Many people don't realize the power of Jesus's death and resurrection because they think that it's "enough" to save us from hell. What we must not forget is that Jesus died not just for spiritual wholeness but for physiological and psychological wholeness, too.
I wrote an article a few days back about the power of the cross to heal the mentally ill. While I stated at the end that both the medical aspect and spiritual aspect are God's means of bringing healing, I guess it was not clear to everyone that I have nothing against anti-depressant medications. In fact, I am all for it.
As a person who was once a victim of a high level of obsessive-compulsive disorder, I know just how important it is to take into account the medical aspect of mental illness, too. In fact, no church, counsellor or Christian should ever prohibit or discourage the depressed and mentally ill from visiting a psychiatrist.
Just to set the record straight, let's make one thing clear: Should depressed people give up medication and put their faith in God? Absolutely not! Every prayer counsellor, pastor or small-group leader who shepherds a depressed individual must be the first to champion the need for psychology experts.
Mental illnesses are just as real as any other physiological illness. We can't just tell a person who is depressed to "think happy thoughts." Mental disorders can be emotional pains that manifest from biological reactions that happen within the body. Simply put, it's not just in the mind.
No one should ask a cancer patient to stop chemotherapy because it hinders God's will, so no one should ask the same of mental illness and depression patients who need the miraculous move of God, even if majority of it is through science and medication.
However, to balance things out, we must also never leave out the spiritual aspect of illness. Sickness and disease are curses and they are not the will of God. Just as much as medicine and psychological expertise are God's means of bringing forth healing, He also intends to bring complete wholeness to a person's being -- body, mind and spirit.
Medications and anti-depressants are no less the move of God's Spirit than miraculous healing, but one should also not discount the possibility of God's unexplainable move in a person for complete wholeness to rest upon Him. Isaiah 53:5 reminds us, "But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."
