Letting Go - Day Three

If you live with a prodigal, you know what it means to love someone.

 

Love is a means of survival. Love is what gets you up each morning and inspires you to serve someone who acts like they hate you. Loving this way means duty, sacrifice, responsibility, and resilience.

 

Many years back, an R&B icon famously crooned a pseudo-love anthem to the world asking this skeptical question, “What’s love got to do, got to do with it?” If you live with a wayward person, the answer is a no-brainer: everything!

 

But there is a side of love that’s difficult to face. You’ve had a taste of it already if you are persisting in hope that this person you love might change.

 

This 4-day track comes from the Catalyst App Harvey Gilbert’s new book, Letting Go.

 

Maybe you were a prodigal. Maybe you loved someone who was or is a prodigal. Maybe someone you lead is struggling to continue loving the prodigal in their life.

 

Regardless, this aspect of our broken world impacts everyone. Over the next four days, we will look at some very practical ways of approaching the prodigals in our lives as well as receive the necessary encouragement to keep pressing on!

 

Complete the challenges at the end of each day to help process your journey as well as be entered in to win a copy of Letting Go. 

 

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DAY 3: MENTAL HEALTH

At times sinful and foolish behavior is being fueled by unrecognized physical or psychological problems, issues that make normal interventions largely ineffective. In extreme cases, clinical factors can be at play that may be diminishing the prodigal’s capacity to accurately judge right from wrong. A bi-polar spouse needs to be properly evaluated and may need medication.

 

When patterns of irrational or harmful behavior arise, it’s wise to immediately involve outside experts who are trained to address these kinds of issues. We say this not to replace pastoral care and counseling but to supplement it. Our brokenness manifests in many forms, some physical, others spiritual, and a holistic response is required to address the problems we face.

 

One of the great difficulties in navigating this issue is that we live in a world where a therapeutic interpretation of human behavior is pervasive—to the exclusion of biblical understanding of how people’s motives and actions are shaped and expressed. 

 

Almost anyone who visits a mental health professional can walk away with some sort of clinical diagnosis attached to his or her behavior. While this diagnosis can be helpful, it will not address the entire person.

 

Clinical, therapeutic solutions rarely address the spiritual issues at stake. This is why prodigal sufferers need to consult with their pastor, other Christians in their church, and Christian counselors and psychologists.

 

Doing so will help ensure they’re getting trusted, biblical counsel about the best way to proceed, and that the diagnostic process doesn’t abandon Scripture. These engagements will enable families to properly weight the physiological contribution as they evaluate whether it’s time to let go.

 

Challenge:

• How do you see spiritual guidance working in tandem with therapeutic solutions to bring about healing for the WHOLE person? Answer in the comments below.
• Are you aware of mental health resources to refer people to? If not, take some time this week to do some research! 

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Don't forget to complete each challenge on the Catalyst App, for your chance to win a copy of Letting Go.