More of Him, Less of Me

Over the last decade, I have been on quite the mental health journey like many of you. I have looked to the world for comfort, for healing, for help, for escape, for any sort of wisdom I might find to ease my suffering. I count it all as loss, for nothing of this world relieved my pain, quieted my mind and renewed my spirit. In fact, I found that the “wisdom” and things of this world deepened the pit I was in, and I was more lost than ever.

A couple searches on Google, a couple scrolls on the bestseller book list, and you will find people claiming that “self-help” and “self-love” will help you on your journey, will help you win the war in your mind. I can tell you confidently, after years of facing mental turmoil and desperately searching for an answer, boosting and focusing on the “self” will not provide you the victory you long for.

There is a single answer I can give you. There is only one solution I have encountered that has given me true peace, and “not as the world gives” (John 14:27).

Jesus.

More of You, less of me. When I put myself – my worries, my troubles, my identity, my this and my that – at the forefront of my mind, I was met with more confusion, more frustration, more torment. I was in my own mind’s maze, encaged and lost. Instead, when I set my mind on Jesus – the Way, the Truth and the Life – I was met with “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.” The only peace that has guarded my heart and my mind (Philippians 4:7). By lifting Jesus higher and disengaging my focus from my own self, I was filled with this peace, newness, clarity, joy, hope, purpose and so much more. And I am sure that if you “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness … all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

My encouragement and prayer for you is to place Jesus above all else. Surrender yourself – all of you – to Him. Meditate on His Word, His character, His promises, His Kingdom. Let this be your cry, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). More of Jesus and less of myself has proved the only remedy, the only hope I can endlessly rely on. This world and all its empty claims will do nothing but fan the flames of your mind, while “the God of hope [will] fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

*Guest blog written by Grace Parker Ferguson

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