Health
IN THE BIBLE
A quick guide to mental health in the Bible
INTRODUCTION
The Bible’s stories are a whole mix of strange, fantastical, mindbending, soul-changing and awesome . . . but within every single one of them are ordinary, real-life people. Just like you. They had the same sorts of questions, pressures, worries, obstacles and disappointments. Life hurt just as much thousands of years ago as it does today.
But in the stories of the men and women of the Bible, we get to see how God cares for the anxious, the unloved, the doubtful, the insecure, the confused, the bullied and the suicidal. In the stories of Scripture, we meet the One described as our “ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
These short introductions to the men and women in Scripture who battled with their mental health are like little launchpads into their stories. They’ll help you know where to find them in the Bible, what to expect, what to look for and why they are so important. With this handy guide, these people will become more than names—they’ll become living, breathing life-lessons.
Your friends at Our Daily Bread Ministries
Leah
The unloved wife
What other people think of us matters; especially those closest to us. If we are constantly ignored or told we’re not good enough, our mental and emotional wellbeing is going to suffer.
Leah was desperate to be loved. Her husband, preferring his other wife, ignored Leah. Her heart was filled with pain. In fact, she named every child she had in a way to grab her husband’s attention. But the only message she received for many years was: “I’m not good enough.”
Then something in Leah changed.
She changed her focus from her uncaring husband to her loving, faithful God. Instead of spiralling into bitterness and self-loathing, she recognised that she was beautiful and priceless in God’s eyes. When her fourth son was born, Leah called him Judah, which means, “This time I will praise the Lord!”
Judah went on to be the father of the kingly tribe from which Jesus was born. Leah may not have won her husband’s heart, but she had God’s! The world around us can feed us lies about our worth and our value. The truth about who we are— how loved we are; how awesome we are—is found in the words of our Creator. If what other people think of us matters to our wellbeing; then what He thinks of us is off the charts!
Moses
The rebel with a poor self-image
“I’m just not enough.” It’s so easy to look at ourselves in the mirror and think something along these lines. There’s so much we wish we could change, from how we look to how we think—to the visible and invisible limitations and challenges we live with.
Moses wished he could change things too. He may have grown up an Egyptian prince, but he knew he was one of God’s chosen people—a people currently living as ill-treated slaves. His first attempt to free them was disastrous. Many years later, God invited Moses to be part of His rescue mission. Moses was sure he wasn’t the man for the job.
“Who am I?” Moses asked, looking at himself. “No one’s going to listen to me. I can’t even speak properly.” With every excuse Moses came up with, he was saying, “I can’t.”
God didn’t try to boost Moses’ ego or teach him to look at himself in a new light. “I am,” God replied, drawing Moses’ attention back to the Lord. “I will be with you. I made you just as I intended; I will help you speak.” With every reply, God was saying, “But I can!”
When we’re tempted to put ourselves down and say, “I can’t,” we can learn from Moses to listen for God’s, “But I can.” That’s when we can look in the mirror and say, “God is enough for me today.”
Gideon The anxious warrior
Heart racing. Trembling. Stomach knots. Mind buzzing. Full alert; full of fear . . .
Anxiety is our body’s natural response to danger. For many of us, it has become a way of life. With soaring numbers of people suffering from various forms of anxiety, it’s as though our bodies are screaming that just being alive is dangerous.
Gideon knew all about that. Being alive was dangerous! The Midianites were everywhere, constantly stealing Israel’s crops and produce, leaving God’s people with nothing. Their mighty soldiers were beyond counting.
Gideon was afraid. And very anxious. He was in hiding when God spoke to him. Then it took a lot of convincing that Gideon really was the person God had chosen to overthrow their oppressors.
Gideon spent several days checking with God, “Are you sure you mean me?” Even as he approached the Midianites camp itself, Gideon was so afraid that God gave him some extra special reassurance.
Like us, Gideon had no control over the events surrounding him. That made him repeatedly anxious. But through Gideon’s fear, we learn something about how God handles anxious people. He is patient, He is kind and His desire is to encourage. When we’re struggling with anxiety, our strength and courage don’t rise from within ourselves, but from knowing the One who is bigger than whatever we face and who is in control of it all. Just ask Gideon.
Naomi
The woman who hit rock bottom
Have you ever hit rock bottom? Not just a bad day, but a bad day that becomes a bad week—which turns into a bad month, a bad year and then just a seemingly dead-end life.
That was probably what it felt like for Naomi. Her husband had moved the family to Moab, a strange country with weird gods. Then he died. Then both her sons died. She was left alone with her daughter-in-law, in a foreign land, completely penniless and lost in hopelessness. “Don’t bother calling me Naomi,” she said, “Call me Bitter from now on.”
Naomi genuinely hit rock bottom and felt she had nothing left to live for. But hers is a story of hope to encourage those of us who have experienced the same thing. She discovered we can lose everything in life, but we can’t lose God. He’s always ready to help us make little baby steps from the darkness towards His light.
For Naomi, it started with turning her feet back to Israel. As she saw God’s hand at work, her faith began to flicker back into life. A new day dawned for her.
When we hit the bottom, Naomi reminds us to look for God—He’ll be right there with us.
The
Hannah
barren wife who got trolled
From behind the anonymity of a username, trolls spit venomous comments out of their keyboards. Anyone can become a victim of their bullying.
Peninnah and Hannah were both married to the same husband. Because Hannah couldn’t have children, she got constantly trolled by Peninnah. She used similar tactics as today’s trolls; bombarding Hannah with comments, but under the radar so their husband never understood what was upsetting Hannah. Like anyone who suffers abuse from trolls, Hannah was miserable. She would cry bitterly and couldn’t eat. But then one day Hannah took her pain to God.
She prayerfully poured out her soul through body-heaving sobs. She was in such a state, the nearby priest initially thought she was drunk! Then he encouraged her: “Go in peace.” From that moment, Hannah looked brighter—and actually ate something!
Even though God gave Hannah a child later, nothing changed immediately after her prayer. Hannah was still barren. Peninnah was still trolling her. But within Hannah, everything had changed. Peninnah’s voice was no longer defining Hannah’s worth. Now Hannah had someone much mightier and more impressive. As the Bible explained many years later, when we bring our burdens to God, His peace “guards our hearts and minds”. Are trolls attacking your sense of identity or worth? Copy Hannah and make God’s voice the loudest. He only speaks the truth about you; and that truth is amazing!
David The king who poured his jumbled emotions out to God
How honest are we allowed to be with God? David’s prayer in Psalm 22 is a swirling jumble of thoughts, emotions, desires and distress. But ultimately, he chose to pour out his pain, confusion, fear, anger—everything he was feeling—to God.
He cried out in anguish, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” In fact, even Jesus felt free enough to quote those same agonising words from the cross.
David freely poured out his pain to God. He describes being in anguish, suffering scorn and hatred, being surrounded by danger and being utterly helpless to save himself. He pleads with God to stop being silent and rush to his aid!
But David doesn’t stop there. After telling God all about his circumstances, David takes time to remember and celebrate all the things he knows to be true about God. “You are on the throne.” “You are my strength.” “You are worthy of all praises.”
It’s okay to be open, raw and honest with God. In fact, this is an important step of healing when we are hurting deep inside where no one else can see. When we’re struggling, like David, we put our hope in God’s goodness— even when we can’t see it.
In the end, we will all say with David, “God has done it!”
ElijahThe suicidal prophet
“I’ve had enough.” You might well have felt something like this during some of your worst moments. The prophet Elijah is remembered as being a mighty man of God. But, the truth is, he was just like you and me. In his lowest, most depressed moment, he’d also had enough. “Take my life,” he said despairingly to God.
What did God do in Elijah’s depression? Talk him round? Help him see life a little clearer? Well, yes, God did do those things. But He couldn’t do them right away; Elijah wasn’t yet ready to receive constructive input. So God started somewhere far simpler.
After letting his prophet sleep, God sent his angel with these down-to-earth words: “Get up and eat.” So Elijah ate and he slept again. Then the angel returned once more to provide food. Food, drink, rest. To say this is the only answer when we feel low or depressed would be way too simplistic (and wrong). But it is an excellent place to start. Our mental health is tied to our physical health. God gets this; it’s how He made us. It’s how He began caring for Elijah. And once the prophet was more physically restored, he was ready for God’s far deeper revelations and encouragement. When we are spiralling mentally, let’s copy the plan of action God gave Elijah; seeking His presence whilst getting physical rest and refreshment.
Job The man who kept hold of God when he lost everything else
No matter how balanced our mental wellbeing is generally, all of us suffer in our hearts and minds when we face loss and heartache.
Poor Job lost absolutely everything—his children, servants, money, position and reputation. Then, Job began to lose his health too.
Job’s mental health, understandably, took a massive hit. He wished he’d never been born; after losing everything, he said, “Sighing is my food. My groans pour out of me like water.”
Job’s world fell apart, and so did he. In such circumstances, we might be tempted to give up on God. But here’s the thing—Job walked his whole journey of grief and loss with God. He worshipped, even as he sat in ashes. He kept directing his big questions at God, without turning his back on the Lord. He trusted God’s goodness and faithfulness, even though he couldn’t see any of it. And when God finally did speak, Job didn’t fight or argue—he surrendered his life once again.
We will all face suffering of one sort or another. The question is, will we handle it with God or without Him? Job shows us something of what it looks like to keep God at the centre of our pain. That is where hope and comfort are found. That is where we learn to cling to God in our tears, saying with Job: “I know You can do all things.”
Jeremiah The weeping prophet
How do you keep going when life is hard? Where is the strength found to face each day when you know it’ll be full of pain?
Jeremiah is often called “the weeping prophet” because of his hard, lonely and miserable 40 years of prophesying. His job was to remind God’s people that because of their sin, Babylon was on the horizon, ready to invade and destroy them. He was quite unpopular, to put it mildly.
“I will make you a wall,” God reassured Jeremiah. “The people will fight against you but will not overcome you. For I am with you.”
Jeremiah knew what it was to feel utterly miserable. He spoke God’s Word in tears to an angry, hateful people. But he kept going. His close, personal relationship with God was the heart of his character, his hope and his endurance. When he was utterly abandoned, he was still held by God, his faithful friend.
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,” Jeremiah reflected. “For His compassions never fail.” In your own heartache, the weeping prophet will help you see how to live through such seasons in the arms of the God who loves you and will never let you go.
Jonah The prophet who was angry enough to die
“Putting the world to rights” is a phrase sometimes used when people talk about the problems around the earth and how they’d like to fix them.
Jonah knew exactly how to put the world right; destroying Nineveh. They were the capital of the ghastly, ungodly and wicked Assyrian empire; sworn enemies of God’s people.
So when God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, the prophet ran the other way. There was no way he’d give those nasty people an opportunity to be saved. They didn’t deserve a second chance; no sir!
One swift storm and ‘fish dinner’ later, Jonah trudged wetly (and grumpily) into Nineveh. Amazingly, the people humbled themselves before God. The Lord, in His mercy, saved them from judgement.
“I’m angry enough to die!” Jonah spat as he slammed himself on the ground outside the city walls. “Shouldn’t I care about a city full of people I created?” God asked. “Shouldn’t I have concern about the hundreds of thousands of men, women and children within its walls?”
There is plenty in the world to make us angry and unhappy. But, like Jonah, our view is too limited for us to truly know what’s best. When we rely on our own perspective, frustration wells up in the face of injustice. Yet when we let God lead, we finally start to see the world as He does; broken, but with opportunities for mercy—even for our enemies.
John the Baptist The eccentric prophet with heavy doubts
What do you do when you have doubts about the big stuff? Is Jesus really who He says He is? Does God really care about me? If you’ve ever had worries like this gnawing away, you are in excellent company: John the Baptist. His job was to prepare the way for Jesus. “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” he announced when Jesus approached. But that’s not the end of John’s story. He was later arrested and imprisoned. From his cell, he heard stories of what Jesus was doing, and perhaps opinionated rumours. And the doubts and anxieties began to surface. Is He really the one? Did I make a mistake? Should we still be waiting for the Saviour? We will all face doubts. We’ll all have questions. It’s hard to trust someone you cannot see. But John shows us how to handle such times. He didn’t hide his anxieties in his heart, where they might have consumed him. He brought his questions straight to Jesus (via a messenger).
And Jesus responded to John in the same way He’ll respond to us: by directing him back to the rock-solid, reassuring truth of the Bible. “The blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk!” All the Old Testament promises about the Saviour were coming true.
3:1-17; 11: 1-10; John 1:29-34
Martha The stressed-out hostess
Washing, cleaning, cooking, disciplining children, organising, planning . . . Sometimes it feels like the to-do list only ever gets longer. Martha was busy serving all the time—and she was good at it. She knew how to run a home and a family well. But the stress and anxiety of all the demands was warping her priorities.
Jesus invited Martha to something better. Her serving was a good thing, no doubt; but it wasn’t the best thing. Or the most balanced thing for her wellbeing. Jesus wanted to elevate her from simply being a server to becoming a disciple. It was wonderful that she had such a servant’s heart; but by focusing on the ‘what’, her serving heart had forgotten about the ‘who’ stood before her.
We live in a busy, task-orientated world. We know what it is to find value and identity in the work we do and serving we provide. So Jesus wants to do the same for us as He did for Martha: to elevate us, to make us more than what we do. He longs to make us His disciples; people with servant hearts who find rest, love and wellbeing in His refreshing presence.
Jesus
The sorrowful Saviour
Sometimes this world can feel like a dark place; and our minds kind of get lost in the gloom.
But struggling with our mental wellbeing doesn’t mean that we’re too unworthy or too sinful for God. We’re simply burdened by a world that is marred by sin and death. Our Saviour Jesus also knew deep sorrow as He considered the weight—and cost—of sin.
The hour of His betrayal approached—which would kick start the events leading to Jesus’ brutal execution on the cross. Knowing He was going to bear our sin there and face the Father’s judgement in our place, He said: “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”
Those words might echo our own feelings of darkness and depression. But rather than suffering alone, we can follow the positive actions that Jesus modelled.
He asked His disciples to “stay here and keep watch”. We too need Christian friends to bolster our faith in hard times.
Then Jesus prayerfully placed His life in His Father’s hands: “Not as I will, but as you will”. When the gloom of life clouds our vision, we can trust in the One who always sees the way ahead.
Dark days don’t mean we’ve failed. As Jesus modelled, our Father will be our help and comfort for those seasons.
Peter
The man with a guilty conscience
What do you do when you just feel awful? Peter did something we can probably all relate to. After he let Jesus down (big time), he wallowed in self-pity and misery.
If Peter’s story had ended there, it would have been just another example of a man so caught up in his shame and guilt that he couldn’t see a way out. But that’s not the end . . .
Feeling like a total failure, Peter went back to the only place life made sense—his old fishing boat. Peter was sorry he’d let Jesus down, but he hadn’t yet turned back to God; he’d hidden in the familiar comfort of his old way of life.
Suddenly, Jesus showed up on the shore, calling out to Peter and the other disciples.
Peter had seen Jesus’ love in action; He’d touched lepers and tended to the unloved. But when Jesus showed up just for Peter, perhaps he experienced the enormity of that love like never before. Peter couldn’t get to Jesus quickly enough! “He jumped into the water” and swam to shore!
What brought Peter out of his guilt-ridden wallowing?
Realising the unfailing, faithful, infinite love of Jesus wasn’t just for others, but for him too.
When you feel lost and ashamed, Peter shows nothing you do changes or limits God’s love for you. Jesus stands by the shore calling you to forgiveness and a renewed relationship.
Luke 5:1-11; Matthew 26:69-75; John 21
Judas The man who thought he was too bad for God
Is it possible to be too bad for God? When our minds tell us we’re hopeless, should we listen?
Judas was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples and close friends. Yet he chose to betray Jesus for cash. Once Jesus was executed, Judas just couldn’t live with himself or what he had done. Judas threw the money away, and then hung himself. Judas was sorry for his actions, but he seemed to take the priests’ words to heart: “That’s your responsibility.” So Judas tried to deal with his guilt himself, ‘paying’ for his crime through his suicide.
Could Jesus’ death on the cross have paid for Judas’ betrayal? Absolutely. Even Judas could have had a place in heaven. As the Bible tells us, “The death Jesus died, he died to sin once for all.” And “all” means everyone.
But Judas didn’t stick around long enough to meet the resurrected Jesus. He didn’t put his crimes, his guilt or his shame on the cross for Jesus to bear. He didn’t receive forgiveness. He didn’t get a brand-new life.
Inner turmoil is not unique to Judas. In whatever guilt or inadequacy you are wrestling with, ask yourself, “Will this lead me to Jesus or to death?” Judas shouldered his own burdens. But we don’t have to. “Come to me, all you who are burdened, and I will give you rest,” Jesus calls to us today.
Paul
The man who boasted about his weakness
Have you ever felt like giving up? The Apostle Paul would understand. He had a dynamic ministry preaching the gospel far and wide—and yet it was filled with seemingly endless troubles and trials.
He was put in prison frequently, flogged severely and exposed to death many times through being beaten, whipped and stoned. He was even shipwrecked three times (spending a day and night in the open sea!).
He wrote in one of his letters about a particular issue he had, which he called a “thorn in the flesh”. This unnamed problem or illness was getting him down more than anything else. But God’s answer to Paul’s prayers was: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” When limitations, bad circumstances or any kinds of trials are getting us down, we just want God to fix them. Then we’ll feel much better. But Paul teaches us a better way: “Therefore I will boast gladly about my weaknesses, so that I can know Jesus’ power all the better.”
Boasting about weakness? Really? It’s not about delighting in our issues, but realising they are a special doorway through which we can know, depend upon and experience the love and power of God. Because, as Paul discovered, it’s worth being weak if that allows us to get to know Jesus better.
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Some of them were mad, most of them were bad and a handful were good. The kings in the Bible are an interesting mix, ranging from Godfearing to God-ignoring, wise to unbelievably stupid, murderous to murdered . . .
These short introductions to the kings in Scripture are like little launch pads into their stories. They’ll help you know where to find them in the Bible, what to expect, what to look for and why they are so important. With this handy guide, these kings will become more than ancient monarchs—they become living, breathing life-lessons.
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The prophets and prophetesses of God’s Word were a fascinating bunch of heroes, leaders, rebels, and oddballs. They made mistakes, drew close to God and shared amazing truths about the coming Saviour. Each one of them has a story to tell; a story that can resonate with our lives today.
These short introductions to the prophets in Scripture are like little launchpads into their stories. They’ll help you get to know them as real people, so you can consider their relevance and have more understanding when you read the words they wrote in the Bible.
If you need to get in touch, please contact the office nearest to you from the list below, or go to ourdailybread.org/locations for the complete list of offices. Germany: Our Daily Bread Ministries e.V., Schulstraße 42, 79540 Lörrach deutsch@odb.org
Ireland: Our Daily Bread Ministries, 64 Baggot Street Lower, Dublin 2, D02 XC62 ireland@odb.org ~ +3531 (0) 87 478 1445 UK & Europe: Our Daily Bread Ministries, PO Box 1, Millhead, Carnforth, LA5 9ES europe@odb.org ~ +44 (0) 15395 64149
Many people, making even the smallest of donations, enable Our Daily Bread Ministries to reach others with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible. We are not funded or endowed by any group or denomination.
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Throughout the various ups and downs of the men and women of the Bible, we get to see how God cares for the anxious, the unloved, the doubtful, the insecure, the confused, the bullied and the suicidal. In the stories of Scripture, we meet the One described as our “ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
These short introductions to the men and women in Scripture who battled with their mental health are like little launchpads into their stories. They’ll help you know where to find them in Scripture, what to expect, what to look for and why they are so important. With this handy guide, these people will become more than names—they’ll become living, breathing life-lessons.
If you need to get in touch, please contact the office nearest to you from the list below, or go to ourdailybread.org/locations for the complete list of offices.
Germany: Our Daily Bread Ministries e.V., Schulstraße 42, 79540 Lörrach deutsch@odb.org
Ireland: Our Daily Bread Ministries, 29 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, D02 E726 ireland@odb.org ~ +353 (0) 87 478 1445
UK & Europe: Our Daily Bread Ministries, PO Box 1, Millhead, Carnforth, LA5 9ES europe@odb.org ~ +44 (0) 15395 64149
Many people, making even the smallest of donations, enable Our Daily Bread Ministries to reach others with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible. We are not funded or endowed by any group or denomination.
ourdailybread.org