Devotionals from Dad

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On many occasions I have told my children that I changed your diapers when they were young and your going to have to change mine when I get old,... and mine is gonna be bigger and stinky! The reversal of roles in care giving can feel daunting. You once looked up to your parents for strength and guidance, and now you may now find yourself managing their day to day affairs. In this heavy and often exhausting season, God does not ask you to rely on your own limited patience. 

 Matthew 11:28-30 ESV Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

My wife and I have been actively caring for her mother now for about 3 years and I have recently had to lend my father a hand completing tasks that he used to do on his own. When you were young you looked up to your parents for strength and guidance and now you may find yourself managing their daily needs. It can be a daunting task, that is both physically and mentally exhausting for both you and your aging parent.

John 21:28 ESV Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.

Honoring parents is not just about physical tasks; it is a posture of the heart. Listening patiently, showing respect, and assuring them of their enduring worth reflects the very heart of God. Proverbs 23 tells us that you are to listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. We were created to glorify God. Our lives can glorify God in many ways, including taking care of the ones that God appointed to care for us. When we honor our earthly parents, we honor our heavenly Father. Care giving is so hard and so all-encompassing that God’s glory has to be the motivation.

Matthew 5:16 ESV In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 

Care giving is a serious trial, and before it produces anything in us, it reveals something about us... it will test your faith! We’ll quickly learn what our true spiritual condition is. Where ever we are in our faith, care giving is like adding more weight to the spiritual bar. Care giving taxes us physically, emotionally and stretches us spiritually. It calls us to make sacrifices to love and care for a parent or other family member with a love that isn't always be returned in the same way. This love requires patience, calls for kindness, has no room for envy or pride, and is not self-seeking. It can’t afford to be easily angered and makes a conscious decision not to keep a record of wrongs. This love has its trust in the Lord and fixes its hope on hearing “well done my good and faithful servant!” The commandment to honor your father and mother is the first commandment that comes with a promise and that is that things will go well with you, and you will have a long life on the earth. Caring for your aging parent you will learn what the apostle Paul did when he asked God to remove the thorn in his flesh.

2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

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There have been moments in my life when I have been overcome with the difficult task that is in front of me! I am confident that each of us can think of a moment when we just didn't think we could go on! Maybe your spouse left you or they died unexpectedly and you were left alone. Maybe you lost your job, your lost your home and all your possessions in a fire, your dealing with a child or loved one that is battling an addiction or you are caring for a loved one suffering from dementia or any other health related issue and life just seems to be more than you can handle. No matter how bleak your current situation may seem there is hope for those who have placed their faith in God. Some of my favorite scriptures are the “but God” Bible verses found throughout God’s word. The words “But God” are two of the most powerful words in God’s Word. “But God” brings hope when we can’t see a way through. “But God” means ashes aren’t the end of our story. And “But God” says God, not our circumstances, gets the last word.

Psalm 73:26 ESV My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Everything sweet and bitter, every triumph, every victory and every defeat will occur between the day you are born and the moment of your death. If you have placed your faith in God and trust his will for your life then God will work all these moments for your good and His Glory. The enemy DOES NOT get the last word. Death and disease DO NOT get the last word. Because there is always, a “But God.” Joseph declared this. He’d been thrown into a pit; sold as a slave; taken from everything he knew and loved; separated from family for decades; wrongly accused despite his honesty, hard work and integrity; wrongly imprisoned; and left in prison despite his hard work and innocence. Through all of it, Joseph could say to his brothers “you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

Genesis 50:20 ESV As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 

When we are God’s, Satan never triumphs. While he may press us, we may be forced to make decisions that are so difficult they break our hearts, people may disappoint, life as we know it can seem to be unraveling, but Satan doesn't get the final say! Even if you’re walking along God’s path. Even if you have placed your faith in God and you are devoted to serving Him, you’re not exempt from problems, struggles, or troubles. Difficult days are still likely to come your way. But when they do, you can trust that God’s grace is sufficient to carry you through.

James 1:2-3 ESV Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

Struggles are part of life, but they can shape you into a person of deeper faith, stronger character, and lasting hope. When you view trials through this lens, you can rejoice, no matter what comes your way. Your current mess can become your future message. The comfort you receive from God during hardships enables you to extend that same comfort to others when they are hurting. Your struggles don’t just grow your faith, they equip you to share the message of God’s grace with others. No matter what is happening in your life never forget the power of the words “But God!”

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I got married at a very young age and for all the wrong reasons. My first wife was a beautiful young woman and she was a very well behaved child and young lady. On the other hand I was lucky if I was an average looking and I certainly was not a well behaved child and I wasn't a very well behaved adult. All this being said, I was raised by parents that were Christian's. I also had grandparents that were Christian's. My family was active in church. It didn't matter what stupid thing I had done on Saturday night, I was expected to be in church. My first wife's father had passed away when she was young. Her mother attended church but only on occasion. Here family were good people but they just didn't have a strong or active faith. My first marriage lasted eight turbulent years before we were divorced. I certainly wasn't a perfect husband, but I firmly believe that one of the major reasons we couldn't make our marriage relationship work was because we were not equally yoked.

2 Corinthians 6:14 ESV Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

I was a single parent doing my best to raise 3 daughters for 4 years. During those 4 years I searched for a wife. I really don't like being single. I dated several woman but they either weren't interested in getting an instant family or I didn't think they were wife and step mother material. I finally gave up my search. I told my mother that I wasn't going to ask another woman ever for a date! However, if they were to ask me I would be a gentleman and I would say yes. My mother went to work as a match maker. It just happened that a friend of hers, that she had previously worked for, had a young single woman working for her and so it began. My mother and her friend Judy Nelson told Joyce Hendren, “All you have to do is call him and ask and he will say yes.” This was a big step for Joyce, she was a very shy young woman. She tried to call me, but at the time I wasn't home and when my answering machine picked up, she hung up and didn't leave a message. One of her friends called me at work and emphatically told me that I had to ask her out because she had tried to call me. So I broke my own rule and called her. This phone call began a whirlwind relationship. We both quickly realized that we shared the same goals and were both raised in Christian homes. I realized that in edition to Joyce sharing my devotion and faith in Jesus Christ she was willing to accept and help me raise my daughters. As a bonus she was physically beautiful. What does the bible have to say about finding a good wife?

Proverbs 31:10 ESV An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.

How do a lot of men view their wife? They call them the old lady, or the old ball and chain. I can tell you that my wife is great blessing to me! My faith in God may guide my decisions, but my wife keeps me on the straight and narrow. I can say without a doubt that I am who I am today because of the influence of my God fearing wife. How do you view your wife? Do you view her as a blessing or a curse?

Proverbs 18:22 ESV He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.

Jesus loved the Church and He didn’t pursue what was best for Himself, but rather what was best for church. He sacrificed Himself on the cross was crucified because it was what the Church needed. What does your wife need? If you view your wife as a burden or hindrance, then you are not living up to your responsibility as a husband. You need to start looking at your spouse in a different way. You need to look at her as Jesus looks at her. Your wife is a blessing, start treating her as such!!!

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If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior you likely will have a memory or a story about the moment you accepted him into your heart. Many people can recall the very day, location and time it happened. I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior at a very young age so I don't remember all of the details, but this is what I can tell you. It happened at the First Baptist Church in Stanberry Missouri. The floors of the church slanted to the front and the slope seemed to be pulling me down the aisle to the preacher. I don't remember exactly what the minister said to me but I remember a feeling of warmth and acceptance.

Matthew 19:14 ESV but Jesus said, Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.

In order to get salvation we must first admit we are sinners and not saints. You may say, I know I am no saint, but at least I am better than that other person. Recognizing your need for salvation begins the moment we stop pretending we can fix our own brokenness. Grace meets us right where we are, not after we clean ourselves up. Salvation is not something you earn by being good. It is a free gift given even when we are at our worst. If you really knew all the things I have done in my life you wouldn't let me even darken the doors of the church. But the same is not true. Not only does Jesus know all the sins I have committed, He even knows the ones I have not yet committed, but will in future. He even knows my thoughts, yet he accepts me just as I am.

 Romans 3: 23-24 ESV for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Many will tell you that the church if full of hypocrites. But if you workout in a gym you will find it is full of unhealthy people trying to get in shape. Hospitals are full of sick people trying to get well and we work alongside broken human beings every day. The church was never meant for perfect people, for the saints, it was meant for the sick sinners looking for forgiveness. The church is meant for people who are honest enough to admit they have fell short of the glory of God and need the free gift of His forgiveness. In this world today we are told nothing free is ever any good. But the best gift of all is completely free! God tells us that by His grace and through our faith, He offers us the free gift of salvation. I have a tendency to make it more complicated, but really it is so just simple. In my humanness, I tend to complicate things by putting rules, restrictions, and stipulations on myself that make it harder than God intended. I feel like I need to perform or do something in order to be good enough for salvation. But that misses the entire point of salvation being a gift. If you really know me, you know I love my to do lists. It would be so easy to have a handy list of "to do's" in order to receive salvation: read three chapters in the Bible every day, attend church weekly, say your prayers daily, forgive, be patient, follow the Ten Commandments. Check, check, check. But God loves us too much to have a legalistic relationship with us. He wants us to know His heart and His great love for us so that we desire to read His word, talk to Him, seek Him, produce spiritual fruit.

Galatians 5: 22-23 ESV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 

A set of rules will only lead to legalism. A desire to know God's grace is the relationship He desires!

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I don't consider myself old, but at 60 years old I have gained a few more life experiences than some. I have have struggled with a marriage that ultimately failed. I have had two infant sons that I have buried. I spent 4 years as a single father raising 3 young girls. I shared my sister's grief when her 19 year old son was killed in an auto accident. And now my wife and I are in the phase where we are assisting our parents as the age and are no longer able to physically do the things they once did when they were younger. Here is my difficult question for you. What does God's word say about caring for our elderly parents.

Exodus 20:12 ESV Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Caring for our aging parents is not only a command from God, it is beneficial to us and distinctly embodies the kind of practical expression of love that God's people should be known for. The obligation of parents to care for their children is universally accepted. Countless books, blogs, and podcasts have been created to direct and encourage parents in the support of their children. Yet strangely enough, there is not the same plethora of information when the cycle of care comes full circle. God's Word clearly teaches that every generation is to care for the men and women that preceded them. Honoring our fathers and mothers is the fifth commandment and sets the standard that is echoed throughout Scripture to submit to our parents, for this pleases the Lord.

Ephesians 6: 2-3 ESV “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

Caring for our parents in their later years is the culmination of a life submitted to honoring them. Perhaps one of the greatest ways we can honor them is to care for them when it becomes more difficult for them to care for themselves. In Scripture, Moses, David, and Job all taught of the value that the older generations have to offer. Deuteronomy 32:7 “Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.” Proverbs 16:31 “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.” Proverbs 23:22 “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.” Caring for the aging is a natural and fitting expression of Christianity. In fact, the Apostle Paul said that to not provide for the elderly reveals a heart that is completely inconsistent with our faith and is worse than that of unbelievers.

1 Timothy 5:8 ESV But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

As God's people, the Church, we should graciously attend to the needs of our seniors and parents and display the love of God as we do so. As your support in your aging parents life grows, some task that you can provide assistance with might be tasks like grocery shopping, mowing the lawn, and getting them to medical appointments. Perhaps the day will come when an individual in your life will require more support, such as the need for a professional caregiver, or detailed estate planning. Whatever the expression of your care is for a family member, approach such service with the heart of Christ, and seek to learn from and honor them as you do so.

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The year 2026 marks the 250th birthday of the United States of America. It has become a year long celebration for our nation. I will be the first to tell you that I feel very blessed to have been born in a free nation where I can worship and gather without fear. I do not consider myself to be a rich person but in comparison to other countries I am wealthy. The poorest 20 percent of Americans are richer. on average, than most European nations. The privilege of living in the US affords poor people more material resources than the averages for most of the world’s richest nations. The United States was built by visionary rulers who united fragmented groups and colonies and established centralized government. The United States government has changed over time by shifting power from individual states to a stronger central federal authority, expanding civil rights through constitutional amendments, and growing the power of the president and other federal agencies. The United States government faces deep political division, high national debt, and intense debates over executive power. I love my nation but one day all people in every nation will bow their knee to Jesus Christ.

 2 Philippians 2: 10-11 ESV so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

In second Corinthians chapter 5, the apostle Paul discusses the future hope and glorious reality that awaits believers in heaven. He begins by describing a spiritual, eternal dwelling place that God has prepared for believers after they die and depart this earth: “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Being a tent maker by trade, Paul considered the tent a fitting analogy for the temporary nature of our current earthly, mortal bodies. The human body is temporal, weak, and prone to decay, muck like the tents Paul made with his hands and much like my beloved country. By contrast, our future heavenly bodies will be permanent, beautiful, and glorious.

2 Corinthians 5:1 ESV For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Right now, we live in a tent, but our permanent home is a heavenly house and our citizenship is in heaven. This “house not made with hands” is durable, built to weather every storm. No matter how much of a patriot you are you must recognize the possibility that one day The United States could cease to exist. As Christians we need not fear the fall of our nation or even death itself. As Christians, we need not fear death or the destruction of our bodies. No matter what happens to these mortal tents we live in now, we will inherit imperishable, glorified bodies. The house not made with hands in which we will dwell completes the transformation and redemption that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. After Jesus was resurrected, He told His disciples, “Because I live, you also will live.”

John 14:19 ESV Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.

One day, this tent will be taken down. When we die, our physical bodies will be destroyed. When Jesus returns for His church, He will raise our dead bodies in glory. Body and spirit will be joined together for all eternity, comprising a glorious building from God, a house not made with hands. 

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I got married at a very young age and for all the wrong reasons. After 8 years my marriage failed. It was during this point in my life, I believe I developed OCD. My life seems to be in chaos, so I did everything I within my power to try and control that chaos. I had red and blue plates and those plates always had to be sorted by color. In my cabinets I sorted all the fruits into a section and all the vegetables into another section. I developed an odd affinity for even numbers. The volume control on the TV and radio had to be on an even number or at least a number that was a multiple of 5. None of this stuff really fixed the problems I was facing but it gave me and odd sense of control during a period of my life that seemed to be spinning out of control. One of my OCD habits that has stuck with me to this day some 30 years later is I alphabetize all the spices in my spice rack. My children, who are grown adults now, get a big kick out of messing up my OCD spice rack when they come to visit, just to see how long it will take dear old dad to notice. So my difficult, maybe even crazy question is this. Does God share my OCD? Is God a God of order?

1 Corinthians 14:33 CSB since God is not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints.

Let me begin by making this perfectly clear, I don't believe God has a disorder like my OCD, however I do believe that He is a God of order. First Corinthians 14:33 is a rebuke of the Corinthian church. Their worship services were out of control, chaotic, and even offensive to unbelievers who visited. The book of first Corinthians is, in part, a letter outlining proper conduct in the worship of God. Paul bases the command for order in the church service on the fact that God Himself is a God of order, not chaos. Order implies a neat and logical organization of items, tasks, or people. When a room is in order, it has been tidied and everything is in its proper place. God’s universe is orderly. He created everything in an orderly sequence, in a six-day span, that set the world as we know it into motion. He created the sun, moon, and stars to regulate time and seasons and the heavenly bodies operate with precise predictability. 

Psalm 104:19 ESV He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.

God exists outside of time as we know it, but He created time as a way to mark change. Time is orderly, sequential, and does not vary based on anything mankind can control. Time keeps us orderly. Rich or poor, young or old, we all have the same number of hours in a day. The sun will rise and set on schedule no matter what may be happening on earth. Because God is a God of order, He keeps everything in motion as He first designed. It is His orderly hand that holds the world in place. God even holds together the smallest of pieces of creation, the atom, which is extremely small, around 100 pico-meters across. A human hair is about 1 million pico-meters wide. And we all know what happens with you split an atom, you get destructive power of an Atomic bomb.

Colossians 1:17 ESV And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Since God is a God of order, it makes sense that we appreciate order, too. This gives me a sense of peace, maybe my desire to put everything in order isn't so bad after all. God created us to think in orderly ways, to reason, judge, and consider all aspects of a matter. God enjoys our communion with Him, our questions, our studying of His Word, and our willingness to let Him bring order to our chaotic thoughts. The more like Him we become, the more orderly our lives will be because He is a God of order. 

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I am confident that if you are a devoted and faithful Christian you have experienced an unanswered prayer. In the fall of 2020 my father in law, Garland Hendren, was going to the doctor for some health issues, at the time seemed they seemed insignificant. A mass was found on his pancreas and surgery was scheduled to remove it. We learned he had pancreatic cancer. Garland was a faithful Christian. He had many Christian friends at his church and throughout the community that were praying for him to be healed from the cancer. Everyone in our family was praying for him as well. I know that myself and my wife Joyce, his youngest daughter, were asking God to give us a miracle and heal his body completely. However in May of 2021 the cancer got the best of him and our prayers went unanswered.

Lamentations 3: 31-33 ESV For the Lord will not cast off forever, for, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.

Why do you think some prayers are unanswered despite their heartfelt, sincere, and unselfish motives? I don’t think we can know why God answers some prayers the way we want and not others. Sometimes God reveals his glory by answering our prayers the way we hoped, but sometimes he reveals his glory through our learning to depend on him as we experience his faithfulness and trustworthiness through a difficult trial. He uses our life situations to make himself known to us and to the world, to draw others to himself. No matter how he responds to our prayer, we can be confident he is working to reveal his glory more fully to us.

2 Cor. 1:8–9 ESV For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

Think about it, even your salvation is based on and unanswered prayer. Just before Jesus was arrested. In the garden of Gethsemane He prayed to his Father three times asking, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as my will, but yours be done. The cup to which Jesus refers is the suffering He was about to endure.

Matthew 26:39 ESV And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Jesus is fully God, but He is also fully human. His human nature, though perfect, still struggled with the need to accept the torture and shame that awaited Him. His flesh recoiled from the cross. Jesus knew of what was to come. The agony He faced was going to be more than physical; it would be spiritual and emotional, as well. Our God is a Holy God, so much so, that he can't be in the presence of sin. He is so holy that at the moment Jesus took upon himself all the sins of the world, past, present and future, at that very moment God turned his back on his only Son.

Mark 15:34 ESV And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

If God had listened to his Jesus prayer and responded, you know my son, man is a mess, his thoughts and heart is filled always with sin. Let's just destroy him and start all over. But God didn't answer Jesus prayer and because of that I can place my faith in Jesus and spend eternity in Heaven.

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I can always tell when I have said or did something that made my wife Joyce unhappy with me. As soon as the words leave my mouth, the expression on her face tells me what she is thinking, without her saying a word! Joyce speaks as much with her facial expressions as she does with her words. I have always jokingly told her, I was going to make a calendar that displayed her facial expressions, with a definition on each month. The only problem with this idea is that 12 months is not enough to display all the different expressions she uses. So my difficult question to you is why do so many Christians think that it acceptable or even pleasing to God to attend church and worship with a facial expression that looks like they have just drank a glass of vinegar?

Luke 2:10 ESV And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

If we are honest, all of us must admit that it is very easy to become grumpy and disgruntled at times while we are working or serving others in the church. Perhaps we are overworked and interrupted by overly demanding people. That being said Christians should avoid the sourpuss syndrome at all costs! What message is this giving those attending the church, that may not yet have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior? I have a low tolerance for gloomy, melancholy Christians whose sourpuss faces contrast with the joy of the Gospel! Instead of living from a profound sense of security that you should have from knowing the love of Jesus Christ and the assurance his forgiveness! This should give us a deep-down joy! The “Good News” is a gospel of peace, because it brings peace between God and those who put their faith in Jesus Christ: Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, He has brought you into this place of undeserved privilege.

Romans 5: 1-2 ESV Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Christians are ultimately just people, meaning they struggle with the same bad days, stress, and relationship issues, just like everyone else. Unfortunately, a joyless disposition can act as a poor advertisement for your faith. Some people live right but they always look like they have spent the night drinking a bottle of lemon juice. If you struggle in this area, you need to listen carefully. Your salvation should be the source of great joy, and that joy and happiness should be expressed in your life in a dynamic way!

John 15:11 ESV These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Joy is one of the hallmarks of the Kingdom of God. Even when we are going through a rough patch, the Bible says we are to be full of joy. Joy makes the gospel attractive. If you put on a sour face all the time and you have a negative disposition, you will scare people away from church. You make the gospel seem like something people would never want. Like the old hymn says: “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take him at his word; just to rest upon his promise and to know, Thus saith the Lord.” I may not know what tomorrow brings but I know the one who holds tomorrow!

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If you know me very well at all you know that I have a mental illness. I have no official diagnoses and I don't seek medical attention, I just manage my own symptoms. I am sure if I went to a doctor I would be diagnosed with Obsessive Control Disorder or OCD. I count everything. I alphabetize the spices in my spice rack. The volume control on all my electronic devices must stop on an even number or at least something that is a multiple of 5. Everything has a place and everything must be in it's place. All joking aside, mental illness is a real issue in the United States. According to Mental Health America, approximately 1 in 5 adults, over 60 million people, live with a mental illness. The most common conditions are anxiety disorders which affects, 42.5 million adults that live daily with an anxiety disorder. This is followed by major depression. 14.6 million adults in the United States have experienced conditions that significantly interfere with their daily life. 21 million people experience at least one major depressive episode per year, and women are nearly twice as likely to suffer from major depression as men.

Romans 5:12 ESV Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned!

Mental illness, like physical illness, is a consequence of the Fall. Sin has corrupted all of creation, including human minds, leading to disorders such as depression, anxiety, and psychosis. Just as legs can break and eyes might not see, it is also possible for minds not to work as they were designed to either. It is a sad reality of the world in which we live. 

Roman 8: 18 ESV For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 

Even in the midst of mental illness, God is at work, and believers can hold onto hope. In Christ, we have the hope that the broken world we inhabit, the way things are now, is not how they will always be. Jesus is coming again to make all things new. There will be an end to our suffering. In the meantime, in the midst of our suffering, we can remember that, even our suffering is not wasted. God is using it, even if we cannot see or feel exactly how, to make us more like the Lord Jesus. 

 Romans 8: 35-39 ESV Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul is pretty comprehensive here! If we have genuine faith in Christ, if our sins, past, present and future, have been nailed to the cross of Christ, than nothing can separate us from God. As the old hymn rightly says, ‘our sin, not in part, but the whole’ is included, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Not even mental illness! Christian theology generally emphasizes that God's grace and salvation are not dependent on a person's mental capacity to remember or profess faith, but on God's perfect love. Further, believers are instructed to care for the vulnerable. We are to care for the less fortunate whether that be because of physical or mental illness and we are to respect and care for the elderly.

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