Mental Illness: Did God create people mentally ill?

It is a rough journey to embark on when a person finds out a loved one has a mental illness. Often people feel threatened by encountering an illness whether it was their own illness or the illness of someone that is close to them. When people are threatened by situations that are out of their own control they begin to question or even rebuke God. Often in situations where people are threatened they begin to ask why God would allow a person to become mentally ill. In more extreme cases they will refuse there is a God because they believe that if there were a God he would not allow people to become mentally ill.
For some of those who haven’t denied God, they ask the question, “Does God make people mentally ill?” This has been a question on my mind for many years, however I have yet to come to a concrete conclusion. Being able to present adequate information regarding the notion of whether or not God makes people mentally ill is a difficult task. It can have the potential to lead up to many theological debates. People who do not have a faith in God will have a hard time believing in God and for some, they will deny God completely.
The question of whether or not God made mental illness is hard for me to answer because I do not feel that I can give a precise answer without any doubt in my mind. Throughout the span of my lifetime thus far I have discovered many unfortunate occurrences that regrettably I cannot explain. At this point in my life I do not feel that I can explain why certain things happen. I believe that this is due to growing up in the church and having a faith in God at a young age. I grew up with the notion of God and had begun from a young age believing in him. Naturally these questions never occurred to me as something to take into consideration. In a sense I always had a child like faith, I was taught growing up the Sunday school version of whom God is which meant the flannel graphs were included.
Any situation that I was faced with growing up I gave it to God, and I knew that he had a purpose for whatever had happened. I know that putting my complete faith in God is important, however it is important that I am not ignorant when it comes to the tough questions to answer. From where I am now in my journey to understand why mental illness occurs I believe that God does not make people with mental illness. However I believe that God merely allows it to happen. Let me explain this through examples that may be better understood.
In the circumstance of Job he had lost everything that he had, yet he still remained faithful in midst of his suffering. He was a man fully devoted to God in everything that he did. Satan believed that Job was only faithful because of the blessings God had given him. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land” (Job 1:10). Satan had done many things to Job to attempt to get him to curse the Lord. God did not inflict these trials on Job himself, however he allowed it to happen to show that Job was a God-fearing man.
I believe just like Job, God allows particular things to happen to us to ultimately glorify him. The question has been raised in my mind if the reason for mental illnesses is possibly a result of the fall. The result of the fall was sin and I believe that mental illnesses are also a result of the fall. Before the fall there was no record of any mental illnesses. The debate continues as to the purpose of the fall, and many would argue that if there were a God why would there be a need for the fall? If God is all-powerful what would be the purpose of the fall?
I do not claim to have all the answers, however I will explain the reasons for the fall from my perspective. I believe that there is not better way to show a demonstration of love to another than to die for them. There is no one greater than the Lord so therefore he would have to die to demonstrate love. However before the fall there was no sin, and therefore no need for any atonement for any sin committed. I believe the fall was part of God’s greater plan. That is the plan to show his love an ultimately be glorified. With out free will there would have been no fall, thus leading to God not being ultimately glorified.
Another question to be addressed is, “How do you account for mental illness in light of God’s sovereignty?” First it is important to understand what the sovereignty is. A.W. Tozer puts it this way, “ God’s sovereignty is the attribute by which He rules His entire creation, and to be sovereign God must be all-knowing, all-powerful, and absolutely free” (108). To be free would mean that God would have to posses all universal authority. “While a complete explanation of the origin of sin eludes us there are a few things we do know. In his sovereign wisdom God has permitted evil to exist in carefully restricted areas of his creation, a kind of fugitive outlaw whose activities are temporary and limited in scope” (Tozer 110). Tozer points out that God permits evil to exist, however it is under his authority and it is limited. This means that God does not allow anything to happen without his knowledge.
God’s sovereignty is also used for good. “God is sovereign; He has the right to do as He wishes. He has the right to permit evil for accomplishing His ultimate will. It was by evil means that men lied and crucified Jesus. Yet God in His infinite wisdom used this evil for good” (Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry). It was because of the cross we are able to have forgiveness for our sins. Nothing is done without God’s permission, and with that permission is how God’s plan unfolds.
I came across a story in the book of John where God had allowed a man to be blind for the purpose of glorifying God. This could mean that God could have allowed people to be mentally ill in order to achieve a greater purpose. Jesus’ disciples were inquiring about the blind man asking why he was blind. “This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3). This all leads back the reason for the fall, to give God the glory.
Through my limited knowledge on mental illness and the reasons in which they occur I believe that God did not create mental illnesses. I believe that they are a result of the fall, and that God allows these illnesses to ultimately glorify him. I will admit that I still struggle with this notion and still have un answered questions as to why God would allow this to happen when he could find a different way to be glorified. I may not ever know the reason as to why mental illnesses occur, but I will try to keep a child like faith when it comes to notions such as these. I believe that ultimately God has a purpose for everyone and that his purpose is far better than anything I could possibly imagine.