When Someone Responds to Your Anxiety by Stating You Need More Faith – Guest Post by Mel Davis

by Jennifer Slattery on July 2, 2026July 2, 2026

“You just don’t have enough faith.”

It’s etched into my memory of a pastor telling me that years ago when I told him about my anxiety. Which, ironically, gave me more anxiety.

I walked away wondering, “Am I a bad Christian? Do I really not have enough faith?” A pit formed in my stomach thinking that I wasn’t doing enough. The room felt as if it was closing in on me, and I looked around to find the nearest exit. All of a sudden, I was getting flashbacks of all the memories in high school.

My earliest memory that I have of an actual anxiety attack was when I was 17 years old at a rehearsal for a school play. I didn’t know what it was at the time. It just felt like something was genuinely wrong. In my head, it felt like I had 100 computer tabs open that wouldn’t close. I went to the doctor and was told that it was anxiety. And from there, my anxiety progressed as I got older.

“Christians don’t have anxiety,” is what was being taught around me at the church I was attending at the time. Therefore, I didn’t feel like a real Christian. It produced shame which led to minimum prayers and reading of my Bible less.

All I kept thinking was, “I can’t be a Christian and have anxiety.”

Years later, after I got married, I connected with a Christian therapist through a free resource. As I shared my experiences, she listened carefully and eventually explained that I struggled with several anxiety disorders and OCD. It was almost like there was a rolodex going through my mind and piecing details together like I was Sherlock Holmes. I once again felt shame, but then she reminded me of this passage in the Bible.

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (ESV)

Here’s what I love about this passage. Paul pleads three times for God to remove his thorn, and where else do we see something similar in the Bible? In Gethsemane when Jesus prayed to God three times to let the cup pass from Him.

“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on.See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”” Matthew 26:36-46 (ESV)

Both Paul and Jesus ultimately submitted to God’s will even when both fully had faith. God didn’t remove their trials, but instead provided the grace and strength to endure.

What if God allows our “thorns” to keep us totally dependent on Him?

A great quote that I love from C.S. Lewis is, “You may forget that you are at every moment totally dependent on God.”

I was reminded that I can indeed have both: be a Christian and struggle with anxiety. It doesn’t make me any less of a Christian.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15 (ESV)

Having faith doesn’t always mean we get our prayers answered. Even if God doesn’t remove the “thorn” He sustains and strengthens us through it. Having faith also doesn’t mean that we are immune to feeling anything negative. If Jesus faced this, then we should give ourselves grace.

I still pray that one day I will be healed, our God is a Healer and can perform miracles; but maybe that won’t be until I am in Heaven. And that’s okay. Learning to accept my “thorn” is what allows me to write to you today about my own struggle with anxiety.

I’m not enough, but Jesus is.

In certain cases, both Jesus and medicine are needed because everybody is unique. As Christians, we need to do better to break the stigma, and not use manipulating tactics as well as shaming people into Christianity. That leads to resentment and bitterness and, unfortunately, in a lot of cases it leads to people walking away from God all together.

God can use doctors, medicine, therapists, counselors, and psychiatrists to help with mental illness. To say that seeking help for mental health is “unbiblical” is dangerous to say and is why so many Christians suffer in silence.

It’s okay to not be okay.

Give yourself permission to lament and space to heal. And when the anxiety returns, as it sometimes will, remember this: your struggles do not make you a lesser Christian.

God’s grace is sufficient for you too.

Get to Know Mel Davis

Mel Davis is a military wife based in Omaha, Nebraska. She writes from a Christian perspective, sharing stories shaped by authenticity, resilience, hope, and a deep rooted faith in God.

When she’s not writing, she’s behind the camera capturing life’s meaningful moments. With a love for nature and a curious spirit, she is always pursuing new adventures and creative endeavors.

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Let’s chat! What resonated with you most in Mel’s post? When have you experienced something similar, and how did you respond? How have your struggles increased your dependency on Christ? Share in the comments below!

Why God Might Feel Distant and How to Connect With Him More Deeply – Faith Over Fear

Have you ever wondered why God can feel distant even when you genuinely love Him and want a close relationship with Him? Past experiences of rejection, emotional distance or unmet needs can affect how we relate to others—and how we experience our relationship with God. Jennifer Slattery talks with author, speaker and Anglican priest Reverend Summer Joy Gross about attachment, anxiety and the fears that can leave us questioning whether God is truly attentive, responsive and engaged with us. Summer shares how understanding attachment helped her recognize some of the fears beneath her own people-pleasing and anxiety and how God has been leading her toward greater security in His love. Together, she and Jennifer discuss the pressure to approach God correctly, why we don't have to chase Him or earn deeper connection with Him and how healing often occurs slowly, one encounter with God at a time. Discover how you can bring your full, messy self to God, receive His compassionate presence and increasingly experience the secure, unchanging love of the One who continually draws near. Scripture discussed or referenced: Ezekiel 36:26; Psalm 46:10; Luke 15:3–7, 11–32; Psalms (David’s laments); Mark 10:13–16; Philippians 1:6; Isaiah 51:14 Resource referenced: Emmanuel Promise: Discovering the Security of a Life Held by God by Summer Joy Gross Find Summer Joy Gross: On her website On Instagram On Facebook Find Jennifer Slattery: On her website Instagram Facebook Amazon Subscribe to her free newsletter Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Laughter as a self-care tool

by Jennifer Slattery on February 27, 2025February 26, 2025

(Note: This first published on October 12, 2023 and is an adapted transcript from one of my former iBelieve video devotions.)

I’ve found, I most need to laugh when I least feel like laughing. For my mental health, for the health of my relationships, and sometimes for the perseverance to push through challenges. When I feel anything but cheerful and humorous, that’s precisely when I need to find a way to intentionally bring sunshine into my day.

Years ago, when my husband and I were fighting for our marriage, and I mean fighting–for a relationship we’d mentally given up on only months before, we learned we needed to take time for fun. Especially when working through difficult stuff. And I have to tell you, that was hard. My pride tempted me to isolate myself, but our counselor told us we needed to take time to play. Otherwise, she warned, we might forget why we fell in love and that we weren’t enemies, regardless of how we felt in that moment.

While I wish I would’ve done this more, I intentionally found ways for us to laugh, together. I purposefully cultivated silliness into our relationship and our home. I believe this became the glue that held us together and kept our hearts soft toward one another when the stress of life could’ve pulled us apart.

When life feels really stressful, like I have more to do than time to do it in, I know I need to intentionally set an afternoon aside to fortify my soul with laughter.

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Maybe you’ve felt the last half of that verse. Maybe your life this year has felt anything but cheerful. Maybe laughter has all but disappeared from your home, from your relationships, and your heart. I’ve been there, and man, is it hard. Much too hard, in fact. And when I land in that place, I intentionally find reasons to laugh.

At first, it might feel fabricated, forced. But soon, it becomes a habit, one that fills my heart with joy and soon spills from me, contagiously. It changes the tone of my home and my relationships for the better.

Try it, because right now we could all use all the sunshine we can get.

These videos may help:

And make sure to catch this week’s Faith Over Fear episode:

Why God Might Feel Distant and How to Connect With Him More Deeply – Faith Over Fear

When our loved ones struggle with anxiety and depression – guest post by Jessica brodie

by Jennifer Slattery on May 9, 2024May 9, 2024

Have you ever endured a challenge that turned out to be the greatest blessing in your life?

My daughter is 16, and about seven years ago she was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. A couple of years after that, depression started. The last several years have been difficult, and though this last year she’s been in a really great place, this season has taken a toll on me emotionally and physically. I’m her “person,” and I’m in the trenches with her. It’s not easy.

These mental health challenges run in my family. Like heart disease, high cholesterol, and cancer, some people are simply genetically predisposed to it. Thankfully, I knew how to recognize it. My daughter was an extremely challenging toddler with sensory processing disorder and a very strong will. In the third grade, she started going almost daily to the nurse’s office at school for a stomachache and dizziness. Fast-forward through a lot of specialist appointments, lab work, and counseling, and we finally discovered it was anxiety. She was having panic attacks (disguised as overwhelming stomachache and dizziness), and we were able to get her the help she needed.

Then puberty kickstarted her depression, and it was touch and go for a couple of years.

Today she’s thriving in her faith, extremely mature, and a great student attending a virtual charter school. While she has not perfectly mastered managing her moods, she certainly knows how to do so better than I did at her age.

Walking through her mental health journey wasn’t easy for her. It also wasn’t easy for me, for my marriage, and for our whole family, but we committed to fighting through and we’re on the other side now.

Getting to the other side took learning and relearning so many critical lessons and skills, such as listening, healthy boundaries, and the importance of structure and self-care. It took rereading the Bible through the lens of mental health. It also took phenomenal doctors, counselors, and Christian mentors.

Now I’m so grateful I was able to walk through this journey with her because it taught me so much as a person and as a mother.

It also taught me a ton about God’s incredible love for us. Not only do we have the gift of salvation, but we also have a personal savior—a savior who’s not just there for the big stuff but the difficult everyday moments, too. He’s there in our grief and our pain, our depression and our heartbreak, our good times and our bad times.

He might not take that grief or pain or sickness away, but he’s there with us, walking right next to us. There, right there, in the trenches with us.

During the hardest moments of our family’s mental health journey, I didn’t always “feel God” right there with me every step of the way, but I trusted that he was there. I also knew he spoke and cared through the people he sent to help us through. And looking back, I saw the evidence.

That’s how it is for so many of us. Most of us have experienced struggles in our life, but often it’s only later, when we look back, that we can often see God’s hand clearly.

As Hebrews 4:13 tells us, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (NIV).

And as 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Sometimes we go through situations and we’re so grateful to be done with them that we don’t look back. We think we got through because of “luck” or our own hard work. But consider today the beautiful, personal, and sometimes intimate ways God speaks to us and walks with us through our most painful moments.

If you are in the middle of a difficult season right now and you doubt God’s walking beside you, thinking you’re maybe in all of this alone, pause. Breathe. Take a look around. Ask him to speak to you or show you a sign.

Then watch as his love comes to life.

Amen. Thanks be to God.

A prayer: Lord, thank you that you care for me so personally. Even in those times I can’t see you or feel you, help me remember that you are there. Amen.

Get to Know Jessica Brodie:

Jessica is an award-winning Christian journalist, author, blogger, and editor. She is the editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, the oldest newspaper in Methodism, which has won more than 118 journalism awards during her tenure. She is the author of two devotionals, Feed My Sheep (2019) and More Like Jesus (2018), and editor of Stories of Racial Awakening (2018) and Called by God (2020), all from her newspaper’s Advocate Press.

She also writes fiction, represented by Bob Hostetler of The Steve Laube Agency, and her novel The Memory Garden won the 2018 Genesis contest for unpublished contemporary fiction from the American Christian Fiction Writers. A speaker and contributor to Crosswalk, Christianity.com, and the United Methodist News Service, she has a faith blog at JessicaBrodie.com. Subscribe to Jessica’s YouTube Channel HERE.