Mental health: The Christian and anxiety.

Good day beautiful people

I hope you and your family members are keeping safe, and I pray that you’re all well. Today we shall be talking about anxiety, I believe it’s a issue that is dismissed A LOT of the time, and simply seen as something a Christian shouldn’t experience at all! This couldn’t be further from the truth, this subject in particular is one which I am very passionate about, as I believe there’s a need to destroy the stigma attached to encountering mental health challenges.

Panic attacks are for real, and intense feelings of anxiety are no joke at all. Such emotions can negatively impact ones everyday life in a very BIG way. Feeling fearful is not abnormal it happens, but problems arise when we allow fear to completely take hold of our life, and dominate our decision making processes.

On MULTIPLE occasions God told many individuals to fear not, now scripture wouldn’t have recorded such events without cause. I believe the reason why the Bible repeatedly expresses to us ‘not to be afraid’, is because fear is a normal and natural human response, but we are not to allow fear cripple us. And remember that there is healthy fear, which helps us flee from danger, but our fears should never stop/hinder us from fulfilling our purpose.

Joshua 1:9 ~ “This is my command be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 10:8 ~ “Do not be afraid of them,” the Lord said to Joshua, “for I have given you victory over them. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you.”

Joshua 10:25 ~ “Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged,” Joshua told his men. “Be strong and courageous, for the Lord is going to do this to all of your enemies.”

We have many examples of people in the Bible who faced extremely challenging emotional encounters, so remember you’re not abnormal, and you’re not a freak of nature just because you going through a rough patch. The storms of life will eventually come your way, but you will not be alone in it, God WILL be there and He is always in absolute control. Elijah felt alone, he felt like all hope was lost and he asked for God to end his life, he wanted to die. But previously when he prayed fire fell from heaven. This is a reminder that in life we encounter both ups and downs, we cry and we laugh, we mourn and we celebrate. But in the midst of it all God is there, and He will never abandon His child.

1 Kings 18:36-38 ~ “At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.” Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench!”

1 Kings 19:4 ~ “Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”

Which leads me to my next point…The importance of receiving help in the midst of the storm. Attending counselling is not ungodly. Good counsellors are actually gifts from God! They’re blessings and one should not belittle the counselling occupation, or deem it as ungodly/unspiritually safe. If you suffer from a chronic mental health illness don’t feel ashamed to seek counselling wether it be Christian based counselling or by accessing help through being referred by a medical Doctor.

Isaiah 1:26 ~ “Then I will give you good judges again and wise counselors like you used to have. Then Jerusalem will again be called the Home of Justice and the Faithful City.”

[Side-note: At times it takes prayer and receiving wisdom (revelation) from the Holy Spirit to be able to differentiate between demonic oppression/possession and just having a bad stint (period) in life. So pray about all things].

People in positions of power/influence have counsellors but they just refer to them by different names for example ‘official’ or ‘advisor’, and I tell you any governor or prime minister without such people around them, will greatly concern the people they lead. A good advisor is there to help support an individual make wise choices, and not forcefully make decisions on a persons behalf. And a good counsellor helps empower their client through highlighting to their service user that they have the ability to choose.

Advisor: A person who gives advice in a particular field. In essence another word for counsellor.

Official: Someone who participates in the exercise of authority (a person who shares responsibility with you). A person who helps you!

So never feel embarrassed about asking for help. The Holy Spirit is also referred to as a helper. He is gentle and not forceful, a wise counsellor, so seek Him for all the help and advice you need.

John 14:15-18 ~ “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognise him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans I will come to you.”

John 14:26 ~ “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative that is, the Holy Spirit he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”

Remember you’re not alone, history just repeats itself. You’re not the first person to experience low moments in life, and you won’t be the last. This is a vast topic which we must not sweep under the carpet. I understand that this pandemic has been extremely tough for people both financially, and mentally, which is why we will continue this segment next week. Next week you’ll be presented with a write up on a personal encounter with an intense mind battle. I also intend to share some words of wisdom on how one can PRACTICALLY deal with handling mind battles. And remember the mind battle is not a one off, throughout life your mind will be bombarded with one concern or the other, our concerns change over time, but what is important is building up a defence against allowing Satan steal your joy with his lies.

God bless and stay safe.

May God’s peace, joy and wisdom guide you throughout this week

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Love from

Christian Lady After God’s Own Heart