Stay Here: God's Plan to Restore Your Mental HealthSample

When Anxiety Attacks

Sometimes we think we’re up against a battle or in a fight that humanity has never fought, and there’s no doubt that the research in front of us shows we have an increasing epidemic on our hands. But I remind you that this idea of anxiety is not new. In fact, in the 1800s, a great theologian and pastor named Charles Spurgeon said this:

Quite involuntarily, unhappiness of mind, depression of spirit, and sorrow of heart will come upon you. You may be without any real reason for grief, and yet may become among the most unhappy of men. There is also a kind of mental darkness in which you are disturbed, perplexed, worried troubled—not, perhaps, about anything tangible.

It comes as a surprise to many that a pastor like Charles Spurgeon had a lifelong battle with anxiety and depression. His reputation as a beloved powerful preacher, his joyful wit, and his manliness leads us to imagine there could never be a chink in his heavy armor. But many of us share the same lived experience. Being full of life in a fallen world must mean distress, and Spurgeon’s life was very much full of both physical and mental pain.

At the young age of twenty-two, as pastor of a large church and with twin babies at home to look after, he was preaching to thousands in the Surrey Gardens Music Hall when pranksters yelled “fire,” staring a panic to exit the building which killed seven and left twenty-eight severely injured. His mind was never the same again. His wife, Susannah, wrote, “My beloved’s anguish was so deep and violent, that reason seemed to totter in her throne, and we sometimes feared that he would never preach again.”

That kind of inner turmoil Charles Spurgeon experienced produces anxiety, and this is not a new thing. This is an old thing that we must, in this day and age, battle with God’s truth and some practical tools.

Anxiety has a cousin—panic. And both anxiety and panic are birthed from fear. Oftentimes when we talk about fear, we think it’s always this evil thing. But if you pause and think about it, you’ll realize that fear is one of the oldest safety mechanisms we have. We experience fear because fear helps us stay safe.

For instance, if you step into a street and then look left or right only to see a massive semi-truck coming your way, you step back onto the sidewalk as fast as you can. Your fear protected you.

A Sound Mind

An important part of your brain is called the prefrontal cortex, and it has skills that assist you 24/7. It helps you interpret data you’ve experienced, and then based on that data, it helps you predict what could take place in the future. Once you’ve had that experience with the semi, then, your brain will say, I’ve had some experience with this. Another semi could be coming. So, I’ll look left and right before stepping off the curb. And if you see another semi or any other vehicle coming, your brain will say, All right, I can’t safely walk across the street until after this danger has passed.

Here’s where anxiety comes in: when your prefrontal cortex doesn’t have enough information to predict a possible future, or it has skewed data, such as a traumatic event that took place in the past. This is why during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic we saw so much anxiety. And whether your drug of poison is CNN or FOX News, TikTok or Twitter, they all serve you information with an unpredictable future. Therefore, you become more and more anxious. And this is why science, medicine, and research can’t solve all your problems.

We must come to God in faith, because faith begins where understanding ends. We need God’s help in order to overcome that for which we have no data or skewed data. What does Scripture say about fear and anxiety? This is what Paul writes to young Timothy: “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV).

You have not been given a sick mind; you’ve been given a sound mind. Sickness is not your destiny. Sickness is not your destination. Rather, God says, “I’ve given you power. I’ve given you strength. And I’ve given you a sound mind.” You’re going to need God’s Word to get you through this storm.

I also want to remind you that you’re not alone. Throughout the Scriptures, we see incredible men and women of God who dealt with anxiety and depression:

•Job cursed the day he was born and wished he’d been stillborn (Job 3:1, 11).

•Abraham called himself “dust from the ground” (Genesis 2:7).

•Jonah wanted to die when a worm ate his plant (Jonah 4:6–8).

•Elijah was the suicidal prophet. He literally asked God to kill him (1 Kings 19:4).

•And King David? One minute he’s dancing before the ark (2 Samuel 6:14), and the next minute he’s saying to God, “Why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1). This would be called high highs and low lows.

•Paul said he despaired of life (2 Corinthians 1:8).

•Even Jesus, in the garden of Gethsemane, said, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38 NIV).

If these men and women could be victorious in this life, if God brought them through, then He can do it for you.

Prayer

Jesus, please put a comma on all the areas of my life where I’ve put a period. I believe that my story isn’t over yet, and I’m putting control of my life back into your hands. I give you all my anxiety, worry, and fears. Please give me the faith to look at your face instead of my putting my focus on them. I know you’re not worried about my life, so I choose to trust you. In your name, amen.