Is Jesus Enough?

Written by guest writer Julie Busler

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit,”

Romans 15:13, CSB

“I just wanted Jesus to be enough,” flashed in my mind with a faith-battering force as I sat frightened and alone in the Turkish psychiatric hospital. My life had imploded. I was the wife to an adoring husband, the mother of 4 beautiful children, and lived my days as a missionary in a predominantly Muslim country sharing hope in Christ. Childhood trauma, effortlessly concealed behind a well-manicured appearance, gnawed away at my mind going unnoticed by even those closest to me. Dangerous thoughts, strangely coexisting with Scripture, had taken up residence in my mind, secretly threatening my life by irrationally presenting death as the only option of escape.

I read my Bible every day.

I worshiped.

I prayed.

I served the Lord with all my heart.

And yet, the intrusive thoughts and despair only grew in severity.

I wanted Jesus to be enough and thought admitting struggle would invalidate His sufficiency. But this pressure for perfection lends itself to silent suffering as a way to save face. The church girl that honors the Lord outwardly so as to protect her witness, yet plans her death inwardly, is a unique prison I don’t wish upon anyone. Maybe you know what this painful cognitive dissonance feels like, and if you do please know that there is help.

My ability to pretend eventually ran out and a breakdown landed me in a foreign hospital. Newly diagnosed major depression and PTSD toppled my pride, highlighting the ordinary, fragile vessel that I really was. Today, four years later, I can say with confidence that God, in His goodness, allowed my life to break apart so that eventually I would walk in wholeness. It hasn’t been an easy journey, yet it has shifted my understanding of God’s ways so profoundly that advocating in the realm of mental health has become my passion.

I’ve learned that even as believers, we live in fallen bodies that bear witness to the brokenness of this world. The tension between our weak flesh and our willing spirit is where faith is forged and hope burns bright with expectation of these failing minds and bodies one day being swallowed up in life. So “While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.” (2 Corinthians 5:4, NLT)

I praise God for medication and therapy, both a means of common grace. These gifts have saved my physical life, offering stabilization and coping skills that I once lacked. And while we are free to utilize modern medicine as followers of Christ, we must remember that any earthly tool is incomplete without Jesus. Medicine may bring stability to the mind, but it cannot produce joy or peace, for only the Spirit that dwells within saints produces fruit. Therapy can uncover unhealthy thought patterns and irrational behavior, but it’s the Word of God that transforms our minds. 

But is Jesus really enough if we are using something like medicine? There is an often overlooked phenomenon in the Bible where God does not heal everyone with a one size fits all method. There are instances where some are healed immediately, yet others experience miraculous healing alongside the use of a natural remedy. 

In 2 Kings 20:1, we read about Hezekiah’s severe illness that the prophet Isaiah said would kill him. You may know what it feels like to receive a terminal prognosis or live with an incurable illness. The text says Hezekiah wept bitterly, which is good and right when painful news comes, but he also cried out to God by saying, “Please, Lord, remember how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases you,” (2 Kings 20:3, CSB). The Lord responded by saying, “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you,” (2 Kings 20:5, CSB). But then something peculiar happens in the story that reminds me of my own personal struggle with accepting help from medication. Isaiah said, “Bring a lump of pressed figs.” So they brought it and applied it to his infected skin, and he recovered,” (2 Kings 20:7, CSB). Hezekiah and Isaiah didn’t inactively wait on God’s healing, but rather utilized figs, which may have been used for medicinal purposes in their time and culture. And while we cannot exclude the figs from playing a role in Hezekiah’s recovery, such a serious illness must have also included the divine work of God. He did, after all, declare that He would heal Hezekiah. Miraculous healing does not eliminate the use of remedies available to us on earth, but we must remember that any earthly provision that heals has been empowered by our Healer. 

Using modern medicine does not reveal a lack of faith, but rather signifies good judgment and stewardship of that which God has provided. Medicine has helped me immensely, but it’s been a supernatural work of God that has transformed my mentally ill mind into a sound mind that cleaves to hope. My diagnoses remain, but I do walk in mental health because Jesus really is enough. His work on the cross is the only way I, who once was darkness, now walk as a child of Light. His resurrection is why I walk in His resurrection power today, even if the valley of the shadow of death is where I often reside.

Sister, if you are in need of help please tell someone. And even if you are just beginning your journey toward mental health, I’m praying you will remember who you are in Christ with overflowing hope. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit,” (Romans 15:13, CSB).