2nd Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
The health of the mind is of critical importance, for it is where decisions which pertain to our eternal destiny are made. In the above passage the Bible tells us that one of the benefits of God's restoring grace, is a sound or healthy mind, which constitutes one of the most important assets any person can have. However there is a situation that has emerged and taken deep root in the medical community, in that spiritual maladies are now being treated with man made drugs and as a result, millions of people are becoming addicted to these medicines, without actually being cured.
Spiritual problems require spiritual cures, and any other methods that are employed to treat the sin-sick soul will result in drug dependence without real cures. This fact was demonstrated graphically when king Saul became possessed by an evil spirit, and his mind consequently became distracted and schizophrenic. When nothing else worked, David was finally sent for to play soothing music for the king, and this had the effect of driving the evil spirit out of his mind and thoughts. Let's read:
1st Samuel 16:14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. 15 And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. 16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. 17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. 23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
Now this is what we call serious business, for if a spiritual thing such as music can drive out evil spirits, then the question for us is, why are we attempting to cure spiritual maladies with mind-altering drugs, which often do more harm than good. It is worthy of note that in order for us to keep a healthy state of mind, their are certain proactive steps that must be taken, so that this can be accomplished. We will need to submit ourselves daily to God so that our minds may be renewed and we would also need to avoid those sinful enticements with which we are bombarded from day to day. Let's read:
Romans 12:1 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. 2 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.
If by the grace of God these necessary steps are taken on a consistent basis, we will never have to revert to the use of mind-altering drugs to treat depression and moodiness and all of the other mental afflictions that are so prevalent today. We therefore end with a passage of scripture that promises us God's keeping power, if we keep our focus on Him. Let's read:
Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
May this be our experience today and for the rest of our lives. God bless!