Mental illness is a topic that many Jesus-followers struggle to understand. Some people believe it doesn’t really exist, that if the person really wanted to they would get better, act normal, get a job, get out of bed. They see the labels thrown around like candy, and people who look like they could be gainfully employed receiving disability benefits because of the label, and they want to kick them all off the rolls if they have a label like mental illness.
Another group of people say there is mental illness and there is nothing a person can do if they have it. They can’t do anything about their symptoms accept take the medications. They are powerless and the disease controls them.
A third group labels mental illness from a spiritual angle and name it demon possession or demonic oppression. The most extreme view finds a demon under almost every rock. Things like smoking and overeating are the result of demonic powers. They point a finger at Satan and his gang and blame them for individual sin and behavior. Short of deliverance, the individual is powerless, even if they are a Jesus-follower.
I believe there is mental illness, that choices we make do affect our lives, and that some people need to take medication and have therapy as part of their lives. I like to, for example, talk about depression something like this. Some people’s brains don’t make enough “happy juice” (obviously not the technical term) and need medication to help. Just like we don’t blame a childhood diabetic for having diabetes and see the medicine as lifesaving, so it is with mental illness. But studies have shown that long term, medicines are not enough. Good therapy is also needed, along with a support system and a vital connection with the LORD.
If you have ever wondered what demon possession looks like, this is it. Every area of this man’s life is in shambles. This is clearly not the result of his choices. It is clearly not true mental illness, since the demons talk and when cast out, the man is normal.
This man is homeless. He lives in a cemetery, perhaps a cave in a hillside where bodies would have been laid during the burial process, which often lasted a year. There are so many other places that would have been friendlier than the cemetery, but this man is there. Really pretty fitting for a demon possessed man. Satan is about death, after all.
This man is uncontrollable. He has failed every treatment program available to him. The community has thrown up their hands in defeat. He is so violent that they are afraid of him. They have tried keeping him under control, but he demonstrated super-human strength in breaking free of every binding that they had. He was so strong he broke the chains and shackles that they used. Their strongest men couldn’t get him under control. Sounds a bit like a superhero, doesn’t he. But people don’t want him around.
Finally, he lives a life of misery. He is clearly inwardly tormented. He screams and mutilates himself through cutting. The demons are torturing their human host!
This is what demon possession looks like! It is not smoking or overeating, but like this. Every picture in the Scriptures of demon possession is like this. The people are tormented beyond any normal limits.
But Jesus can bring calm to this internal storm, just like He brought calm to the storm of wind and waves. Nothing is outside His domain!
The Arnold Journey 