The living archive is loading.
Part 3 of 6Find Peace When You’re Anxious
Peace of Mind Series
Continue exploring
Connected by scripture or shared themes.
Part 3 of 6Find Peace When You’re Anxious
Peace of Mind Series
Continue exploring
Connected by scripture or shared themes.
I never expected to be someone who would break down. I always thought it happened to other people. For decades, I've been blessed by God to maintain consistency—my highs aren't too high, my lows aren't too low. On the outside, everything looked fine. I still showed up, preached, looked healthy, and my marriage with Amy was good.
But on the inside, it was sheer panic. It didn't come suddenly. Year over year, little by little, there was more and more and more. Eventually I thought, "Maybe it's too much." Then I thought, "I can't continue like this." Then, "This is going to get me." Then, "This will probably kill me."
After almost three decades in ministry, I needed help—and I was embarrassed. I'm not just a Christian; I'm the pastor. But many of you can relate right now. You're still showing up, still smiling, still trying to do your job. But inwardly, you're battling real depression, ongoing chronic anxiety, or just feeling overwhelmed. You might snap. You might burn out. If you're struggling mentally, you're not alone.
Over the next several weeks, we're going to talk about mental health in a series called Peace of Mind. The foundation we're building today addresses The Most Dangerous Myths of Mental Health—the very myths that keep us from finding peace.
May God Himself, our Heavenly Father—the God of peace—sanctify you, cleanse you, change you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.
I want you to turn to someone near you and tell them: God is my peace. Tell them again: He's your peace too.
It's encouraging that the church is finally talking about mental health. For years, people said the church shouldn't discuss it—as if it was somebody else's problem. Sometimes the implication was that you shouldn't struggle mentally because Jesus fixes everything the moment you come to Him.
But here's what needs to be said clearly: Just because Jesus saves you doesn't mean He fixes every area of your life instantly. You might come to Christ and still have the same boss, the same bank account, the same body. Coming to Jesus doesn't mean your credit score improves, your hair gets thicker, or your mental health is instantly resolved.
Jesus saves you. He forgives you. He redeems you. He fills you with His power. He'll never leave you. He works all things together for good. All of that is true, but it's incomplete.
Before we address the myths, let me acknowledge what I am and am not. I'm a pastor, not a Christian psychologist or doctor. I've read over a dozen books and consulted with two Christian counselors to help guide me through a biblical narrative on this topic. I'm not an expert, but I want to be helpful.
Mental health includes at least three things: your emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing. It's not static. You can be healthy one moment and then experience trauma or a physical change and find yourself in a very bad place.
Your mental health determines how you think, which impacts how you feel, which impacts how you act. It affects how you handle stress, relate to people, make choices, bounce back from difficulty—or don't. It can determine where you find comfort, the quality of your friendships, and even the quality of your marriage.
The first dangerous myth is this: A lot of Christians believe that Christians shouldn't struggle with mental health. The logic goes: if you're filled with the Holy Spirit and you've been saved, you shouldn't battle anxiety, depression, or burnout. If you do, it's probably your fault—you don't have enough faith, you're not praying enough, you're not praying right, or there's unconfessed sin in your life.
But scripture shows us otherwise. You can love Jesus and still fight depression. You can have the longest Bible streak on the YouVersion app and still battle anxiety. You can attend church faithfully, sit on the front row, lift your hands in worship, tithe, and serve—and still struggle.
Some of the people we celebrate as heroes of the faith still had bouts with mental challenges:
The message in church is often: "You just need more of God. More of God. More of God." And yes, you do need more of God. But you might also need more sleep. You might need better friends. If you're not in a life group, how do you expect to stand strong against darkness without people standing by you and praying for you?
We need a holistic approach. You might need a better diet. You might need to see a doctor—perhaps you're having hormonal changes. You might need deep therapy. If you're struggling and you're praying and seeking God and trying to do better and still can't seem to make it, it doesn't mean you're not a good Christian. It means you're human.
The second myth is this: God doesn't care about your mental health. He's too busy. He's got bigger problems to deal with. But when you look at scripture, especially the Psalms, you see just how much God cares about every area of your life.
The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is close to the broken-hearted. He saves those who are crushed in spirit.
God is our refuge and our strength. He's our ever-present help in a time of trouble.
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He restores my soul. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff comfort me.
You will prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies, and Your mercy and goodness will follow me all the days of my life.
The Lord cares about you. He cares about you.
Most of the Psalms you'd want on a coffee mug. But there's one you wouldn't. Psalm 88, written by a man named Heman, is one of only two Psalms that doesn't have a positive ending.
Heman was a man everyone wanted in their life. He had great wisdom, was a talented musician, was a committed parent, and was faithful in service to the king. He was the deacon at the church, the person you'd go to for advice, the father-in-law or dad you'd want. A man of God.
And this is what he wrote:
I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death. I'm counted among those who've gone down to the pit. I'm like one without any strength left. I'm set apart with the dead like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more. God, You've forgotten me. I feel like I'm cut off from Your care. Why, Lord, do You reject me and hide Your face from me?
The last verse is haunting:
You've taken from me my friend and neighbor. Darkness is my closest friend.
This man loved God. He was a man of God. And this is in the Bible. I love that it's there with no positive ending because it shows that God is not afraid of our honesty. He cares that you may love Him and question Him, worship Him and hurt. And when you hurt, He cares.
This was about where I was when I was breaking down—still preaching, still showing up, panicking inside. Fine on the outside, dying on the inside.
So I got over my pride and I called a counselor. And I want to remind you: Getting help isn't a sign of weakness. It's a sign of wisdom.
When I met with my counselor, I told him, "I'm in really bad shape." He put me through an extensive battery of tests and came back with surprising news. "You're not in bad shape," he said. "Physically, you're in as good shape as I've seen in a man your age. Spiritually, you're seeking God, in God's Word, praying, have faith, and aren't sinning in any gross and ongoing ways. Your marriage is something everyone would aspire to have. You're visibly healthy, spiritually healthy, relationally healthy." He said, "You're just mentally exhausted. You're just mentally exhausted."
We started doing exercises, and he asked me basic questions. "Pastor Craig, what is the greatest commandment?" Jesus said:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
He asked, "Are you loving God with all your heart?" Yes. "With all your soul?" Yes. "With all your mind?" That was the question.
He reviewed material from my series Winning the War in Your Mind—that life always moves in the direction of your strongest thoughts. Then we talked about the brain.
The brain is built over time, starting at birth. From the very beginning, your brain makes connections—neural pathways. For the first few years, your brain makes approximately one million connections every second. Then it learns and simplifies through a process called pruning. Your brain becomes more efficient and starts to think in patterns. Once you think a thought, it's easier to think that thought again. It's like a mental rut or pathway that's easier to continue traveling.
That's good news if your thoughts are healthy. That's bad news if they're not.
If your body isn't healthy, you go to a doctor, change your diet, exercise, get treatment. So if your mind is unhealthy, what do you do? You might go to a doctor. You might go to the great Physician who helps renew your mind.
My mind couldn't shut down. So my counselor gave me an assignment: come up with 30 things I'd never done before. I came up with six—I couldn't even think of seven. It seemed odd for the money I was paying per hour, but he told me to try them. So I tried two and started two new hobbies.
My counselor gave me an assignment that seemed unusual at the time: come up with 30 things I'd never done before. I could only think of six. Though it seemed like odd counseling for the money I was paying per hour, he wanted me to try them. So I tried two and started two new hobbies.
What I didn't realize then was that he was trying to help me disconnect my mind so it could reconnect to God. My mind was stuck in patterns—work, work, work, work. I had to break those patterns and then intentionally connect my thoughts back to God. There's a difference between being caught up in busyness and actually connecting with God.
Here's the foundation for peace of mind. Isaiah 26:3 says:
You will be kept in perfect peace all whose thoughts are fixed on you.
I love this verse. You'll be kept in perfect peace—not just occasional peace when everything's going your way, not momentary peace when you feel good in the moment, and not circumstantial peace. But perfect peace.
In Hebrew, "perfect peace" translates from Shalom repeated twice: Shalom, Shalom. Whenever a word is repeated in Hebrew, it's for incredible emphasis—it's exponential. It's like when you need your children to listen, you repeat yourself for emphasis. So the author says you will experience Shalom, Shalom.
Who experiences this peace? Not those whose thoughts are fixed on the news—whether CNN or Fox News. Not those scrolling through social media all day. Those whose thoughts are fixed on God.
The Hebrew word for "fixed" is samak, which means to prop or rest your full weight on an object. It means to lean your entire weight on something. If you're struggling right now—feeling tension, heaviness, worry, uncertainty about your job or relationships—one of the things we need to do is disconnect our minds from what is unhelpful and fix our thoughts on God, on God, on God, on God.
When we do this, we create new neural pathways—that's science. Scripture says in Romans: "Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
I disconnected my mind and started to connect it to one spiritual truth. My verse became 2 Peter 1:3:
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him.
It's His power, not my power. It's His power. Again and again, I fixed my mind on His word. So instead of saying, "I can't, this is too much, this will kill me, I'll never get it done, nobody understands, nobody cares," I started saying: God is my source and my strength. I have everything I need to do everything He called me to do.
According to Scripture, He's given me everything—the people I need, the resources I need, the friends I need, the counselor I need, the strength I need, His word, the energy, the power, the mental health. Everything I need, over and over and over again.
Did my healing happen instantly? I wish. It took about 18 months. My wife Amy said after that time, "I think you're doing good." And I said, "Can we say that? Have I been good long enough?" I didn't go public with many people because I wanted to see it for three months, then six months. But about 18 months on the other side of it, by the grace of God, He's given me everything I need to do everything He's called me to do.
Recently, I was meeting with about 100 of our staff members—campus pastors and top leaders. We had a working session and prayed for you at the end. At the end of that prayer, I couldn't physically stand because the emotion was so great. The burden I feel as your pastor just overwhelmed me. I crumbled and couldn't stand. I put the mic down and tried to walk around the room because I didn't want them to see. Now I'm telling all of you.
I believe God allowed me to experience this so I could relate to what you're going through and dive into His word and come out with truth that might change lives. Our spiritual enemy is attacking everywhere. Christians are pointing fingers at each other, not believing the best of one another, criticizing. People just aren't doing well right now. But you can be kept in perfect peace if your thoughts are fixed on Him.
Jesus said this: "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives."
He said, "My peace"—not a piece, but my peace. It's interesting that Jesus gave His peace the night before His suffering, the night before He faced the worst physical agony possible. This tells us something profound: real peace, perfect peace, isn't found in the absence of problems. Real peace is found in the presence of God.
It's Shalom, Shalom—peace even when you hear bad news. Peace even when you lose your job. Peace when your marriage is struggling. Peace when your kids are making decisions that break your heart. Peace when you're hurt by those you love most. Peace when money is tight.
It is a peace from God. The world can't give it and the world can't take it away.
Scripture reminds us: "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind."
I never expected to be someone who would break down. I always thought it happened to other people. For decades, I've been blessed by God to maintain consistency—my highs aren't too high, my lows aren't too low. On the outside, everything looked fine. I still showed up, preached, looked healthy, and my marriage with Amy was good.
But on the inside, it was sheer panic. It didn't come suddenly. Year over year, little by little, there was more and more and more. Eventually I thought, "Maybe it's too much." Then I thought, "I can't continue like this." Then, "This is going to get me." Then, "This will probably kill me."
After almost three decades in ministry, I needed help—and I was embarrassed. I'm not just a Christian; I'm the pastor. But many of you can relate right now. You're still showing up, still smiling, still trying to do your job. But inwardly, you're battling real depression, ongoing chronic anxiety, or just feeling overwhelmed. You might snap. You might burn out. If you're struggling mentally, you're not alone.
Over the next several weeks, we're going to talk about mental health in a series called Peace of Mind. The foundation we're building today addresses The Most Dangerous Myths of Mental Health—the very myths that keep us from finding peace.
May God Himself, our Heavenly Father—the God of peace—sanctify you, cleanse you, change you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.
I want you to turn to someone near you and tell them: God is my peace. Tell them again: He's your peace too.
It's encouraging that the church is finally talking about mental health. For years, people said the church shouldn't discuss it—as if it was somebody else's problem. Sometimes the implication was that you shouldn't struggle mentally because Jesus fixes everything the moment you come to Him.
But here's what needs to be said clearly: Just because Jesus saves you doesn't mean He fixes every area of your life instantly. You might come to Christ and still have the same boss, the same bank account, the same body. Coming to Jesus doesn't mean your credit score improves, your hair gets thicker, or your mental health is instantly resolved.
Jesus saves you. He forgives you. He redeems you. He fills you with His power. He'll never leave you. He works all things together for good. All of that is true, but it's incomplete.
Before we address the myths, let me acknowledge what I am and am not. I'm a pastor, not a Christian psychologist or doctor. I've read over a dozen books and consulted with two Christian counselors to help guide me through a biblical narrative on this topic. I'm not an expert, but I want to be helpful.
Mental health includes at least three things: your emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing. It's not static. You can be healthy one moment and then experience trauma or a physical change and find yourself in a very bad place.
Your mental health determines how you think, which impacts how you feel, which impacts how you act. It affects how you handle stress, relate to people, make choices, bounce back from difficulty—or don't. It can determine where you find comfort, the quality of your friendships, and even the quality of your marriage.
The first dangerous myth is this: A lot of Christians believe that Christians shouldn't struggle with mental health. The logic goes: if you're filled with the Holy Spirit and you've been saved, you shouldn't battle anxiety, depression, or burnout. If you do, it's probably your fault—you don't have enough faith, you're not praying enough, you're not praying right, or there's unconfessed sin in your life.
But scripture shows us otherwise. You can love Jesus and still fight depression. You can have the longest Bible streak on the YouVersion app and still battle anxiety. You can attend church faithfully, sit on the front row, lift your hands in worship, tithe, and serve—and still struggle.
Some of the people we celebrate as heroes of the faith still had bouts with mental challenges:
The message in church is often: "You just need more of God. More of God. More of God." And yes, you do need more of God. But you might also need more sleep. You might need better friends. If you're not in a life group, how do you expect to stand strong against darkness without people standing by you and praying for you?
We need a holistic approach. You might need a better diet. You might need to see a doctor—perhaps you're having hormonal changes. You might need deep therapy. If you're struggling and you're praying and seeking God and trying to do better and still can't seem to make it, it doesn't mean you're not a good Christian. It means you're human.
The second myth is this: God doesn't care about your mental health. He's too busy. He's got bigger problems to deal with. But when you look at scripture, especially the Psalms, you see just how much God cares about every area of your life.
The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is close to the broken-hearted. He saves those who are crushed in spirit.
God is our refuge and our strength. He's our ever-present help in a time of trouble.
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He restores my soul. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff comfort me.
You will prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies, and Your mercy and goodness will follow me all the days of my life.
The Lord cares about you. He cares about you.
Most of the Psalms you'd want on a coffee mug. But there's one you wouldn't. Psalm 88, written by a man named Heman, is one of only two Psalms that doesn't have a positive ending.
Heman was a man everyone wanted in their life. He had great wisdom, was a talented musician, was a committed parent, and was faithful in service to the king. He was the deacon at the church, the person you'd go to for advice, the father-in-law or dad you'd want. A man of God.
And this is what he wrote:
I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death. I'm counted among those who've gone down to the pit. I'm like one without any strength left. I'm set apart with the dead like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more. God, You've forgotten me. I feel like I'm cut off from Your care. Why, Lord, do You reject me and hide Your face from me?
The last verse is haunting:
You've taken from me my friend and neighbor. Darkness is my closest friend.
This man loved God. He was a man of God. And this is in the Bible. I love that it's there with no positive ending because it shows that God is not afraid of our honesty. He cares that you may love Him and question Him, worship Him and hurt. And when you hurt, He cares.
This was about where I was when I was breaking down—still preaching, still showing up, panicking inside. Fine on the outside, dying on the inside.
So I got over my pride and I called a counselor. And I want to remind you: Getting help isn't a sign of weakness. It's a sign of wisdom.
When I met with my counselor, I told him, "I'm in really bad shape." He put me through an extensive battery of tests and came back with surprising news. "You're not in bad shape," he said. "Physically, you're in as good shape as I've seen in a man your age. Spiritually, you're seeking God, in God's Word, praying, have faith, and aren't sinning in any gross and ongoing ways. Your marriage is something everyone would aspire to have. You're visibly healthy, spiritually healthy, relationally healthy." He said, "You're just mentally exhausted. You're just mentally exhausted."
We started doing exercises, and he asked me basic questions. "Pastor Craig, what is the greatest commandment?" Jesus said:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
He asked, "Are you loving God with all your heart?" Yes. "With all your soul?" Yes. "With all your mind?" That was the question.
He reviewed material from my series Winning the War in Your Mind—that life always moves in the direction of your strongest thoughts. Then we talked about the brain.
The brain is built over time, starting at birth. From the very beginning, your brain makes connections—neural pathways. For the first few years, your brain makes approximately one million connections every second. Then it learns and simplifies through a process called pruning. Your brain becomes more efficient and starts to think in patterns. Once you think a thought, it's easier to think that thought again. It's like a mental rut or pathway that's easier to continue traveling.
That's good news if your thoughts are healthy. That's bad news if they're not.
If your body isn't healthy, you go to a doctor, change your diet, exercise, get treatment. So if your mind is unhealthy, what do you do? You might go to a doctor. You might go to the great Physician who helps renew your mind.
My mind couldn't shut down. So my counselor gave me an assignment: come up with 30 things I'd never done before. I came up with six—I couldn't even think of seven. It seemed odd for the money I was paying per hour, but he told me to try them. So I tried two and started two new hobbies.
My counselor gave me an assignment that seemed unusual at the time: come up with 30 things I'd never done before. I could only think of six. Though it seemed like odd counseling for the money I was paying per hour, he wanted me to try them. So I tried two and started two new hobbies.
What I didn't realize then was that he was trying to help me disconnect my mind so it could reconnect to God. My mind was stuck in patterns—work, work, work, work. I had to break those patterns and then intentionally connect my thoughts back to God. There's a difference between being caught up in busyness and actually connecting with God.
Here's the foundation for peace of mind. Isaiah 26:3 says:
You will be kept in perfect peace all whose thoughts are fixed on you.
I love this verse. You'll be kept in perfect peace—not just occasional peace when everything's going your way, not momentary peace when you feel good in the moment, and not circumstantial peace. But perfect peace.
In Hebrew, "perfect peace" translates from Shalom repeated twice: Shalom, Shalom. Whenever a word is repeated in Hebrew, it's for incredible emphasis—it's exponential. It's like when you need your children to listen, you repeat yourself for emphasis. So the author says you will experience Shalom, Shalom.
Who experiences this peace? Not those whose thoughts are fixed on the news—whether CNN or Fox News. Not those scrolling through social media all day. Those whose thoughts are fixed on God.
The Hebrew word for "fixed" is samak, which means to prop or rest your full weight on an object. It means to lean your entire weight on something. If you're struggling right now—feeling tension, heaviness, worry, uncertainty about your job or relationships—one of the things we need to do is disconnect our minds from what is unhelpful and fix our thoughts on God, on God, on God, on God.
When we do this, we create new neural pathways—that's science. Scripture says in Romans: "Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
I disconnected my mind and started to connect it to one spiritual truth. My verse became 2 Peter 1:3:
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him.
It's His power, not my power. It's His power. Again and again, I fixed my mind on His word. So instead of saying, "I can't, this is too much, this will kill me, I'll never get it done, nobody understands, nobody cares," I started saying: God is my source and my strength. I have everything I need to do everything He called me to do.
According to Scripture, He's given me everything—the people I need, the resources I need, the friends I need, the counselor I need, the strength I need, His word, the energy, the power, the mental health. Everything I need, over and over and over again.
Did my healing happen instantly? I wish. It took about 18 months. My wife Amy said after that time, "I think you're doing good." And I said, "Can we say that? Have I been good long enough?" I didn't go public with many people because I wanted to see it for three months, then six months. But about 18 months on the other side of it, by the grace of God, He's given me everything I need to do everything He's called me to do.
Recently, I was meeting with about 100 of our staff members—campus pastors and top leaders. We had a working session and prayed for you at the end. At the end of that prayer, I couldn't physically stand because the emotion was so great. The burden I feel as your pastor just overwhelmed me. I crumbled and couldn't stand. I put the mic down and tried to walk around the room because I didn't want them to see. Now I'm telling all of you.
I believe God allowed me to experience this so I could relate to what you're going through and dive into His word and come out with truth that might change lives. Our spiritual enemy is attacking everywhere. Christians are pointing fingers at each other, not believing the best of one another, criticizing. People just aren't doing well right now. But you can be kept in perfect peace if your thoughts are fixed on Him.
Jesus said this: "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives."
He said, "My peace"—not a piece, but my peace. It's interesting that Jesus gave His peace the night before His suffering, the night before He faced the worst physical agony possible. This tells us something profound: real peace, perfect peace, isn't found in the absence of problems. Real peace is found in the presence of God.
It's Shalom, Shalom—peace even when you hear bad news. Peace even when you lose your job. Peace when your marriage is struggling. Peace when your kids are making decisions that break your heart. Peace when you're hurt by those you love most. Peace when money is tight.
It is a peace from God. The world can't give it and the world can't take it away.
Scripture reminds us: "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind."
