Not for me. For someone I love very much and who is struggling today with severe anxiety.

You should know this is one those people whom everyone likes. She is constantly helping others. She’s an unbelievable mom. I don’t know anyone with a bigger, kinder heart.

I’ll bet that describes a lot of you as well. It just seems like the nicest people struggle with these issues the most.

And yet she suffers from anxiety. This week has been really bad. She started birth control pills again thinking it would help with the hormonal swings. We think now it just may have made them worse.

“Do not be afraid of sudden fear, nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes. For the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.”

Proverbs 3:25-27

Don’t you just love the “don’t be afraid of fear”. There is such a thing as meta-fear and it means a fear of fear.

So today I’ve been crazily checking out every legitimate website I can to find some answers. As a Christian, I know God is the answer and faith the ultimate response to fear, but when the fear has gone on for so long, I believe God intends for us to seek medical help as well.

Does this make us less a Christian?

Well, does it make us less a Christian when we have to seek medical help for migraines, high blood pressure, etc.?

God is definitely in the business of healing but healing may take many forms.

I share this with you today because I want you to know that there are people (many) in my life that suffer from various mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression. I’m no stranger to it these issues from my own life, but I also confront it every day with many others who I am grateful share their struggles with me.

Nothing I write is anything I haven’t said to them or myself.

(By the way, I think everyone in the world has a degree of poor mental health. I know of no one that doesn’t have some issues that would be considered “mental”. If we were all perfectly mentally healthy the world wouldn’t be the way it is now, would it?)

The Bible supports the view that pretty much everyone could use some help. “How?” you might well ask.

Think about it for a minute. Most of the heros in the Bible had issues. Psalms, and Proverbs address very specific ones, like anxiety and depression. Then you have Jesus telling us not to “fear”, which means, of course, He knew we would.

He knew we would trust issues so He addressed that. He knew we would have a judgemental attitude so He addresses that. And so on and so on.

So we need not feel guilty about our “issues”, but we do need to bring them to Christ. You should know that I asked for prayer from a small Bible study group of which I am a member. And guess what?

In sharing her struggle, I’ve had “confessions” from two of them that they, too, deal with anxiety. So why are we so afraid to admit to it ourselves?

Please pray for her today.

If you’re dealing with anxiety today, I want you to know I’ve just prayed for you. I don’t have to know your name. God knows it.

God bless and have a good day.