A few years ago a patient in one of our mental institutions, disgusted and disgraced, sat alone in her small dingy room, with no hope of freedom and of ever returning to the productive life she once lived, wrote in her diary:

“Here I sit, mad as a hatter,
with nothing to do but either become madder and madder,
or else recover enough of my sanity to be allowed
to go back to the life that drove me mad.”

Did the patient have in mind our diseased society when she spoke of “the life that drove me mad”? Very possibly. We are an affluent society. So was the mighty Roman Empire before she crumbled. And so was Germany prior to World War II. An affluent society is more prone to mental, moral, and spiritual decadence than one that is poor in this world’s goods. This is because an affluent society relies on its own power and direction with little or no thought that God is still in control.

Mental disorders are among our nation’s major problems. Millions of Americans are being treated by private psychiatrists, thousands more frequent outpatient clinics, and thousands are being treated as patients in mental hospitals. These are the known cases. How many unknown cases are there? The number would be staggering. When a society begins to waste and rot away with diseases from within, emotional and mental problems rapidly increase. Our many afflictions will multiply until we cease serving the gods of materialism, immorality, drugs, alcohol, greed, and hate.

We are strong, yet suffering from spiritual leukemia. A blood transfusion is badly needed, and Jesus is the only person who has the correct blood type! His blood will make us what we ought to be. Diseased blood from the wrong donors has made us what we are. Jesus must be restored in our hearts and His principles implanted upon our minds. We must cease boasting and give Him the credit for our successes.

A King In Cow Pastures

Hear the story of the boastful king. He was intellectually, politically, and militarily strong. His enemies were fearful of him. While walking upon the roof of his royal palace one day, overlooking his immense empire, he exclaimed proudly and boastfully how he had built the great city which stood as a mighty symbol to the greatness of his kingdom. He gave himself all of the credit. God, it seemed, had played no part in any of his noble accomplishments. He refused to believe God plays the major role in the affairs of men, nations, and kingdoms.

To teach the haughty king a well-needed lesson, God sent him to the school of insanity. There he spent seven long years in the cow pastures of Babylon, dwelling with the beasts of the field and eating grass like an ox. And there he remained until he acknowledged that the Most High rules the kingdoms of men and gives them to whomever He chooses. During this period of insanity, the king’s hair grew as long as the feathers of an eagle and his nails were like the claws of a bird.

At the end of seven years the king lifted his eyes to heaven, his reason or sanity was restored, and he blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever. He acknowledged God as being the greatest of kings and affirmed that “no one can hold back his hand!” He was again established in his kingdom, with all of its glory and splendor, and still more greatness was added to him.—Book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar, chapter 4.

The king had learned his lesson. We have yet to learn ours. And until we do, God will send us to sundry schools of punishment, including the school of insanity. If the face and direction of our society are ever changed, it will be because of what we have done to instill Jesus in the hearts of others. He is our only hope!

Jonah’s Journey

A man boarded a ship to flee from a mission he had been challenged to accept. When the ship was some distance out a great wind was hurled upon the sea, accompanied with a mighty tempest, so that the ship was about to break up. Conceiving he was the cause of the turbulent weather, he instructed the men of the ship to throw him into the sea, “for I know,” said he, “it is because of me this great tempest has come upon you.” So they took him and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.

After having been thrown into the rolling billows, he acknowledged his mistake of having fled from the mission he had been challenged to accept and was miraculously rescued from the tomb of the sea by One whose strength was greater than his. Following his rescue, he exclaimed, “I called to the Lord out of my distress, and he answered me.” He went on to accept the challenge and the mission from which he had attempted to flee, and what followed was a complete victory. —Book of Jonah.

The story of Jonah very fittingly depicts my message. The sea of life is encompassed with tempestuous waves. To one degree or another, we all are entangled. Even the great apostle Paul, an ambassador for Jesus, faced with life’s turbulent billows, cried out:

“O wretched man that I am! Who on Earth can set me free from the clutches of my own sinful
nature?” (Romans 7:24).

He happily concluded that Jesus was his Deliverer. Paul was drowning in a sea of problems, trials, and uncertainties, just as we are, but he knew where relief could be found and how he could be rescued from the hostile forces that surrounded him. The Lord was his lifejacket! Otherwise, he indeed would have drowned.

The Tempest Is Raging
With many the tempest is raging in the form of frustrations, deep anxiety, iniquity, immorality, domestic and social distresses, drugs and alcohol. Many of these raging billows, in turn, stifle alertness, breed mental perplexities, and create an attitude of apathy and a spirit of dormancy. The conscience becomes a sea of fire and brimstone, and the mind is void of logic and rationale. Those of us confronted with life’s billows ought to call to the Lord out of our distress, as Jonah did. He will answer us!

We should not glory in our shame, for we made the wrong decision when we turned our faces in the direction of disaster. Nor should we adopt self-righteousness. Like Paul, we roll in the raging billows every day. And like James, we all make many mistakes (James 3:2). But we can discover the “lifejacket” that will gently lift us daily out of the depths of despair and lovingly lower us upon the beaches of tranquillity. That “lifejacket” is Jesus! He is our compass, our sense of direction, our purpose and mission in life.

Let us explore the inner limits of heaven and seek seasons of rest and peace of mind. We need not continue wallowing in an ocean of sin when in Jesus a paradise of blessings and happiness is no farther away than a change of mission and direction. The Keeper of this paradise abode will help us bear our earthly pains and stand when we are about to fall. Paul’s cup was running over with joy even while he experienced a state of distress. He affirmed on one occasion that when he was the weakest physically, he was the strongest spiritually.

Earth Is Not Our Heaven, We’re Only Passing Through
In another place, Paul expressed a desire to go home to be with the Lord. He did not feel, as many of us do, that Earth was his heaven. He knew he was about to take a journey to a city with everlasting foundations. Furthermore, he knew God was the Designer. Little emphasis did he place upon earthly goods. He knew genuine and eternal peace could never be found in them. We may feast upon the richest of foods, wear the finest of clothing, live in a mansion that startles the eyes, and have a goodly number of friends and celebrities. But these are of no avail when we consider they cannot provide a true peace of mind, real happiness, and genuine security. These blessings are not available in what we possess. They are available only in the Man Jesus.