How to Protect Your Mental Health

I hate mosquitoes. They always seem to find me! Not only that, but my body seems to release an extra amount of histamine, making the bites itch terribly and swell more than they do for most other people. This time there were only two bites on my ankle. I had definitely experienced worse damage on other occasions after being outside, so I didn’t think much about it.

Those two little bites sure did itch though. While I was at work, I was mindlessly rubbing my opposite foot against them to scratch while I was working at the computer. My shoe was rubbing against those little pinhole bite openings in my skin. That shoe had no telling how many germs on it from the hospital floors, grocery stores, and the running path I traverse. Kind of yucky thinking about it now.

Yep. I got a nice infection from those two measly mosquito bites. My ankle swelled double its normal size and became red, inflamed, and painful. I had a raging case of cellulitis. All because I had a breach in my skin’s defense, and I had mindlessly allowed dirt to enter it.

I’ve done it with my heart, too. The struggles of life can bite us. Difficulties pierce our hearts, breaching our defense and bringing an onslaught of thoughts and emotions that lead to what my pastor calls “stinking thinking.” Thoughts can lead us away from the truths of Scripture and infect us with lies. Those lies turn our hearts away from peace. And away from the One who is our peace.

Satan is called the father of lies in John 8:44, and lies are definitely his specialty in drawing us into sinful responses to our emotions. When life bites us, if he can get us to believe his lies and doubt God’s truth, then leading us into poor choices is a piece of cake. All sin starts in our thoughts. The Bible actually calls it our “heart,” which is the seat of our will, thoughts, and emotions. We feel what we feel…because we do what we do… because we think what we think. It’s a complicated cycle because our emotions, thoughts, actions, and experiences are all a tangled web of interconnectedness that affect one another.

In the United States alone, our psychologized culture spends in the HUNDREDS of billions of dollars on “mental and emotional health.” It is obviously a big problem for countless people, affecting the quality of life for many with various types of struggles. But what keeps our thoughts and emotions healthy? And do we have any control over it, or are we at the mercy of whatever thoughts and emotions flood our brains?

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it,” (Proverbs 4:23). If those lies infect our heart, it affects our entire life, everything we do. How do we guard against this?

The very first lesson I learned in nursing school was about hand-washing and cleanliness. As beginning nurses, we learned the importance of keeping out impurities in order to maintain optimal health. Purity of our thoughts is just as important for our spiritual health.

“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,” (Philippians 4:8). That is my all-time favorite verse! It changed my life years ago when I was struggling with the enemy’s lies. So, what is true and right?

“The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart,” (Psalm 19:8). Joy to the heart! There we are talking about emotions again! It is by thinking right thoughts from God’s Word that we experience joy and protect our hearts from being infected by lies that lead us away from God.

“But I can’t help how I feel. I don’t have any control over my feelings or thoughts. I only have control over my actions,” you may say. Wellllll…that’s not what Scripture teaches. “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ,” (2 Corinthians 10:5). The Bible teaches that we can, by an act of our will, bring even our thoughts into obedience to Christ by focusing on right thoughts. Right thoughts are truths found in Scripture.

Scripture memory is a reliable way to remove those lies from our hearts and replace them with truth. Consider these:

LIE: “I have a lot of things in my past I’m ashamed of. I keep confessing them over and over, but I don’t feel forgiven.”
TRUTH: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness,” (1 John 1:9).
LIE: “My son is struggling in school. I have been praying for him to succeed, but there is no use in praying because God doesn’t seem to hear my prayers.”
TRUTH: “I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live,” (Psalm 116:1,2).
LIE: “I am crippled by anxiety. I just can’t seem to find peace.”
TRUTH: “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears,” (Psalm 34:4).
LIE: “These health problems are ruining my life. I have no purpose or reason for joy anymore.”
TRUTH: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose,” (Romans 8:28).
LIE: “My life is hard right now. It seems like God keeps kicking sand in my face and loves other people more than He loves me. He doesn’t care if my life is successful or if I accomplish my goals.”
TRUTH: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future,” (Jeremiah 29:11).

I encourage you to find verses that directly relate to the particular kind of problematic thoughts and emotions you tend to struggle with. Memorize some of those verses. Listening to an audio Bible helps me to reinforce verses I have memorized. I also write verses on flashcards and keep them in my purse. When I’m standing in line somewhere, I can put the wait time to good use by reviewing them. Every time the enemy tries to feed you lies, repeat those truths from Scripture instead.

Scripture memory was my lifeline as I was learning to grow in Christ and break free from old patterns of thoughts and behaviors. My go-to weapon was Romans chapters 6, 7, and 8. Memorizing them helped me to understand them better. And understanding them better helped me to live them better. Another great chapter is Ephesians 1. You don’t have to tackle entire chapters. But find those verses that confront the lies that the enemy has tailored just for you.

Notice I said, “Tailored just for you.” Believe me, the enemy does use calculated planning in his attacks because he knows where each one of us is especially weak. Ephesians 6:10 calls his actions against us “schemes.” The subsequent verses give us a detailed counter-attack plan. It can be summed up as putting on God’s armor. This armor is walking in the wisdom of God’s Word. It is walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, who inhabits all believers—with the same power that has already defeated Satan! This is all tied together with prayer (Ephesians 6:18-20) because prayer relies on the Lord, rather than ourselves.

It’s surprising how quick infections can set in. I want my mind to stay clean and renewed, free from the infection of lies. Satan is a liar. Don’t let him hijack your thoughts and emotions. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you,” (James 4:7,8a). According to those verses, the first step is not to resist Satan. The first step is to submit ourselves to God. It is God’s wisdom through His Word and His redemptive power through the Holy Spirit that changes our hearts (minds, thoughts, and emotions). This is what helps us to resist the devil and brings us closer to the likeness of Christ. And having a mind more like Christ sounds like the best mental health I could ever have.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will,” (Romans 12:2).

“Create in me a pure heart, O god, and renew a steadfast spirit within me,” (Psalm 51:10).

“…be made new in the attitude of your minds…put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness,” (Ephesians 4:23,24).