I was just thinking about something similar when I saw this post. I was thinking about my back pain and how I was helped after praying to ease my pain by changing positions, something i probably never would have thought of without asking for help. I came to the realization that I was helped by God without divine intervention and thought that there was a difference between divine intervention and divine help. There is no need for divine intervention, when all that is necessary is for God to help us help ourselves. When that is not enough, then divine intervention might be necessary. Why would God use more than what is necessary for our help, when His power is definitely a "game-changer" as they say, unless He can use His divine power without us realizing it?
When I was recovering from an emotional breakdown in the hospital, the staff wanted me to take medications. I was naturally suspicious of drugs that can effect emotional well-being, for better or worse. But, I was suffering intensely, so since it was a Catholic hospital, i said that I wanted to talk to a "sister," first before taking powerful mind-altering drugs. She came to visit me and could see that i was having a difficult time and suffering from depression and severe PTSD and just trying to hang onto reality, and she said, "I think you need all the help you can get." I decided to take the medications.
My father was an old-school doctor who didn't trust modern psychiatry. He pretty much went by the "Crocodile Dundee," version of psychiatry: "we don't need psychiatrists here--if someone has a problem, they tell Wally, and Wally tells the whole village--no more problem!" (paraphrase) When i told him what I was taking he just said, "One's an upper (anti-depressant) and the other's a downer (anti-psych): you'll just have to solve your problems when you quit taking them anyway."
Since I was the one suffering, I disagree with the first part of that, but, not the last part. The drugs can ease suffering, if the right ones are found, temporarily, and they seem to help people hold themselves together until they can get the help they need for permanent healing. The problem is that even most researchers say that they are not designed for permanent use, at least anti-psych/anti-depressant use, since they lose effectiveness over time. Also, one of the trade-offs for holding you together is they numb emotions, at least the anti-psych meds do, and some of the others. My experience has been that my father was right, at least regarding long-term use-- 30 years later, when I had to stop taking most medications due to neurological side-effects, many of the same issues returned from 30 years ago. Obviously, 30 years is too long to take powerful mind-altering drugs, since in the end, they caused neurological damage, and I was aware of the risks, but was too afraid to trust God to hold me together, since my symptoms were not dramatic and not a risk, except of self-harm to those who may not be as much of a survivor--namely who may not have a healthy fear of eternal consequences, or who may be too ill to protect themselves.
But, I believe the medications were helpful for short-term use, since there was not the kind of supportive facilities and staff that are necessary to help people when medications are not used. Accepting medical help can also be an issue of obedience since many people resist authoritative help as a veiled form of resisting God's help, as difficult as that may sound. Often people will even consider dying rather than accepting proven medical help, which sadly, can be a form of rebellion. But, there is no chemical replacement for a relationship God/Jesus, and no chemical replacement for Heaven's spiritual realities through God's gift of grace.
I think the answer may be in considering all alternatives and seeking God's help, knowing that divine intervention, though not very often, is very possible, but, it is done by God's command, not our own alone, and without faith is hindered, and we should not tempt God with our own fate by rejecting viable medical help. Isn't that a form of suicide? When the devil tempted Jesus, twisting scriptures to "leap off the temple," isn't it written that "angels will rescue you?"
In the case of depression, which is mostly a spiritual problem, drugs can create a permanent crutch and become a chemical reality, which is a false reality that covers up core issues, that are necessary to resolve for permanent healing. At the same time, for temporary use, the drugs can calm people or help them get out of bed and out of the house to get the help they need to recover, and when it comes to depression, especially if someone lacks the necessary support, sometimes we "need all the help we can get."
Nowadays, the buzz word is "synergy," or using every means available to treat a problem, and believe in miracles, since they are real too, because God's power is real. The last time I said those words half asleep, as I awoke, there was an earthquake a few seconds later, one I had prayed for as a warning and one God had confirmed in a dream.
