"Taking medicine for depression or anxiety is avoiding the spiritual root instead of dealing with it."
How it sounds in your head: My small group leader said mental illness is really a spiritual problem that needs deliverance, not drugs. Maybe I'm just avoiding dealing with my sin or unforgiveness. Maybe I'm taking the easy way out instead of doing the hard spiritual work.
"A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones."
-- Proverbs 17:22Fundamentalist theology that denies the physical reality of brain chemistry, falsely spiritualizing medical conditions.
She's been taught that every problem has a spiritual cause, and addressing physical symptoms without 'dealing with the root' is just putting a band-aid on it. Her medication feels like she's avoiding God's real solution.
Elijah was suicidal and depressed under the juniper tree. God's solution wasn't deliverance ministry or rebuking demons - He gave Elijah SLEEP and FOOD twice, addressing physical needs before anything spiritual.
I REFUSE the lie that mental health is only spiritual warfare. IT IS WRITTEN that even broken spirits affect the physical bones. God created my brain as a physical organ that sometimes needs physical intervention. When Elijah was depressed, God gave him sleep and food - practical, physical solutions. I am NOT avoiding spiritual truth by addressing brain chemistry. IT IS WRITTEN that I am fearfully and wonderfully made, body AND spirit. My Father doesn't condemn me for stewarding my physical health. I am completely righteous and totally loved whether my serotonin levels are balanced by prayer or prescriptions.
Your Father is running toward you with bread and water like He did for Elijah, saying 'Let's take care of your body first, beloved.' He's not frustrated that you need physical help - He MADE you physical and delights in providing for every need.