Did you ever wonder whether you’re fit to serve or be used by God? Maybe you struggle with bouts of depression, wrestle with bi-polar disorder, or you’re afraid to go out of your house. You might even be a schizophrenic who battles terrible voices that plague your mind. You know that you love Christ and trust Him as your perfect sin substitute, but you’re told by the church, sometimes not so subtly, that it’s only those whohave it togetherthat are fit for public display. You feel that people treat you like a piece of fine china that has a crack or blemish; you don’t throw it away because it’s part of a set, but you don’t put it out on the table either because you’re embarrassed.
I was touched by John Piper’s account of how John Newton, the former slave trader become pastor who authored the hymn Amazing Grace, ministered to a depressed man in his church. Piper writes,
Newton’s tenderness touched individuals as well as groups. The most remarkable instance of this was, of course, William Cowper, the mentally-ill poet and hymn-writer who came to live in Olney during twelve of Newton’s sixteen years there. Newton took Cowper into his home for five months during one season and fourteen months during another when he was so depressed it was hard for him to function alone…
When Cowper’s brother died in 1770, Newton resolved to help Cowper by collaborating with him in writing hymns for the church. These came to be known as “The Olney Hymns.”…
What would most of us have done with a depressed person who could scarcely move out of his house? William Jay summed up Newton’s response: “He had the tenderest disposition; and always judiciously regarded his friend’s depression and despondency as a physical effect, for the removal of which he prayed, but never reasoned or argued with him concerning it.” [1]
Instead of setting Cowper aside as a problem person in the church, John Newton found a way to utilize his God given passion for music. The church tends to set people aside that don’t quite fit in. We want to fix them so they can be useful to God. The problem is that none of us have it together, we’re all in need of repair. Jesus said in Matthew 9:12, “…it is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.” The church is not a country club for the beautiful people. Paul told the believers at Ephesus that we are a collection of dead people who have been raised to life (Eph 2:1-7).
If you feel set aside because of your internal struggles, then please know that you don’t have to be emotionally whole to be useful to the Father. If you’ve been blessed with good mental health, then take a lesson from John Newton – pray for those who struggle and help them to be helpful to the church.
Your brother,
Pastor Hirsch
[1] John Piper,The Roots of Endurance: Invincible Perseverance in the Lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon, and William Wilberforce(Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2002), 56-57.