If a christian goes to the doctor does this mean they are lacking in faith or that they are not trusting in God? Unfortunately, many people turn to medication to mask pressure and pain instead of dealing with their problems. God upholds the universe in a particular way, such that we can study it by observational and repeatable experimentation (see Genesis 8:22). According to 2 Peter 3:8, thats only 15 minutes in the eyes of our God. It is cultural circumstancesboth in the ancient past and in the presentthat cause some to stay away from doctors. We are not suggesting that healing is accomplished through medicine alone (northat our resurrected bodies will suffer from physical ailments), but rather that God supports the life ofour bodies in a variety of physical ways, including through food, water and at times medicine. If you would consider taking medication for an ailment like cancer, ask yourself why you feel differently if it is a disorder of the mind. Is there scripture to support this? What about going to the dentist for check ups would this apply also? Yes! Sometimes no. Or, do you have traumas or life-traps from your childhood that you still need to process and heal from? We should use them, but wisely. Faith and Medicine by Tony Cooke | Tony Cooke Ministries Even those who suspect they might have a mental illness may be afraid to admit it. While we cannot answer every question, we hope you'll find encouragement in this column. The bioethics can definitely get difficult, often with no answer that can be in the 100% confidence fileat least, for mebecause while party A did evil to provide the world with information B, are party As victims any less victimized if we ignore that information now that its out? If God doesn't choose to heal a person miraculously, is it wrong to seek medical aid? Noah leaned on the disciplines of carpentry and animal husbandry in the days of the flood. Because of their deceit, their whole family experienced consequences. Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess (pp. 6 Female Celebrities Who Openly Follow Christ, Steven Furtick's Elevation Church Leaves the SBC, Moms, You Have Permission to Invest in Yourselves, A Prayer to Watch How We Live - Your Daily Prayer - July 5, 5 Signs Your Church Might Be Heading toward Progressive Christianity. Many are surprised that Primary Care Physicians can also prescribe antidepressants. I actually had not really thought about this to much before reading the other thread. against Haman. Consequently, my mental health was affected, and I began to experience depression and suicidal thoughts. Finally,we are concerned that Christians who live in a chemically-induced state of artificial contentmentare only delaying the inevitable spiritual crisis that results when the drugs lose their effectiveness tostem the tide of emotional or spiritual pain. No one thinks twice about a cancer patient taking the medication called Chemotherapy or the person with diabetes taking their insulin shots. That approach is not healthy or wise. Before we address the question of a Christian taking psychotropic drugs, we must reiterate that our ministry's mission is to offerinstruction on the Bible, so we are not qualified to provide medical advice nor do we adviseanyone to act contrary to a doctor's instructions. Ahabs Israel was full of the same sort of Baalism and syncretism that dominated Phoenicia. Will you pass my blog onto someone you know who deals with anxiety? ", That quotation was accurate, and was rightly attributed to Luther, a key figure in the Protestant Reformation who died in 1546. Does the Bible Advise Us about Dealing with Grief? 1) Physicians are not God and should not be viewed as such. Although Esau was the eldest, Jacob received Isaac's blessing due to a tricky plan devised by his mother and carried out by Jacob himself. nderlying spiritual, behavioralor emotionalproblems. Is it ok for a Christian to take antidepressants? And he recovered! Recently I had the honor to sit with Miranda Carls of the Nurtured Good podcast to share exactly that. Hello. Does your struggle with anxiety feel overwhelming? They wonder if perhaps they are not praying hard enough or not trusting God enough. I am also getting to the age where I am reconsidering seriously the value of prolonging life just for its own sake, which is really a completely different issue. Tuesday, April 12, 2016 Depression, Christians, and Anti-Depressant Medication Along with counseling or professional therapy to deal with the traumas associated with or causing depression, another crucial step in recovering from clinical depression is a consultation with a good doctor. "If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. Consequently, we are concerned that some Christians turn to these drugs on a doctor's recommendation before fully considering giving the consequence of their decision. For instance, someone could be having a really hard time sleeping because of their anxiety, which in turn might make them apathetic towards evangelism. In Scripture, we find food-delivery-ravens, self-filling flour jars and self-refreshing oil jugs (1 Kings 17:14-16), but we also find the ordinary, flowing brooks. NO. Unfortunately, many people turn to medication to mask pressure and pain instead of dealing with their problems. Judas Iscariot, devastated with guilt and shame, committed suicide (Matthew 27:3-5). Anxiety and depression certainly are not a spiritual issues alone, and you absolutely do not need to feel guilty for not being able to just pray these issues away. Miracles are, by definition, rare. Is taking medicine not trusting God? You can both trust in God and trust in medicine. n such cases, if the person turns to psychotropic drugs instead, he may maskthe true, underlying spiritual cause for his issue. Comment. 1997 - 2023 Eagle Mountain International Church Inc. Aka Kenneth Copeland Ministries. I can understand the stigma around it, because we are supposed to trust that God alone can heal. The means God provides for our benefit may be found among those who dont share our faith, values, andpolitics. We chat more about medication and all things anxiety. It's not guaranteed just because you go to the doctor you will be cured, even with all of our medicine. While all healing is directed by God, we see the poultice clearlydemonstrates that God uses medical procedures at times as a means of delivering the healing He provides. Trusting Him never means rejecting those means. We have a new question every day, so check back often! In it, Luther encourages Christians who have a duty of care to others, like sick relatives or neighbors, to stay and tend to them. I am going to be praying about this but it really does help knowing that I am not sinning against God by using my inhaler to help me breath. It took me a while to discover this, but the way I see it now, medication is a gift from God. And then youve got the (likely) use of the remains of an abortion victim to supply key cell lines for drug development. Jesus compared the kingdom of God with the planting of seed and reaping the harvest. Proud member So does the arrow of your life. On a more real line of thinking, there are any number of bits of important medical research that came from the Vernichtungslager (concentration camps) of Nazi Germany, especially in the area of the human bodys response to cold. Here is strong evidence that we may be healed by God though the use of sound medical practice! I want to share an in-depth look at my journey to freedom and some tips that I use every day. I never should have thought birds and brooks would be good enough. It is perfectly acceptable to attack sickness on both the natural and the spiritual level. Then in Isaiah 38:21 we find the prophet prescribing a poultice (i.e., medicinal remedy) for Hezekiahs boil. I couldn't function to complete routine activities. Do you make sure to fill your diet with nutritious and yummy foods, or do you eat processed foods that are convenient but lacking? If a person has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they already possess the most powerful Healer and Comforter. I have had anxiety and depression for years now. Read Chapter All Versions Proverbs 31:17 17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. It means seeing Him in those means. 20 Important Bible Verses About Medicine (Powerful Verses) While no one has the right to query the stand of another in such matters, it nevertheless elicits curiosity when someone at the point of death, and who probably could have been saved by medical. They avoid the need to examine their life for sin and take corrective steps. James 1:17 notes that every good a perfect gift is from above. God allows medication to be a part of our stories here on earth. If a Christian will not acknowledge the Lord's sovereignty and rest in His word, the person may live in constant anxiety or depression. As Elijah walked away from dried-up Cherith, Im pretty sure his thoughts didnt go like this: Well that was a big mistake. Its true that Enlightenment rationalism and empiricism are man-made philosophiesso we dont idolize science. Why? Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. MINISTRY INTERNATIONAL, P.O. I should have trusted God instead!. Today, medication can treat this issue. So, when it comes to trusting God, that means believing in His reliability, His Word, His ability and His strength. When brook dried up he moved on. Proverbs 17:22 22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. This is why I share so openly in my blogs. Only the God described in the Bible can account for a logical and orderly universe. God ordained this minor surgery for a very specific, spiritual purpose, but nevertheless this example demonstrates that relying on a medical procedure isn't contrary to obeying God. The record of 1 Kings reveals that Zarephath and the widow were the means God provided for Elijahs benefitas well as theirown. Mental Health Grace Alliance He is thus responsible before God for his neighbor's death and is a murderer many times over. If I Take Medicine for My Anxiety/Depression, Does That Mean I'm Not Trusting God? Depression, Christians, and Anti-Depressant Medication - Blogger Counting the population was obviously OK in the book of Numbers, but wasnt OK when David did it many years later. Its a personal choice. Once again, the implication is that physicians are doing a good work for God's people as an extension of God's own healing ministry. Does the Bible support the idea that it is sin or lack of faith to seek medical attention? Baker Publishing Group. Many people have had questions and experienced confusion about these very same issues. There's nothing like a KCM event. Why don't we believe that it still exists today? We see in this story that Hezekiah, one of Judahs righteous kings, is illand, although he prays to God to heal him, also takes a poultice of figs as medicine. So why do we struggle to believe anxiety and depression medications won't do the same? Is It Ok for Christians to Take Medication for Mental Illness? Jesus is known as the Great Physician (Mark 2:17). Then Jeremiah 30:13 equates the lack of medicine with a lack of healing, and Jeremiah 51:8 saysmedicine is the way for Babylon to be healed. Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 vs 3 - 5 Should born-again children of God take medication? If you have a question about anything related to living the single life, please email singlesadvice@crosswalk.com (selected questions will be addressed anonymously). Luke was the beloved physician not an evil, sinful heretic ( Col. 4:14 ). Incases where a person will not repent or seek godly counsel, we should expect the Lord to allowthe person'snegative emotional state to continue, even to the point of developing intoa chronic condition. But the philosophical traditions of romanticism, sentimentalism, and anti-intellectualism arent from the Bibleeither. What Kind of Place Is Jesus Preparing for Us? The OT records times when the nation of Israel trusted in the ordinary means of Egypt and other foreign nations to protect itself from aggressive enemies. Should we think that their imperfect success rate proves they arent fromGod? Actually that would be suicide. His miracles defy explanation. But don't reach for the tylenol with every headache or rush to the E.R. Most believed in trusting God out of a genuine heart that longed to put faith in Him for everything, including health and healing. Some have shared their heart that they feel convicted not to go to the doctor or take medicines. God didn't tell us to do nothing and just sit back and let nature take its course. Psychotropic drugs are powerful, brain-altering chemicals, which doctors are increasingly prescribing to address emotional and behavioral problems problems that mayhave a spiritual root causerather thana physiological source. Should Christians go for medication or total reliance on God?====Question \u0026 Answer SeriesBible Presbyterian Church of WASunday 11th October 2015Watch the complete Q\u0026A session here: https://youtu.be/3cpZNkFB6aMFor a full list of previously covered questions, please click the following link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1I_99pWTfq7b5fpKVKa6xft8ymA9Tlq5hgsUvhBNhvxM/Subscribe to keep up to date with our weekly video releases by clicking this subscribe link: https://www.youtube.com/c/BiblePresbyterianChurchofWA?sub_confirmation=1 Sometimes it isnt simply a spiritual issue. Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning. The sick need a doctor not more faith. And Jonah sank into severe and rather angry depression after his ordeal over Gods decision to spare Nineveh (Jonah 4:1-11). A physical issue (like your brains chemistry) will affect your mind and your soul, potentially making it feel like its a spiritual issue when it really isnt. Read Chapter All Versions Ephesians 5:18 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. It is honorable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start aquarrel. San Antonio, Texas, 78270 Your experience doesn't need to be validated by a medical label.