The Mask We Wear: Hiding Mental Struggles in the Church
- Angela U Burns
- Jul 11
- 2 min read
What does your church mean to you?
Is it a building you go to on Sabbath or Sunday to worship, fellowship, for a weekly gathering of sorts?
For all of us, it should be much deeper. The church is not the four walls. The church, being you and I, should be a refuge.
This means the church should be a safe and welcoming place where people can find spiritual, emotional, and sometimes physical support.
It’s a place where individuals can experience God’s presence, healing, and community, especially in times of trouble, grief, or need. Just as a physical refuge offers protection from a storm, the church should offer comfort, guidance, and hope amid life’s challenges.
But too often, the church becomes a stage—where believers feel pressure to perform, pretend, appear whole, even when their hearts are breaking.
So in many churches, you find people who wear smiles like a costume and speak in Christian clichés while quietly drowning in anxiety, grief, or depression.
You may or may not be surprised to hear that this is not a new problem.
Consider King David. A man after God’s heart, yes, but also a man well acquainted with inner turmoil.
In Psalm 32:3–4 (NIV), he confesses “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.”
David wasn’t just physically tired—he was emotionally depleted from keeping it in. Silence didn’t heal him. It crushed him.
In the church today, many believers know this feeling. They serve, sing, and lead while privately wrestling with depression, trauma, or confusion.
We have had emotional health defined by MentalHealth.gov, as how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. When believers feel unsafe being real, they’re denied the space to heal.
Psalm 34:18 (NLT) gives a better picture of God’s posture toward the hurting: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”
Not the confident. Not the polished. The brokenhearted.
David found relief when he dropped the mask: Psalm 32:5, NIV “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity… and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”
This isn’t just about confession of wrongdoing—it’s about unveiling emotional truth. When we’re honest with God and one another, we create space for grace.
Jesus never required perfect presentation. He wept (John 11:35, KJV). He sweat drops of blood under pressure (Luke 22:44, AMP).
Jesus embraced humanity in all its weakness—so we wouldn’t have to fake strength.
So Family, we don’t have to pretend to be okay to belong. Those plastic smiles can go. We don’t need to wear the mask to be accepted.
In God’s kingdom, truth is healing and vulnerability is victory.
How many of us will rise to the challenge to let today be the day we lay down the performances and pick up the peace of God?
aub- 11July25
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