Thoreau wrote that "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." As a physician, I can attest to the truth of this statement. Every day, I meet people with emotional problems - anxiety and depression. They come to see me complaining of insomnia, poor appetite, chest pains, headaches, and a host of other symptoms. Some break down in tears when I ask if they are stressed or having problems at work or in the family. And although we may not like to admit it, it happens to Christians as well as non-Christians.

But should this be so surprising? After all, we are told in the Bible that Jesus was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3). Many Bible characters such as Moses, Elijah, Jonah were no strangers to fear, anxiety, depression and even suicidal tendencies. Elijah, after the height of his victory over the prophets of Baal, became so depressed and anxious when his life was threatened by Jezebel that he ran away to hide in the desert and asked God to take his life (1 Kings 19:4).

We know that Martin Luther, who launched the Reformation, found himself "subject to recurrent periods of exaltation and depression of spirit." He wrote: "the content of the depressions was always the same, the loss of faith that God is good and that He is good to me."

Charles Spurgeon, the famous preacher, also struggled greatly with depression, and was absent from his pulpit for two to three months a year, because of this. In 1866 he told his congregation of his struggle: "I am the subject of depressions of spirit so fearful that I hope none of you ever get to such extremes of wretchedness as I go through." He explained that during these depressions, "Every mental and spiritual labor¡­ had to be carried on under protest of spirit."

Yet, in the Bible, we are told that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, etc. How do we reconcile this truth with the fact that there are many (I believe) Spirit-filled Christians who still struggle with emotional problems?

Our emotions, after all, make us human. Apart from rational thought and the capability for language, the other thing that sets us apart from animals is our ability to experience emotion, and express it. Which of us has never experienced these, even after accepting Christ as our Lord and Saviour?

Living in a place like Singapore in this day and age can be an anxiety-laden experience. Either that, or I am becoming more and more psychologically fragile as I age. I confess that a simple perusal of the day's newspapers can be off-putting enough to make me want to stay in bed. There is so much to fear: war, crime, unemployment, poverty, disease, slimming pills, running afoul of the law. Incidentally, the Bible has something to say specifically about this last fear. It can be found in Romans 13:3.
 
We must feel our feelings, in order to be fully human. I don't think we should deny that they exist. Rather, we should acknowledge them, crying out to God and giving them to Him, as it were. Who knows, but that we were given these feelings in order that we should draw nearer to God? After all, "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18) We are told to "Trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us" (Psalm 62:8) As Pastor Mee Hee has mentioned, the Psalms are full of the cries of saints echoing their emotions to God. I know that the more anxious I become, the more I turn to God.

I think God recognizes our human condition, that we are prone to emotional excesses. He makes provision for our weaknesses, just as he did for Elijah (1 Kings 19:5-7). At the same time, He desires that we may experience the unshakeable peace and joy which can only be found in Him, and shows us how to do so: "Trust and Obey".

There is a need to distinguish between the mood swings which every normal person experiences, and pathological forms of clinical depression or anxiety which can severely curb a person's ability to function in society. As Christians, what should our approach be to these mental illnesses?

I think the first thing we need to do is to demonstrate Christian love and acceptance. As I said, in my work, I see Christians who are suffering from severe depression and anxiety and indeed, other major mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and obssessive-compulsive disorders. As far as I can tell, these are bona fide Christians who confess Jesus as their Lord and trust in Him for their salvation. The strange thing is that I don't see them in church (at least, not for long)! The ones I know go from church to church, or cell group to cell group, trying to find a place where they can belong. You know them. I am sure that quite a few of them have been prayed over and even had "demons" cast out of them, before they moved on to another church, or gave up altogether.

Dwight L Carson, author of the book "Why do Christians shoot their own wounded?" speaks of what he calls the "emotional-health gospel", which seems to preach that "if you have repented of your sins, prayed correctly, and spent adequate time in God's Word, you will have a sound mind and be free of emotional problems." He likens it to the "health and wealth" gospel, where, it is promised, faithful Christians will always prosper physically and financially.

The problem is that this engenders prejudice against those who are suffering from emotional or mental problems. He says: "We pray publicly for the parishioner with cancer or a heart attack or pneumonia. But rarely will we pray publicly for Mary with severe depression, Charles with incapacitating panic attacks, or the minister's son with schizophrenia. Our silence subtly conveys that these are not acceptable illnesses for Christians to have."

Many Christians would have no qualms about taking Panadol for a headache, but have niggling reservations about taking antidepressants or tranquillizers for emotional problems, as though that would imply that they are somehow less spiritual if they do so. I personally believe that the discovery and use of all the medicines available today, whether Panadol or Prozac, came about through God's grace and intervention, so why should we not avail ourselves of remedies God has provided? No doubt there may be a spiritual element involved in many cases of clinical depression and anxiety, but to consider these as purely spiritual problems would be to deny that God made us body, mind and soul, and that these are inextricably intertwined. I know that what I do with my body certainly affects my emotions, for when I do not get enough sleep, I become grouchy and more irritable. When Elijah had fled into the desert, God decided that he needed rest, food and drink more than anything else, and provided accordingly.

So, is it sinful to experience fear, anxiety, depression and despair? I have no answer to that. In searching my heart, my personal experience has been that when I dwell on my worries, it betrays a lack of trust in God's goodness and provision. There have been too few times when, experiencing anxiety, I determine to trust God and not worry about it. Invariably God takes away my anxiety and my worst fears always prove unfounded.

What has all this to do with worship? Quite a lot, really. I find that I cannot really worship when my heart is laden down with cares. Only by giving my emotions over to God do I find myself free to worship God with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength. This itself is an act of worship, for what better way to acknowledge the worth of Jehovah Jireh, our provider, than by trusting Him and letting go of our worries?