See Isaiah 61:3; 2 Tim 1:7]. Gods Remedy for Anxiety i. natural source Avoid or reduce the intake of food and drink that can induce it (Mat 26:41). ii. medical source Withdraw from or minimize taking medicine that can trigger it (Mat 26:41). iii. human source Jesus warned, Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life. Who of you by worrying and add a single hour to his life....? Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble on its own (Mat 6:25, 27, 34, NIV). Some people believe they cant live without worrying but Jesus commanded us not to worry as we have seen above. Worry is an indication that one doesnt trust in Gods ability to see one through a challenge in life. When you worry, then you are carrying a heavy load which God never designed you to carry. Carrying such a burden can crush your spirit depress your mind and wreck your body. Then in verse 27, Jesus asked a striking question: Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? The truth of the matter is that: worrying does not prolong ones life, rather it shortens it. It does not make you a strong person but a weak, confused and sickly fellow. In fact, doctors will tell you that many of the people in psychiatric hospitals are worriers. But God did not call us to be worriers. Rather he has called us to be warriors of righteousness. He wants us to war and demonstrate our victory won by Christ. How? Paul reveals it, ... by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left" (2Cor 6:7; See also 2 Cor. 10:3-4). Friend, do you know that we cannot be good worriers in life and good warriors of righteousness at same time? Peter also wrote, "Let Him have all your worries and cares, for He is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you" (1Pet 5:7, TLB). The AMP version says, "Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully." iv. demonic source Rebuke the spirit of anxiety or heaviness in your life in Jesus' name (Mark 16:17, James 4:7). Cause 3: SHOCKING FEAR (SHOCK ROOTED IN FEAR) BECAUSE FEAR HATH TORMENT (1 John 4:18). Imagine two women who both survived a terrible plane crash. In the natural, neither of them sustained any injuries in their bodies. By the following week, one of them had resumed in her place of work and was carrying on well with her normal life. As a result, she couldnt resume at office but rather was hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital for many years. You see, this second woman became mentally ill and emotionally traumatized because of shock rooted in fear. I believe there are different degrees of fear just as there are various degrees of glory, faith, anointing and so on. For instance, the Scripture talks about little and great faith (Mt 8: 10, 26), which implies that there is little and great fear. I John 4:18 says fear has torment. That means little fear little torment while great fear has great torment. One of the greatest forms of great fear is shocking fear (or simply put, shock). According to The Oxford Senior Dictionary, shock is "a sudden violent effect upon a persons mind or emotions (e.g. by news of a disaster). There was the story of a pregnant woman apparently trapped inside a burning house. As soon as some of the people inside the house saw the fire, they jumped and died. Notice that the fire did not kill them but shocking fear pushed them into their untimely graves. I am not saying one should not run away from danger but I am trying to say God wants us to live by faith, not by fear. So this pregnant Christian woman by faith walked out of the burning house unhurt. You see, faith opens the door for Gods intervention but fear opens it for Satans interruption which brings destruction, death, and so on (John 10:10). Isaiah 54:14 (AMP) reads, You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness, in conformity with Gods will and order): YOU SHALL BE FAR FROM EVEN THE THOUGHT OF OPPRESSION OR DESTRUCTION, FOR YOU SHALL NOT FEAR, and from terror, for it shall not come near you. It can be deduced from this scripture, that a lot of people who experience mental oppression or physical destruction are first victims of fear. Job had similar experience, when disaster struck him and his family, he said, For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me , and that of which I am afraid befalls me (Job 3;25, AMP). Folks today are victims of mental breakdown and emotional disorder due to shocking fear resulting from a broken relationship, business collapse, academic failure, armed robbery attack, sudden death of a loved one, earthquake, religious or political riot, diagnosis with a medically incurable disease, and so on. The story of Nabal drives this truth home. After Abigail, his wife had given some food items to David to pacify him without her husbands knowledge. The scripture says, In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him what had happened. As a result he HAD A STROKE AND He LAY PARALYSED on his bed like a stone (1sam 25:37, NLT). In fact, KJV says, his heart died within him, and he became like a stone, while the NIV says, his heart failed him. These three versions made it clear that Nabal suffered a mental breakdown through the shock produced by the news he received. This, in turn, led to stroke paralysis in his body. I remember several years ago before I got born-again, my mother had a marriage crisis which almost led to divorce. The shock and worries disturbed her greatly, and she had high blood pressure or hypertension, which eventually paralyzed her right arm. So she had a stroke. But thank God she later received her healing in a particular denomination. I believe childhood trauma is a terrible experience that can cause future problems emotionally and mentally in adulthood stage. That's why children should be protected against traumatic experiences as much as possible. Gods Remedy for Shocking Fear 2 Timothy 1:7 reveals, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 1. Rebuke the spirit of fear (Jam 4:7). 2. Don't think fear, talk fear and act in fear (Pro 23:7, Pro 6:2, Pro 28:1). Read Ps 91 aloud over and over again! 3. Confess your authority and position in Christ (Eph 1:20, Eph 2:5-6, Col 1:12-13, Col 2:15, Luk 10:19). 4. Confront what brings fear into your mind as led by God (Acts 4:18-21, 31; Acts 5:40-42). 5. Don't fear because the Lord is with you (Is 41:10). So walk by faith with a deep sense of consciousness of God's presence and power in you and with you (1John 4:4, 15). 6. Reckon that there are 365 "Fear not"s in the Bible; one for each day. Look for them and meditate on them. 7. Fear God because the angel of the Lord surrounds them that fear him and delivers them (Ps 34:7). If you fear God, you will shun sin and be bold like a lion (Pro 28:1). 8. Be filled with the Spirit and pray for boldness (Acts 4:23-31). Cause 4: BLANKING OF THE MIND Blanking the mind is an act of emptying the mind of its thoughts, either good or bad. In other words, it is a state of refusing to think of anything. It is a passive and dangerous state of mind because it holds back the ability of the mind to think. You see, God gave us our minds so that we can think good thoughts like Him. If, however, we choose not to think good thoughts, then Satan will pre-occupy us with evil thoughts. Ive realized that a thoughtless mind is useless to God, but useful to Satan as a dumping ground. You see, if you dont use your God-given thinking ability, then Satan will force his evil thoughts into your mind so much so that there could be a split personality. From experience, it gets to a point that you may even feel that there are two of you thinking in one mind. Some people may have interrupted themselves at intervals, These thoughts are not my thoughts. I am not the one thinking this particular way. It seems there is a strange personality in me or near me injecting his evil thoughts forcefully into my mind, and I feel powerless to resist him." This reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 12:43 45, When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return to my house from where I came out, and when he is come, he findeth it EMPTY, SWEPT AND GARNISHED. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first Did you notice the word EMPTY in verse 44 above? We can conclude from these three verses of scripture that AN EMPTY MIND IS THE DEVILS WORKSHOP! So you dont have to empty or blank your mind of its thoughts. Rather you have to guard your mind to think the thoughts of God. Imagine a believer wanting to hear from God, who empties or blanks his mind to sharpen his spiritual sensitivity for accurate reception from God. Rather than hear from God, he will sooner or later hear the tormenting voice of Satan. Thats why some are haunted or disturbed by strange voices. I know a beloved brother who has been born-again for several years. Yet one of the challenges he is facing is that, if he feels he has done something wrong and wants to confess his sins to receive Gods forgiveness according to 1John1:9, he will make his confession with his mind blank or empty or passive most of the times. Therefore he finds it difficult to have the faith to receive Gods forgiveness of his sins. I strongly believe that blanking weakens faith and sensitivity to God. Instead of by faith, this precious brother is ruled and enslaved by his feelings or emotions because whenever faith is suspended or suppressed, then feelings of the emotions and natural senses of the body takes over! Gods Remedy for Blanking of Mind 1. Use your mind to think the thoughts of God. Paul wrote, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy THINK ABOUT SUCH THINGS Neither give place to the devil (Phil. 4:8, NIV; Eph. 4:27). 2. Let your human will be active in making your decisions. No passive will (Joshua 24:15-16). Cause 5: REFUSAL TO CONTROL YOUR THOUGHT LIFE or UNCONTROLLED THOUGHT LIFE The thoughts that come to our minds as believers, for example do not originate there. Rather, they come from four different sources. One, they may come from our human spirits where the Holy Spirit is [Rom. 8:16]. Two, they may also come from our human will. Such thoughts may show good things we desire to do but which God has not put in our human spirits (through his indwelling Holy Spirit) to do [1 Chron. 17:1 4]. Three, they may also come from the flesh. The Scriptures talk about the work of the flesh in Galatians 5:19 21. Sometimes, a believer may not have a demon problem; rather he may only need to keep his flesh under control (1 Cor. 9:27, Rom. 6:12 14). Four, they may come from the devil as well (Gen. 3:1 7; Mat 4:1 11). Someone might say, Well, Im fed up with trying to control my thought life because many times, I have attempted to guard my heart but I have met with disappointment and frustration. Although, I am born-again, yet no one can ever believe that my mind is a helpless slave to powerful, dirty and stinking evil thoughts that dominate and torment my life. I dont believe I can ever control my own thoughts. The good news is: Gods Word provides the answers to all human challenges and questions. My thought life used to be an extremely great challenge for me, even as a believer and minister, but the truth of Gods Word is making me free progressively (John 8:31 32). Occasionally, I still face some minor or major attack on my mind. I have learnt, however, to submit myself to God and resist the devil until he flees from me (James 4:7). Gods Remedy for Uncontrolled Thought Life i. Believe you have the authority to control or guard your mind. Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) reads, "Above all else, GUARD YOUR HEART for it is the wellspring of life." God won't tell you to guard your mind or heart if he has not given you the power or authority to do so. The first Scripture above says, Guard your heart That implies it is neither Gods responsibility nor your pastors duty to guard your heart for you. Rather, it is your sole responsibility to decide what you allow to dwell on and what you allow not to dwell on. So, if you dont guard you mind, you may lose it to the enemy. Thats why some people today have lost their minds. But the Scripture says, Neither give place to the devil (Eph. 4:27). That means, the devil will not have a place in your mind or life unless you give it to him. Also Philippians 4:8 shows that you can choose your thinking. Paul wrote in Phil 4:8, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy THINK ABOUT SUCH THINGS It's your responsibility. No one can do that for you. Again the scripture says, Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). I have no doubt in my heart that if we refuse to control our thought life, then Satan will mess up our minds. The latter part of this scripture above says, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5b). You see, if you dont bring your thoughts in captivity to obey Christ, then your thoughts will bring you into captivity to obey Satan and the lusts of the flesh. The scripture alerts us, It is the thought life that pollutes (Mark 7:20, TLB). Actually, man is a spirit who has a soul and dwells in a body. The soul comprises the mind, the emotions and the will. Moreover, the mind is the door to the human spirit while the eyes and ears are the door and window respectively to the mind. Spurgeon C. H. noted in 'John Ploughman's Talk': "We cannot help the birds flying over our heads; but we may keep them from building their nests in our hair. Vain thoughts will knock at the door but we must not open to them." ii. When evil thoughts are forcing themselves on your mind, don't struggle with them, just think about something else. Proverbs 4:20-22 says, "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh." I learnt this lesson in a hard way. This scripture can be paraphrased as, "Don't pay attention to the words or thoughts of the enemy, Satan. Pay attention only to the words or thoughts of God. "Don't incline your ears to what Satan is saying to you, but only to what the Lord is saying to you. "Don't fix your eyes on Satan's words or thoughts. Don't accommodate them in your heart. But fix your eyes constantly on God's words or thoughts and accommodate them at the centre of your heart. "For the words or thoughts of the enemy are death, problems, sicknesses and diseases to those who find them; but the words or thoughts of God are life, peace, healing and health to those that find them." Rick Warren's classic book: "Purpose-Driven Life" and Joyce Meyer's wonderful book: "Power Thoughts" may help you further along this line. They have been a great blessing to me! iii. If they continue, then command the devil to lose his grip over your mind (Jam 4:7). John Osteen said in his sermon titled 'Guard Your Mind': "The thoughts that disturb you are not your own. They are from an outside source." iv. Keep your faith confession strong. When Satan tempted Jesus with evil thoughts three times , the Lord replied with "It is written" three times (Mat 4). v. Renew your mind daily in the word and prayer (Rom 12:2, Ps 23:1-3). Make it your habit to use God's word to restore your soul or renew your mind daily by studyingthi it, thinking it, singing it, confessing it, praying it and living it. Don Moen's and Ebenezer Obey's word-based inspired songs among others helped me immensely in those tough days of emotional crisis. Cause 6: Excessive Emotionalism The scripture says, We having the same spirit of faith " (2 Cor 4:13). One of my favourite verses is: The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord (Pro. 20:27). Emotionalism is living by the feelings of your emotions rather than by the faith of your spirit. It is being led by ones feelings instead of the witness of the Holy Spirit in ones conscience. Romans 8:14, 16 reads, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God: The Spirit itself [Himself] bearest witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. This scripture says neither, As many as are led by their emotions (feelings) are the sons of God nor The Spirit bearest witness with our emotions (feelings), that we are Gods children. You see, since the Holy Spirit lives in our spirit, he leads us primarily through our spirit. And Gods plan is that our spirit through the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit controls our emotions (feelings). Joyce Meyer understands this well. That was why she titled one of her books, How To Manage Your Emotions Without Your Emotions Managing You. Before you can master your emotions properly you must differentiate between conscience and emotions, as well as learn how to follow your conscience. Paul wrote, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost (Rom. 9:1). Notice that his conscience, not his feelings (emotions), was bearing him witness in the Holy Ghost. The Greek word translated conscience is suneidesis.' According to Dr Vines Greek Dictionary, it literally means a knowing, a co-knowledge with ones self, the witness borne to ones conduct by conscience." He further explained the conscience as that faculty by which we apprehend the will of God, as that which is designed to govern our lives. You see, man is actually a spirit that has a soul and lives in a body. If you dissect the human spirit, you would find the conscience there, and if you dissect the human soul, you would find the mind, emotions and will there. Moreover, dissecting the human body gives us flesh, bones, blood and so on. For some years, as a believer, I followed my emotions and neglected my conscience. Worst still, I tried hard to follow other peoples conscience. You know, emotionalism will make you place your feelings above reason and reality as somebody wrote. It is not wrong to have emotions but it is dangerous for emotions to have you. I observed that it rendered my faith, conscience and love (agape) powerless, ineffective and weak. One of the greatest challenges I had along this line was with 1 John 1:9, If we can confess our sins, and he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Before I got born-again, I remember that I had little challenge with emotionalism. I depended on or gave too much attention to my feelings. It seems I read my books in school, at times, with my emotions, rather than with just my mind. I struggled with that scripture because whenever I thought I had done something wrong and I tried to confess it in order to receive Gods forgiveness, I would not feel forgiven in my emotions. So rather than listen to my conscience and follow it, I would confess the same sin over and over again. This made me super sin conscious because I could confess a sin five to ten times. Another scripture I struggled with for a long time was 1 John 3:19 21, "By this we shall come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we are of the truth, and can reassure (quiet, conciliate and pacify) our hearts in His presence. "Whenever our hearts in [tormenting] self-accusation make us feel guilty and condemn us. [For we are in Gods hands] for He is above and greater than our consciences (our hearts) and knows (perceives and understands) everything [nothing is hidden from Him]. "And, beloved, if our conscience (our hearts) do not accuse us [if they do not make us feel guilty and condemn us], we have confidence (complete assurance and boldness) before God (AMP). I had great difficulty with this second scripture because many times my emotions or feelings would condemn me whereas deep down in my conscience I sensed no condemnation. You see, a believer should not become sad because he feels sad. Neither should he accept those false condemnations because he feels condemned. Though, most times, I accepted those false condemnations, nevertheless, I am fully persuaded now that most of them were from the accuser of the brethren, Satan. Satan projects false accusations or condemnations into a believers mind. Then his mind transfers it to his emotions unless his spirit is strong enough to intercept it immediately. Even when its not intercepted immediately, then he can only be bold not to accept such condemnation if he has trained his spirit to distinguish what comes from the conscience from what proceeds from the emotions through the mind. Thats why Heb. 5:14 says, But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. But once we learn to master our emotions, they will be governed by our consciences. Only then can our emotions be a great help, not a great hindrance to our lives and ministries or assignments. From my study and experience, I understand that excessive emotionalism can cause nervous illness, just as nervous illness can cause it. A similar thing applies to almost all other causes of nervous, emotional or mental illness. Gods Remedy for Excessive Emotionalism Develop a strong human spirit. Proverbs18:14 says, "The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?" Infirmity here could be bodily, mental, emotional or spiritual; but it is your spirit that sustains your infirmity. What if your spirit is broken, wounded, weak or crushed? Then you are in trouble! That's why you need to develop an unbreakable, uncrushable, strong spirit. You see, the human spirit comprises conscience, intuition and communion; the human soul consists of mind, emotions and will; while the human body is made up of flesh, bones, blood and water. So a strong spirit connotes a strong conscience, intuition and communion. Friend, if your life is governed by your emotions you will be miserable. If it is, governed by a good conscience, your life will be marvelous and peaceful. Learn to follow your conscience, intuition and communion. Don't follow your emotions or feelings. Joyce Meyer noted, You can feel wrong and do what is right." That means you can have wrong emotions or feelings welling up within you and ignore them to follow your conscience or intuition to do what is right. I learnt from Joyce Meyer that when you have a wrong emotion or bad feeling like anger because someone has offended you or got on your nerves, you should not feel condemned or guilty because it is not a sin to have a feeling of anger or being upset. The Bible says, "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:26-27, see also Psalms 4:4). The AMP Bible renders it thus: "When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down. Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him]." The NLT version puts this verse as, 'And "don't sin by letting anger control you." Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger [I believe if it persists and controls you and leads to sin] gives a foothold to the devil.' So don't let Satan condemn you by making you think that you shouldn't be feeling this way! Joyce pointed out that Jesus experienced such feelings or emotions while he was here on earth, but he did not sin! Hebrews 4:15 (AMP) reveals, "For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have A SHARED FEELING with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning." Cause 7: STRIVING FOR PERFECTIONISM THROUGH LEGALISM You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, Do not covet. But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every king of covetous desire. For apart from the law, sin is dead. Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death (Gal. 5:4, NIV; Rom. 7:7 10, NIV). It continues, There is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh (Rom. 8:1 3). I want to define two key words here: perfectionism and legalism. Perfectionism is the practice of setting a standard for ourselves higher than Gods standard in an attempt to be perfect, flawless or mistake-free. Similarly, legalism is the practice of using human rules and regulations, enforced from outside and imposed on the flesh, thereby, externalizing holiness as a change from outside in (that is, from outside to inside). The first scripture above shows that if you are living under the law or bound by legalism, then you cannot grow in grace. It says you are fallen from grace (I believe) into disgrace [Gal. 5:4]. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ is inscribed by God on every believers heart (spirit) while the law of sin and death is imposed on the body (flesh) of some people by promoters or propagators of legalism [see Rom. 8:1 3 above, Heb. 8:7 11, Heb. 10:16, Col. 2:20 - 23]. More importantly, any believer who has been discipled in a legalistic church or denomination may have problem with sin consciousness. And in fact, he may live under condemnation whenever he breaks any of those human rules and regulations. You see, God has called us to liberty, not to legalism. He has called us to perfection (completeness, Christian maturity), not to perfectionism [see Gal. 5:1, Col. 1:28, 1 John 1:7 9, 1 John 2:1]. From my own personal experience, my mind became confused when I began to ignore the law of God in my heart and struggled to follow legalistic rules and regulations imposed on my flesh by myself or some legalistic teachers. Strange to relate, legalism presented to me as a sin what was not a sin. For instance, I remember if I went to the toilet in those days and I refused to keep my self-imposed toilet rules and regulations, I would feel strongly condemned. Imagine a brother that anytime he prays with his eyes open feels condemned or a sister that anytime she does not kneel down on the ground to greet people feels condemned and sad or a fellow who thinks he has sinned by forgetting to turn off water tap or a pastor who feels guilty for looking at a beautiful lady in the congregation without lust in his heart for her or a sister who feels she is guilty of covetousness for simply admiring an attractive dress brought by her friend. Doesnt that sound like those legalistic Pharisees and teachers of the law who condemned Jesus disciples for eating without a ceremonial washing of their hands according to a human regulation (Mark 7:1 23)? So while striving for perfectionism, I embraced legalism from outside and neglected liberty on my inside. I then discovered that my life was controlled from outside, not from inside my spirit. I was walking by sight, not by faith; governed and led by the flesh, not by my spirit through the Holy Spirit. I was helpless, a nervous wreck suffering from mental collapse and emotional turmoil. At this time, I had taken a leave of absence from the university, thinking I might never go back to complete my course of study because of the hopelessness of the situation I was in. I even thought of suicide on one or more occasions. I once brought out a knife but God intervened. Life on earth had little or no meaning to me. I must have wished to sleep one night, never to wake up on earth but in heaven. That would have ended all my mental anguish of suffering! I wasnt a sinner or a baby Christian but a fast-growing believer preparing for five-fold ministry. But suddenly, I had a mental and emotional accident that shook me to my foundation. As a matter of fact, I gave up the hope of ever fulfilling my ministry. I thought God would use somebody else in my place. My major desire was to make heaven. Gods Remedy for Perfectionism 1. Reckon that your soul and body cannot be infallible (perfect, flawless, mistake-free), but your spirit can as long as you are in this earthly realm (1 John 1:8,10; 1 John 3:6-9; John 3:6). 2. Don't set human rules and regulations for yourself (Col 2:8, 16-23). 3. Don't follow laid-down elder's traditions, humanistic philosophies or demonic doctrines (1 Tim 4:1-7, Mat 15:1-9, Mat 23). Cause 8: OVER-LABOURING THE MIND OR THE BODY And he (Jesus) said unto them (the disciples), come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: fro there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat (Mk 6:31). In this verse above, the Lord Jesus told his disciples to take a break from their work and rest for some time. Your body needs sufficient rest from time to time just as your mind does. We need to understand that our mind can carry out light or heavy tasks just as our body can. Some folks are suffering from mental breakdown today because they fail to realize that over-labouring the mind without sufficient rest can damage ones mental and emotional health in the same way that over-working the body with inadequate rest can. The latter part of that scripture above says many people flooded the disciples to the extent that they had time for neither leisure nor food. Jesus, in His wisdom, knew that different human beings have different stress-bearing capacity. Of course, Jesus encouraged hard work but he cautions against excessive stress which can lead to strain. He said, I must work the work of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work (John 9:4). But he said I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent. And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea (Luke 4:43 44, NIV). David Yonggi Cho shared an experience in his early days of ministry. He started a church and tried to grow it by over-stressing himself. Funnily enough, he was the janitor as well as the preacher. He would probably lead prayers and read the announcement as well. He was doing this week in week out until one day. While he was at the pulpit, he collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. He admitted that while he collapsed, he also experienced loss of memory, perhaps partially. Strange to relate, he said he could not even remember the names of his children. He was like a pyramid turned upside down. Can you imagine a 7-year-old carrying a 50kg bag of cement on his head? You see, over-labouring your body can damage your mind, emotions, memory and even your same body! But thank God that while on the hospital bed, he learnt how to use his body without abusing it. After a while, he recovered and carried on with pastoral work. He pastors the largest congregation in the world today. Friend, do you know that studying books or even the Bible for too long a time at a stretch without taking a break can damage your mental and physical health if it is done on a regular basis? Eccl 12:12b (NIV) says, Of making many books there is no end, AND MUCH STUDY WEARIES THE BODY. O yes, much study wearies the body. I also believe that a wearied body can produce a wearied mind. Festus wrongly believed that much learning had driven Paul mad. But Paul was not mad (see Acts 26:24 25). He thought Paul was mentally deranged through much learning or study because he probably had come across some people whom became genuinely mad through much study or learning without resting at the right time and in the right measure. I can never forget the pathetic story of one of Gods generals in history. His name was Evan Roberts. According to Roberts Liardon, he probably had revelations that could revolutionize the world but he did not find the right keys to emotional strength. His neglect of rest led to confusion of mind, and eventually emotional collapse. On a certain day, he confessed: "Tired? Not once. God has made me strong and manly. I can face thousands. My body is full of electricity day and night and I have no sleep before I am back in meetings again."1 Our bodies need rest just as our minds and emotions need it because our bodies work just as our minds and emotions do! If you strain your mind in any way, it becomes weak, depressed and open to demonic attacks or torment. To strain means to injure or weaken by excessive stretching or by over-exertion.'2 Unfortunately, some folks have consciously or unconsciously strained their mind, that is, they have injured or weakened their own mind by excessively stretching it or by over-exerting internal force or pressure on it knowingly or unknowingly. God's Remedy for Over-Labouring the Mind or the Body The remedy here includes: Rest regularly. If God the Creator as powerful as He is rested on the 7th day and was refreshed (Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 31:17), then you as his creature need to rest and be refreshed more! He instructed the Israelites and their animals to rest compusorily and be refreshed (Exodus 23:12). Even he commanded that the land or ground was to rest for awhile and be refreshed (Lev 25). In fact, the cloud of Glory leading the Israelites rested (Numbers 10:12)! Delegate responsibilities (Exo 18). Take periodic vacations (Mark 6:32). Learn To Maintain a Quiet Mind Isaiah 30:15 (AMP) says, IN QUIETNESS and in [trusting] confidence shall be your strength Quietness here is a state of being quiet. And the word quiet means free from disturbance or vigorous activity; peaceful.3 In other words, a quiet mind is a mind free from inner disturbances (such as worries and anxieties) or vigorous activities (such as over-studying, over-working and over-exertion of straining pressure on the mind). Let Your Mind Lean On God In Absolute Trust God says, In quietness and TRUST is your STRENGTH (Isaiah 30:15, NIV). Another scripture says, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose MIND IS STAYED ON THEE [whose mind leans, relies or depends on you], because he TRUSTETH IN THEE. TRUST ye in the Lord forever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is EVERLASTING STRENGTH (Isaiah 26:3 4). Exercise (1Tim 4:8a). Take time to laugh and recreate (Eccl 3:1, 4). Laughter, which is God's nature and human nature, is medicine (Ps 2:4). Someone has likened laughter to inner jogging. So your mind and emotions need to do some jogging exercise! Cause 9: DRUG ABUSE OR MISUSE Abstain from all appearance of evil (1Thes 5:22). If you find honey, eat just enough --- too much of it, and you will vomit. It is not good to eat too much honey, (Prov.25:16,27a NIV). Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses (1Tim.5: 23, NIV). We have legal and illegal drugs. Legal drugs are clinical or ordinary drugs while illegal drugs are soft and hard drugs. The drugs we buy from the pharmacy or chemist's are mainly clinical or ordinary drugs. You can also call them medicine. Their wrong use is called drug misuse. Some soft or hard drugs, on the other hand, may be used medically during operations, and so on. It's wrong and illegal to use soft and hard drugs for recreational purposes or to enhance performance in sports, crime, and so on. This is called drug abuse. You see, medicine or ordinary drug is Gods permissive will for man. He allows them to help man until man can develop his faith to trust Gods Word for his healing and health. But do you know that God has a perfect drug or medicine that can heal all sicknesses and diseases known and yet to be known on earth? Proverbs 4: 20, 22(NIV) says, My son, pay attention to WHAT I SAY; Listen closely to my WORDS. For they are life to those who find them and HEALTH to a mans whole body. The Hebrew word translated health in verse 22 above means medicine or cure. So Gods perfect provision for the healing and health of His people (who are born-again) is His medicine --- His Word, which must be accessed by faith. Healing is good but health is better . Healing is an activity but health is a state. A healthy person needs no healing. Healing is mainly for babes (see Matthew 15:25-28). A believer shall live by his own faith. This faith is being sure, in your spirit, of what you hope for to manifest in the natural and being certain, in your spirit, of what you do not see yet in the physical (see Hab. 2:4, Heb11;1). Friend, my immediate concern here is the challenge of drug or substance abuse and drug misuse. First, an overdose of caffeine (found in some tea and coffee), sleeping pills, tranquilizers (for making an anxious mind calm), and so on can cause mental disturbances or emotional disorder. I have an aunty who took an overdose of Nescaf (a coffee containing the stimulant caffeine). Some students take Nescaf to enable them stay awake, especially at night in order to read. We must be careful of what we take and how we take it. Im not condemning it. Neither am I encouraging it. Let God lead you in all things for as many as are led by Gods Spirit are the sons of God (Rom. 8:14). So she took an overdose and became mentally deranged. I read an article which showed that some researchers experimented with a particular clinical drug which was tried on 34,000 patients. They found out that though it lowers cholesterol level in the blood, and hence prevents heart attack as well as stroke, and is being used by over 7 million people in Britain saving about 10,000 lives yearly, nevertheless, it has caused temporary memory loss, depression and mood swings in some patients. It has been abused by doctors through routine prescription or by patients themselves through self medication.4 Second, hard or illegal drugs such as cocaine, methadone, crack, Indian hemp, and so on have sent some people, especially youths to psychiatric hospitals. Gods Remedy for Drug Abuse 1. Avoid abuse of illegal drugs, that is, hard and soft drugs. 2. Avoid misuse of medicine or lega All rights reserved. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |