Healing Within: Christians Confronting Mental Struggles
- Angela U Burns
- Jul 7
- 3 min read
What does healing look like? I think the answer depends on the question: healing from what?
But for many of us, we can tell what healing feels like, especially after we have been in pain for a while, and after taking medication, applying a heating pad or cold press or praying, and then there’s no more pain.
However, healing isn’t always an instant miracle.
Sometimes, it looks like daily surrender…especially in relationships and particularly in our walk with God.
Sometimes, it looks like probing around in the dark until the light returns.
Mental and emotional health struggles are not modern problems—they are timeless human realities, and Scripture does not shy away from them. God meets us in our weakness not with shame, but with healing grace.
Let’s look today at King Saul.
Saul began with divine favour—anointed, chosen, empowered. But over time, he struggled deeply with fear, paranoia, insecurity, and spiritual confusion.
Scripture says, “Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.” (1 Samuel 16:14, NLT).
Saul’s emotional state caused him to isolate, lash out, and eventually self-destruct.
And yet, in this account, we also see God allowing music—played by David—to calm him (1 Samuel 16:23).
Even in Saul’s unraveling, there were glimmers of God’s compassion. May we have compassion on someone today who we know might be going through emotional and mental health challenges.
Although Saul did not fully walk in healing, his story shows us the seriousness of untreated emotional torment and the reality that even chosen, appointed leaders are not exempt from mental struggle.
Now let us contrast Saul with the woman with the issue of blood. The story is found in Mark 5:25–34. She had suffered for twelve years—not just physically, but emotionally and socially.
According to the Law, she was unclean, isolated, and likely shamed. Mark 5:26, NIV says, “She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.”
This woman was emotionally exhausted, physically depleted, and spiritually desperate. Yet she reached out to Jesus—not with a shout, but with a touch.
And Jesus did not just heal her body, He restored her identity. “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” (Mark 5:34, NIV).
Jesus called her "daughter"—a word of belonging. That moment addressed not only her physical ailment but her emotional trauma. Her healing was holistic.
Family, that’s what Jesus offers to those of us struggling emotionally and mentally today: restoration on every level. He doesn't only deal with symptoms—He reaches into the soul.
Many of us as believers today feel ashamed of our emotional and mental battles. Truth be told, we fear being seen as weak or unspiritual. And there is still a stigma attached to it and we are afraid of being called crazy, mad, not good in our heads.
But Scripture reminds us that weakness is not a barrier to God—it’s an invitation to encounter Him more deeply. Hallelujah.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” (2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV).
See, the grace of God does not require a spotless emotional record. It requires a heart that’s willing to reach out—even if just to touch the hem of His garment.
Jesus also said in Luke 4:18, NKJV, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted.”
That healing includes from anxiety, trauma, depression, burnout, and grief. There is no wound too deep for the grace of God to reach.
We have said this before but it bears repeating: In our faith communities, healing within begins when we stop pretending. It begins when we admit we are struggling and when we let others into our story. It begins when the church becomes a place of compassion, not comparison.
To heal within is not to erase the past or silence the pain—it’s to allow God’s truth to speak louder than the trauma, louder than the fear, louder than the shame.
Today, someone here may be wrestling with thoughts you’ve never spoken aloud. You may be exhausted by emotions you can’t control.
Here’s an invitation from Jesus Himself, taken from Matthew 11:28, NLT, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
So what is our takeaway? Healing is possible. Restoration is available. And God is not afraid of what’s going on inside of us. He’s already reaching toward us.
Question is: will we recognize this need and reach back to Jesus for the healing we need?
aub - 7July25
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