That isn’t the story the Bible tells though. Scripture is filled with people who loved God with all their hearts yet still experienced fear, grief, exhaustion, loneliness, and despair.

David cried out to God from places of overwhelming distress. Elijah became so discouraged that he wanted to give up. Job wrestled with unbearable grief that probably would have made most throw in the towel. Even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane said, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death” (Matthew 26:38).

Struggling mentally does not automatically mean you are struggling spiritually. Sometimes faith looks like worshipping with your hands in the air.  Other times faith looks like whispering, “God, please just get me through today.” And sometimes faith looks like making the therapy appointment, taking the medication prescribed by your doctor, or admitting that you aren’t okay.

We always want those perfect testimonies with the clean endings, right? We all love to hear “I struggled, God delivered me, and now everything is better. The End.” 

But that’s not always the case, is it? What about the person who has prayed and still wakes up anxious? What about the person who loves Jesus with all their heart but still battles depression every day? Or the person sitting in church who looks completely put together while privately fighting a battle nobody else can see? God is in those situations too, just as much as in those “perfect” testimonies.

Psalm 34:18 tells us, “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” So the scripture doesn’t say God only comes close once the brokenness is gone. He comes close IN IT. 

I want to make it very clear to anyone reading this that professional mental health care does not mean you’ve stopped trusting God. We don’t tell someone with a broken bone to pray instead of seeing a doctor. We don’t consider taking insulin a failure of faith. Mental health deserves that same compassion.

God can work through prayer, scripture, elders, counselors, therapists, doctors, medication, and countless other forms of support. Getting help doesn’t have to be an alternative to trusting God.
If you’re like me, you’ve become really good at automatically saying, “I’m good,” when people ask, when really you’re just barely holding yourself together. 

God already knows. You don’t have to clean yourself up before coming to Him. You don’t need the perfect words. You don’t even need to understand exactly what you’re feeling or asking for. 
Bring Him the confusion. Bring Him the anger. Bring Him the fear. Bring Him the exhaustion. Bring Him the questions.

Faith doesn’t require pretending that everything is okay. Faith is believing that even when everything isn’t okay, you don’t have to walk through it alone.

Pray. Talk to someone you trust. Seek professional help when you need it. Take care of the mind God gave you.

Remember, some days, faith may look less like moving mountains and more like simply finding enough strength to take the next step.

That step still counts. And God is still with you through it all.

May God bless you,
 
Sister Leanna Rozzelle