From the Psych Ward to the Sanctuary: A 100-day Devotional to Restoration, Wholeness and Freedom

By Jennifer Turner

Find hope for healing and deliverance from despair.

Have you ever felt defective? Questioned your value? Wondered if life is worth it? Believed that everyone has it more together than you?

Did you think you were too messed up? Too flawed? Too broken?

Jennifer Turner allowed these thoughts and more to flood her mind and drown out her true identity in Christ for most of her life, especially when diagnosed with mental illness.

In From the Psych Ward to the Sanctuary, Jennifer reveals how to go from living life in defeat and agony to finding lasting hope and freedom. By allowing God and others to enter into her suffering, she learned invaluable lessons that brought her out of the darkness.

Begin to debunk the lies that hold you back and live a life of restoration today in this hundred-day devotional.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9798886446180

Book preview

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From the Psych Ward to the Sanctuary

A 100-day Devotional to Restoration, Wholeness and Freedom

Jennifer Turner

ISBN 979-8-88644-617-3 (Paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88644-618-0 (Digital)

Copyright © 2022 Jennifer Turner

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Table of Contents

To my greatest loves, Jared, Addi, Brogan, and Gideon.

Introduction

Day 1

Restoring Time

Day 2

Proclaim What He Has Done

Day 3

Suffering

Day 4

If Life Had a Restart Button

Day 5

His Wonders Never Cease

Day 6

For Those in the Thick of It

Day 7

No Matter What

Day 8

Don't Jump Just Yet

Day 9

You Are Brave

Day 10

Rebuilding Idols

Day 11

God Is Love

Day 12

Weary?

Day 13

Love Like Him

Day 14

Let's Not Forget

Day 15

Steps Back

Day 16

In Him

Day 17

The Eradication of Shame

Day 18

Praise Before the Victory

Day 19

Blossom

Day 20

Help My Unbelief

Day 21

Look to Him

Day 22

Loosen the Reins

Day 23

Identity Crisis

Day 24

Not Alone

Day 25

Don't Delay

Day 26

Be Persistent

Day 27

Resting the Right Way

Day 28

Helmet of Salvation

Day 29

Mind Reset

Day 30

Hope Restored

Day 31

Debunking Lies

Day 32

Run to Jesus

Day 33

It Is Well

Day 34

Can I Carry You to Jesus?

Day 35

His Presence

Day 36

How Can I Forget?

Day 37

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Day 38

No Pictures

Day 39

Absorb His Love

Day 40

Lead Me to the Rock

Day 41

When Hopelessness Invades the Soul

Day 42

Tackling Temptation

Day 43

The Sum of Who You Are

Day 44

Prisoner of What?

Day 45

Run to Him

Day 46

Sought and Known

Day 47

Will It Be Like This Forever?

Day 48

Character of God

Day 49

Available Mercy

Day 50

Reminders from 2 Chronicles

Day 51

Even in This

Day 52

His Strong Hand

Day 53

Remember the Wins

Day 54

When You Can't Do This Anymore

Day 55

Flesh vs Spirit

Day 56

He Forgives Again and Again

Day 57

From a Pity Party to a Praise Party

Day 58

All or Nothing

Day 59

Outcasts

Day 60

Don't Lose Heart

Day 61

God Loves Who You Are

Day 62

A Tsunami of Guilt

Day 63

Beauty for Ashes

Day 64

Look Up

Day 65

Fully Giving

Day 66

Enough Was Enough

Day 67

Examine Yourself

Day 68

Eat and Rest

Day 69

Talk to God

Day 70

Proclaim His Name

Day 71

Mirrors of His Grace

Day 72

Great Grace

Day 73

He Has What You Lack

Day 74

Dreaming and Scheming

Day 75

Who Should I Please?

Day 76

Get Up!

Day 77

Our Refuge

Day 78

Wanted

Day 79

Our Comfort

Day 80

The Ultimate Referee

Day 81

God Is with Us

Day 82

The Christian Life Cycle

Day 83

Focused Praise

Day 84

Set Free

Day 85

Cling to God

Day 86

When You're Called to Do the Difficult

Day 87

Created with Purpose

Day 88

God's Got You

Day 89

Accepting the Hard Things

Day 90

Eternal Glory Is Coming

Day 91

The Lord Who Heals

Day 92

Still There

Day 93

Measuring Up

Day 94

Check My Heart

Day 95

Capture Your Thoughts

Day 96

Don't Waste His Grace

Day 97

Thrown into the Sea

Day 98

Enough in Christ

Day 99

Hope for Sale

Day 100

You Are

Acknowledgments

About the Author

To my greatest loves, Jared, Addi, Brogan, and Gideon.

Introduction

On a warm Florida day in January 2020, I checked into an eating disorder facility where I would spend fourteen weeks. The sun shone brightly, but my soul was somber. My husband and children were ten hours away, living life without me. The guilt of leaving them was insurmountable.

However, that guilt didn't compare to my guilt when I learned my eating disorder is classified as a mental illness. It felt as though the wind had been knocked out of me. My fear was right—I was defective.

Two years later, I was admitted to a psychiatric unit for major depressive disorder—another mental illness, another sign of defectiveness.

How can a Christian wife and mother deal with not one but two mental illness diagnoses?

I'll tell you how: the Bible, Jesus, and faith.

It is in the Word that I find promise after promise that tells me why I'm not defective.

It is in Jesus that these promises are true.

It is my faith that prods me to ignore the lies that say I'm unworthy and the feelings that tell me my life will never get better.

Whether you are dealing with your own mental or physical diagnosis or know someone who is, I pray you will find the hope that comes from God within these pages.

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,

and He turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the pit of despair,

out of the mud and the mire.

He set my feet on solid ground

and steadied me as I walked along.

He has given me a new song to sing,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see what He has done and be amazed.

They will put their trust in the Lord. (Psalm 40:1–3 NLT)

*If you are dealing with depression/suicidal thoughts, please get help. Reach out to someone. Contact a therapist. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. I know all those things sound scary, but as someone who has done every single one of them, let me tell you, it's worth it. Why? Because you matter.

And if you need someone to support you, I want to join you in your journey. Let me know how I can help. Send me a message (see the contact information at the back of the book); I'd be honored to pray for you.

Day 1

Restoring Time

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

—Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)

People say time is a thief. So is depression. And anxiety. And every other mental illness. They paralyze you. Make time, stand still, and fly by simultaneously.

I've lost hours upon hours allowing my illnesses to rob me of time with God, my family, and friends. Maybe you have too.

For these one hundred days, we will take back some of the time we've lost. We will spend a few minutes with Jesus, reflecting on His goodness, mercy, and love. We will allow His words to shape our hearts and minds so that we can be more present for our loved ones. We will seek to live a life pleasing to Him. A life where an illness doesn't define us, but His truth does.

Maybe you don't have a mental illness diagnosis. Maybe you struggle with time management. Maybe you struggle with identity issues. Maybe you just need a refresher.

Whatever your need, I pray you prepare your heart for this time.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 declares God can make anything beautiful in its time. And in time, He will. As believers, we yearn for eternity where we will spend all our days glorifying and praising Him. But we can spend our earthly days doing the same. It just takes a little practice and some reflecting.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for the time You've given us to gaze upon Your glory and meditate on Your majesty. I thank You for each person that opens this book with the desire to hear from You. I thank You for the weary and broken, the restored and redeemed, the lost and the lonely. I thank You that You are always working, always present, and ever loving. In Your precious and Holy name, amen.

Reflect: Write out your own prayer about what you would like to happen in your spiritual life in this hundred-day journey. Keep it handy so you can see what the Lord will do.

Day 2

Proclaim What He Has Done

The man from whom the demons had departed begged Him earnestly to be with Him. But He sent Him away and said, Go back to your home, and tell all that God has done for you. And off he went proclaiming throughout the town how much Jesus had done for him.

—Luke 8:38–39 (CSB)

Luke doesn't even mention the name of the man who had a legion of demons cast out of him. There were so many that they went into a large herd of swine before drowning. All the man wanted to do after his deliverance was stay with Jesus. He longed to dwell with the One who healed him. Jesus had other plans for the man. He wanted him to declare his healing and share the good news with others. So off he went proclaiming throughout the town how much Jesus had done for him.

In every spiritual walk there is a time to be silent and a time to speak (Ecclesiastes 3:7).

For several months, a portion of my mental illness battle was a silent one. The only thing I knew to do was to ask for prayer, but I didn't even know how to ask. My voice remained largely silent while the voices in my head screamed lies. Thank God I have a husband who was my mouthpiece and shared with loved ones my great need. If it wasn't for him getting the word out to others, things may have looked very different for me. He was persistent to share with our mentors, and those he knew would petition God on my behalf. Slowly, I started to find my voice enough to admit my battle to a few. Slowly, I was able to pray on my own and fight the lies with God's truth.

However, the thoughts tormented me on an almost daily basis.

After much prayer, Bible study, therapy, and medication, healing came. I've wanted to keep my healing quiet, just between God and me. Stick close to Him so that I'm safe from lies. I haven't wanted to acknowledge out loud that the horrifying thoughts have dissipated for fear that they'll come back. After reading the verses above, I realized it is time to declare to others what the Lord has done. So I share as an act of obedience and praise. He is good and faithful! Even if the thoughts come blaring back, He provided sweet respite—respite I desperately needed.

Reflect: Do you need healing? Know this: The God who has worked on my behalf is most certainly working on your behalf as well. Be encouraged today. If He can break my chains, He can break the chains that may bind you.

He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces. (Psalm 107:14 NKJV)

Day 3

Suffering

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

—1 Peter 5:10 (ESV)

The room was dim and cold, a reflection of my mind. In the darkness, I could see three recliners. Other women occupied two of them, and I was told to go to the third. While my new roommates slept soundly, I stayed awake the entire night, refusing to shut my eyes. Never had I felt so alone. Never had I felt so scared. Never had I wondered so deeply if God was there.

I was in a psychiatric emergency room. Stripped of all belongings, I felt like I was nothing more than a number. I halfway expected the police who patrolled the hallways to cuff me and take me to jail.

I had decided earlier that morning to end my life that day. Tired of living in a sea of regret, shame, and tormenting thoughts, the only escape I