The Providence of God and Mental Illness

 

 
Our Seminar, Whispers in the Foyer, An Honest Look at the Christian and Mental Illness is coming up. The next one is Saturday, October 15, 2016. It will be held at Boca Glades Baptist Church in Boca Raton Florida. The cost is $60.00 per person or $90.00 for engaged or married couples. This seminar is a prerequisite to start your own CAMI support group. For more information please go to our website

If you wish to attend the seminar, we have a few ways to get you registered. You can call  561.909.9109 and let us know how many tickets you need and follow up with a check in the mail or you can register online at http://heartfeltmin.org/join-us.html and scroll down to the Donate Now button. Just fill in the total dollar amount you will be paying and how many will be coming; then click the donate button.

We have had many people attend this particular seminar and it is very well received. It is informative and helpful as well as encouraging. We will teach you about mental illness as a DISEASE. We have scriptures that prove that mental illness is in the bible and we will share our own personal story of living with these disturbances of the mind and mood.

We know how devastating and heart-breaking depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, panic disorder and other mental illnesses can be to a person, a couple and a family.
You will not be blamed for being sick. We know the Lord cares for His hurting sheep and one of the ways we help people is by teaching you about these illnesses and how to get help and support. We hope to see you on the 15 of October at Boca Glades Baptist Church in West Boca Raton! 

 
Copy Right All Rights Reserved August 2016
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This is from our CAMI Leader's Guide for CAMI Christians Afflicted with Mental Illness, copyright 2010

Proverbs 13:12, Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
This verse should be seen especially as it relates to the onset of mental illness i.e., schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, major depression, etc.  Members of your group should understand the two main truths of the key Scripture, viz. the devastation of a heartbreak and the wonder of a fulfilled dream or goal in life. This is a doctrine in the Bible called the providence of God.

Charles Spurgeon on Providence

“The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.” 
 Proverbs 16:33

The Westminster Catechism says,The works of providence are …. God’s most holy, wise and power preserving and governing of all His creatures and all their actions. (Westminster Shorter Catechism)

“If the disposal of the lot is the Lord’s, whose is the arrangement of our whole life? If the simple casting of a lot is guided by Him, how much more the events of our entire life-especially when we are told by our blessed Savior: ‘The very hairs of your head are all numbered: not a sparrow falleth to the ground without your Father.’  It would bring a holy calm over your mind, dear friend, if you were always to remember this. It would so relieve your mind from anxiety, that you would be the better able to walk in patience, quiet, and cheerfulness as a Christian should. Providence applies to suffering in this way.  When Satan wanted to assault Job, he had to make application of it to God; even then God set limits on the intensity and duration of his attack,” Job 1:6-12;  2:1-6.( Public Domain).

If you are a child of God who has mental illness, it is because of an act of Providence.  It is not happen-stance. I remember when I was first diagnosed with major depression and was still suffering greatly, I began to question why I had to become mentally ill.  My father-in-law said to me, “Son, you have to play the hand that’s been dealt to you."  And so, I began to realize that though I was so very disappointed about losing the pastorate, I knew that God had ordered my steps.  I also later read what George Muller said, “Not only the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, but also the stops are His doing.”

For further study on this subject see Psalm 145:17, Nehemiah 9:6 and Ephesians 1:19-22.

   

If you wish to read reviews about our book Broken Minds Hope for Healing When you Feel Like You're Losing It, please put in a google search. Broken Minds, Bloem