Identity Disorder

If you are familiar with the ministry of Setting Captives Free, you are probably aware of our concern regarding the influence of psychology and psychiatry and the push to bring secular counseling methodology into the church. The purpose of this article is to explain one reason why we not only view worldly counseling methods as ineffective for the believer in Christ, but also as dangerous to His church.

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. Daniel 1:1-5

The book of Daniel isn't simply a story of one man named Daniel, but relates the account of four young Hebrew men from Jerusalem named Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah who were appointed to service in the Babylonian government after Jerusalem was overthrown. In chapter 3, we see that God protected the young men from a fiery furnace and in chapter 6 we see Daniel being protected from the wrath of the lions, but God was also working from the first verse of chapter 1, protecting them all from the influences of an idolatrous culture.

Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. Daniel 1:6-7

What I find interesting is that the first thing the Babylonians did was change the names of these young men. Now why do you think they did this? I suggest to you that it was in order to convert them to their ways and make them forget about God.

Daniel means "God is my judge," and his name was changed to "Bel (a god of the Babylonians) Protect the King."

Hananiah means "The Lord is gracious," and his name was changed to Shadrach, which means "Command of Aku," (another Babylonian god).

Mishael means "Who is Like the Lord?" and was changed to Meshach, which means: "Who Is What Aku Is?"

Azariah, which means "The Lord is my helper" became Abednego, which means "Servant of Nebo." (Nebo was a god of vegetation.)

That's pretty interesting, isn't it? What a very wise and sneaky way to distance a person from his roots, by giving him a name that reminded him of his new identify and his affiliation with a new god. Pretty soon, he will start to see himself as that new person, with a new label or identity. You might think "That can't possibly work," but these four Hebrew boys were not the first ones to whom the Babylonians did this. No, this was a tried and true method that had worked for them in the past - and it is one that is alive and well yet today, too.

We live in a culture that takes a follower of God, tries to strip him of his identity in Christ and replaces it with a label like "victim," "schizophrenic," "chemical disorder," "obsessive compulsive," "bipolar," or, the most prevalent one that has crept into so many churches - "addict." Though the Bible says that believers are "filled with all the fullness of God," "sealed with the Holy Spirit," "heirs of the kingdom of heaven" and "beloved children of the Lord," psychiatrists of all persuasions scoff at these things and, instead, inform people that they have an illness, disorder, or other problem and that medication and secular counseling are needed.

My fear is that UNLIKE these four Hebrew boys, who knew who they were regardless of the names or identities they were given, many believers are starting to buy into these types of labels and see themselves not as God does, but as man would. They are joining hands and hearts with those of the world in 12-step groups that place any "higher power" of one's choosing on equal status with God (or, in some cases, above God).

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. Daniel 1:8

Daniel resolved not to defile himself with those things which were offered to idols and we, too, must have that same resolve when the temptation is there to take our eyes off the Lord a our source for help, and turn to the world and the "experts." One of the first things the world will do is to begin to chip away at our faith and trust in God, and try to make Him appear SMALL and weak; but, the reality is that God is anything BUT small, weak, and in need of the wisdom or power of man to "help" Him.

To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:25-31

There was a time in my life that I thought God was not enough for me and that His Son was insufficient to help me with the mess in which I was trapped. Like some of you, I turned to the world’s ways of dealing with issues of the heart and I went to the experts in the world, who supposedly knew how to help deal with my struggles and the depression that was crushing me.

At the age of 16, I found myself in a psychiatrist’s office listening to the counselor blame my parents for my problems and then I walked out with a couple of bottles of pills to help me with my "clinical depression" and also to help me sleep. I was so afraid of death and hell that I would force myself to stay awake at night for fear that someone would come and kill me. I continued to take various types of pills and to talk to therapists on and off for nearly half my life trying to "get healed," only to grow more discouraged and depressed, as a result.

But then something happened that changed everything. God came to me in my sin and drew me to the cross of His Son, where I saw the consequences of my sin and realized that, without Christ taking the penalty of that sin, I would spend an eternity in hell. I could no longer make excuses and claim the reason I sinned was because I was suffering from "clinical depression" or "bipolar disorder." I now realized I was suffering because of the SIN in my life and my total lack of faith in the Lord to not only save me from hell, but also save me from the lies that I once believed. It is when I went to the cross, repented of my sin and began to look for Jesus within the pages of Scripture that I no longer saw myself as a habitual sinner, but a saint, made so by God’s sovereign grace.

Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. Proverbs 12:25

It was when I stopped looking at myself, my will power, my self-esteem and, instead, opened up the "Good Word" and saw Christ that GLADNESS swooped into my heart. I realized I was not someone with any sort of mental illness, but someone whom God created just as He wanted me to be made. I did not see myself as someone suffering from bipolar disorder, but someone who was chosen from before the foundation of the world to be a recipient of the grace and mercy of God, and as one forgiven through the cross of Jesus Christ.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:4-7

"No longer a slave, but a son." Do you see it? No longer a debtor or an "addict," no longer spiritually bankrupt, no longer someone who was perpetually walking any set of steps or in a continuing state of "recovery;" no longer someone suffering from any number of "mental illnesses," and no longer an object of God’s wrath, but now an adopted child of God, an HEIR.

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice, granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries. Proverbs 8:17-21

God fills our treasuries according to what He is able to provide but, keep in mind that God is a jealous God Who will not share His glory with another (Isaiah 48:11). If you think you can take a little bit of God, add a little bit of will power, a little bit of pop psychology, a few drugs, and have it equal "freedom," then you are in for a rude awakening because you will never find freedom in this way. The blessing you believe you seek will end up being a curse.

⁵ Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. ⁶ He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Jeremiah 17:5-6

If we trust in something other than God to help us, it is a waste of time and an abomination to God - as much of a stench to Him as our "addiction" is.

As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Daniel 1:17

The Bible says their skill and wisdom increased and it was because GOD was where they turned for guidance and counsel, and nowhere else. And so it is with us.

Friend, are you one who has been labeled by the world? Is your "identity" now in question, and are you confused about where to turn for help? May I encourage you to look only to the Creator of all life, the One Who has promised to never leave you or forsake you, to Jesus Christ the Redeemer, Who has promised to forgive all your sin? Since He was willing to pay such a tremendous price through His death to save you from God’s wrath, He does not need the strength of man to help save you from any perceived "disorders" you may be facing.

Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? Jeremiah 32:27

Freed by grace,

Shon Bruellman
Executive Director of Setting Captives Free purity courses