Exhortations for The Soul

The church often celebrates victory, strength, and overcoming faith.   But what happens when believers battle quietly—when their greatest fight is in the mind and emotions? What happens when the one who prays for others, teaches the Word, or leads worship finds themselves in a personal war of anxiety, depression, or deep discouragement?   This is where faith and mental health collide—not in contradiction, but in coexistence. The belief that Christians should always be “happy” or “strong” is not biblical—it’s cultural. Scripture is filled with faithful people who struggled internally.   Jeremiah, known as “the weeping prophet,” spoke boldly for God while carrying profound emotional grief. He cried out, “Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame.” (Jeremiah 20:18, NLT).   Jeremiah’s lament was not a lack of faith. It was a reflection of human anguish expressed honestly before God. Similarly, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus—t...

How many of us find ourselves struggling with emotional pain, anxiety, or spiritual burnout? If not now, have you ever, or never have you ever? And when you have, if you had, have you ever felt like or even been told that you’re weak…why do you let this person have such control over your emotions… come on, be strong.   As we go through this series, I am being educated and made aware that the many times I’ve been there did not mean that I was weak or didn’t have enough faith. And somebody else needs to be reminded today that emotional pain, anxiety, or spiritual burnout is not a sign of weak faith. Well what is it? Hear this: When we feel our emotions getting out of whack, when we become anxious over some circumstance in our lives, or when we find ourselves working so hard in our church, it simply means that we are carrying too much for too long without healing space.   So what do we do.   As was mentioned yesterday, we embrace stillness. Emotional healing within a faith-b...

So far this week, we have had some heart felt moments as we looked at emotional and mental health and Christianity.   We learned that mental wellness is not simply the absence of a diagnosis, rather, it is the presence of emotional balance, spiritual grounding, and the ability to function through life’s challenges.   So many of us as Christians today continue to struggle with issues such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, mood swings, and other forms of emotional and mental instability.   We even see examples of persons in Bible days where they went through similar situations.   According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, mental wellness is “a dynamic state in which an individual can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and contribute to their community.”   For Christians, this includes walking through emotional storms while holding on to the peace that Christ offers. This right there is an art. But this right there...