Commentary: Thinking about what you think about

A quiet, introspective 14-year-old cousin in my family—we’ll call him Travis—suggested the biggest issue young men his age are facing are mental health challenges, and I’m inclined to agree with him. I was not certain of what challenges and circumstances Travis had to deal with on a daily basis, but I only could imagine.

At his age, I lived inside my head, often pondering concerns and issues that felt bigger than life. It often was a struggle to find adults who were open-hearted and open-minded about the invisible weight I was carrying through adolescence and adulthood.

For some of us, we’re still bearing the burden of the circumstances and challenges that pushed us into unhealthy thinking and unstoppable habits.

The Bible teaches us in Christ we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37), we have victory (1 Corinthians 15:57), we are a child of God (Romans 8:16), and we are friends of Jesus Christ if we do what he commands (John 15:14).

And yet, many of us are wrestling daily with the feeling of being less than, ineffective, defeated and unworthy.

When we choose something or someone outside of the framework of our identity in Christ, things get unstable. We lose sight of who we are to God.

We may find ourselves attracted to people, places and things that deliver empty promises that sound like the answer we were searching for. We isolate ourselves. Sometimes, we even pose and put on a face that shows we have it together, praying nobody discovers our feelings of inadequacy and shame.

Blessing of other believers

I was fortunate to connect with a Christian counselor who made it her mission to point me to what it meant to have my identity rooted in Christ, using Scripture to affirm that truth. Between connections with family, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ through church and groups, I realized I was not alone in this Christian journey.

My thought life was challenged because of other believers. I was affirmed in my identity in Christ and the unique gifts God gave me. And I was encouraged by others when I faced circumstances that threatened to bring back old, unhealthy beliefs about myself.

What if that shy, quirky kid heard over and over God loved us so much he sent his son to die for us, to pay for all of our sins past, present and future?

Or how about the teenager, striving to try and do everything right, only to fail on a daily basis, whether it was a thought that popped up or a word uttered. What a relief it would be to hear over and over they have been justified or made right by Christ’s blood (Romans 5:9), and when things got difficult to “stand firm in the faith” (1 Corinthians 16:14).

Pastoral encouragement

My pastor has been preaching a sermon series lately on being on fire for Jesus, and one of the points he made in the sermon was we must be courageous.

People need to hear the gospel, even in times and spaces both inconvenient and risky. Certainly, it doesn’t mean we walk around like self-righteous bullies, but instead tell the truth in love.

When I heard the latest message within the sermon series, it made me think about how much boldness and courage it takes to be the me God calls me to be, especially in Christ. In today’s society, that takes courage and bravery. It requires honesty, humility and transparency to admit you’re not perfect and you’re in need of a Savior, Jesus.

The world needs to see there are people in our world who are part of the daily struggle of thinking differently about what they think about, striving to learn to see themselves the way God sees them.

We can love people with the love of Jesus simply by being available to others through conversations, the kind where we listen to others who are going through difficult challenges, walking with them through the messiness of it all.

We can take steps to utilize our social media platforms for good rather than evil, for uplifting and building one another up rather than participating in time-wasting, unhelpful online engagement.

And for ourselves, we can take time to stop everything we’re doing, and consider why we believe what we believe, why we think what we think, and biblically evaluate if any or all of it is truly God’s will for our lives.

Kendall Lyons is a writer, minister and cartoonist who publishes on his Substack page Kendall’s Comics. He is also the illustrator of Your Identity in Christ: Finding Who You Are in Who He Is by David Sanchez. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.