Where the healing resides: Pt. 2
Jesus and Therapy
This post was supposed to begin in a completely different direction with a different reference, but then — life happened. Yeah, y’all know how that goes. That heaviness that comes out of left field and sucker punches you right in the face with no type of warning. You were fine, happy even, then all of a sudden EVERYTHING feels wrong. I can’t begin to explain how frustrating it was especially since I still had real life responsibilities. How was this the time to feel so gloomy when I’m supposed to deliver a blog post on where to resolve your lows? It felt like a huge distraction at the time but then I thought to myself… what better time and way to share an experience than when it’s your truth in the present moment? I mean talk about true healing personified. As inconvenient as the wave of emotions felt, its these vulnerable moments that remind me why having a therapist is needed as much as having Jesus. Because really, what happens after we pray and give it to God?
The misconception of being a believer is that your problems disappear and you live happily ever after or that if you seek additional help outside of God then you lack faith *la dee da dee da*. Wellllll, survey says… THAT WAS A LIE! In fact, it almost feels like once you do give your life over to Christ the problems intensify. The fine print most of us overlook is that God’s word never said it wouldn’t storm anymore. He actually said it rains on the just and unjust alike (Matthew 5:45). Crazy, right? You probably feel bamboozled but the pursuit was never about walking a problem-free life. It doesn’t mean that he won’t see us through the steep waters; it just means that life will happen to us and the work on our end still needs to be done accordingly. Healing is a partnership with God but our responsibility. For example, think about if you broke your arm. Of course, we pray for the pain of the wound to be eased and for total restoration. But you’ll still have to visit the emergency room to be examined by a specialist and receive direct treatment to repair the bone. Now, think of your internal wounds to the same degree. We can’t expect to achieve wholeness without being willing to bring our issues to the light to be healed.
As someone who frequently experiences anxiety, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve shut down and hid myself underneath the covers. I’ve even gone through the extreme of turning off my phone and ghosting for days. I would do all of this without anybody knowing then pop back up on the grid like everything was all good. That may have been enough sometimes but how long was I going to do this? Feel, breakdown, pray, then right back to life… it became a comfortable cycle. Something was going to have to give if I genuinely wanted to see God’s healing power activated. It wasn’t until my best friend passing that I finally realized that it was time. Even after that, I still dragged my feet for a year and a half before taking real action. One day following our usual venting sessions, she said, “Look, there’s gonna be a point in time where I can’t help you anymore and you’re gonna have to go to therapy”. I never took it as a literal statement until it became one and I was forced to.
I’m sure most of us have heard people say things like, “I don’t need to pay somebody to talk about my problems, it’s not like they can do anything for me.. I can just talk to my friends” or maybe that person is you. Same, I thought the exact same. However, our friends may be good listeners and maybe even great advice givers but they were never assigned to be the bearer and fixer of our baggage. We all are experiencing the motions of life so, chances are your friends are offering guidance on something they’re still trying to figure out for themselves, too. And quite frank, people will not always be available or have the capacity when we’re ready to offload and that is fair because they’re human. When we settle for this as our solution, we accept the blind leading the blind. Resources like psychotherapy are led by licensed professionals and designed to assist individuals express themselves better and function more efficiently.
We don’t only need therapy for the surface level issues we know off the top of our head or those people have brought to our attention. We need it for the things that are unseen and unidentified but have manifested itself so deeply in our lives. Those things that have become our identity that we’ve found complacency with. So many of us are carrying the weight of issues that were birthed generations ago and its affecting how we show up in the world. At some point it’s time to put it down, but not alone. Therapy gives you the space to face strongholds directly, the permission to release without guilt or shame, and the application to lead a healthier life.
Some benefits of therapy, but not limited to, are:
· Discovering buried truths
· Resolving childhood and emotional trauma
· Developing healthy strategies and coping mechanisms
· Unpacking your thoughts and feelings
· An unbiased point-of-view
· Self-reflection and goal-building
Contrary to popular belief, faith and works can both occur simultaneously (James 2:26). Seeking counseling is not meant to replace God from the throne. If we believe that he created all then, we should also believe that counselors are called to assist in the healing realm. They aren’t meant to fix us, but instead provide us with a deeper insight into ourselves. Think of Jesus as the transformer of your heart and therapy as the conditioning of your mind. Suicidal thoughts, anxiety, depression and etc. cannot just be prayed, laughed, smoked, or tucked away. We have to simply grow tired of our mess and want to do something about it. It is a decision that will require grace and patience, especially if you’re not used to being an open book. But don’t cheat yourself because we can only receive what we decide to put in. Invest in your healing, the whole version thanks you in advance.