I am not okay
It is okay to not be okay
struggling with mental health is not a sign of weakness
We live in a world where “fine” is our default answer and “perfect” is often the expectation. But if we’re being honest, many of us are hiding the truth — we’re struggling. I’ve been there too. The weeds in our gardens are real, and pretending otherwise only keeps us isolated. If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, anxious, grieving, or just off, you’re not alone! Jesus doesn’t ask us to hide our struggles; He invites us to bring them into His light. And I want you to hear me say from the very start: it’s okay to not be okay.
The emotional well-being of people is in serious decline. Anxiety, depression, burnout, and self-harm aren’t rare anymore — they’re a part of everyday life for so many. But the good news is, Jesus cares deeply about your mental health. And He’s not asking you to fix yourself before you come to Him.
Jesus cares about your mental health
One of the things that gives me so much hope is that Jesus deeply cares about our emotional and mental health.
When He launched His public ministry, He stood up in His hometown synagogue, read from the scroll of Isaiah, and declared that He had come “to heal the brokenhearted, to announce freedom for prisoners, and to give joy instead of mourning.”
That’s mental health language if I’ve ever heard it.
Jesus took the time to notice the people others overlooked. Like the man in Mark 5, who was tormented, isolated, and beyond human help. Jesus didn’t walk past him. He walked toward him. He healed him. He restored his mind. And He wants to do the same for you and me.
No matter how messy or broken we feel. Jesus is not intimidated. He cares. He draws near. And He offers healing.
Jesus came for those who are grieving, those battling anxiety, those walking through depression. His ministry wasn’t just about physical healing; it was about restoring minds and hearts, too.
Mental Health Struggles Are Complex
Something I’ve realized — both personally and in walking alongside others — is that mental health struggles are rarely caused by just one thing. There’s a complex root system under the surface of every garden.
1. Situational
Stuff happens. Life happens. Someone tells you they don’t love you anymore. Someone you love passes, your kid gets bullied, you change jobs, you move, you’re getting harassed by a neighbor or a coworker… and all that happens maybe at the same time. And it piles up, and the load is too much, and we just have this hard time because of our circumstances. Situations pile up, and it can lead us into anxiety, depression, or some other kind of emotional challenge. Difficult seasons don’t mean you’ve failed; they mean you’re human.
2. Biological
Our bodies and brains are broken by a fallen world, and not everything about our biology and our bodies is the way it’s supposed to be. Some people have unbelievable metabolism, or there are other people like me who just scroll by a picture of a donut on Instagram and put on 10 pounds. We’re just biologically different. In the same way, biologically, there are issues at play that affect how we wrestle with mental health. So there are hereditary things, predispositions toward depression, perhaps, and other things like this. Genetics, brain chemistry, and biological predispositions — they’re real factors that make the fight harder. Just like a broken leg needs a cast, a broken mind needs care.
3. Medical/Clinical
Maybe there’s a chemical imbalance, and you need someone trained who can sift through data and help diagnose and treat, and maybe prescribe something that will help. Sometimes its so severe it will require you to get appropriate professional help, maybe counseling or therapy. And listen to me, there is no shame in that. God gave us doctors and medicine for certain scenarios. Sometimes our brain gets ill, just like the rest of our body gets ill. So if you need help, get it! Some of us need professional help — counseling, therapy, medication — and there’s absolutely no shame in that. God gave us doctors for a reason. Healing isn’t less spiritual when it involves medicine; it can be part of God’s grace to you.
4. Spiritual
But can we also admit that sometimes it is a spiritual battle? How you’re doing in your soul has a huge impact on your mental health and emotional countenance. When you’re not right with God, when you’re not right with the people you love most, when there’s secret sin going on in your life, there’s no pill you can take to fix it; there’s no counselor who can heal. Until you do business and get right with God, the guilt, the shame, the hiding, and the anxiety will adversely impact nearly every area of your life. Our souls need tending too. Spiritual disconnection, unresolved guilt, believing the lies of the enemy — these can wreak havoc on our mental health. There’s a real enemy who whispers lies to you — “You’re not enough. You’ll never be loved.”
Jesus came to break those lies and remind you: you are a beloved child of God
One of the dangers in a church setting is that we can tend to make everything spiritual when sometimes the cause is situational, biological, or medical or clinical. There are some situations that can’t just get better with more prayer, or more Bible study, or getting right with God. It can be easy, especially for pastors and other followers of Jesus, to make the assumption that if you were more spiritual, you just wouldn’t have this problem… and that’s not true!
Don’t be one of those well-meaning Christians who give horrible advice to people because you think every mental health problem is going to be caused by a spiritual issue. If a person has bad kidneys and goes to get dialysis, we don’t say, “You’re going to dialysis? Gee. Where’s your faith? Have you been praying?” We would never say that. We know that sometimes we get sick because an organ in our body isn’t working right. If your heart isn’t beating fast enough, we don’t think twice about putting a pacemaker in. If your cholesterol is too high, you take something to lower it. If you don’t produce enough thyroid, you take medication to balance things out. We don’t seem to have any problem with that as Christians. But yet, sometimes when a different organ in our body “up here” starts to malfunction with some chemical imbalance, or something not working right, we say, “Well, if you were spiritual, you wouldn’t need to see your doctor. You and Jesus would go and solve that on your own.”
So let’s just be careful about saying everything’s spiritual because we don’t want to drive a wedge in the relationship someone has with God at the very time when they need God the most. A lot of mental health battles come down to us believing some of the lies that Jesus says really come from the pit of hell that say, “I’ll never be loved. I’ll never be enough. I’ll never be wanted. I’ll never be accepted.”
Breaking The Stigma
Some well-meaning Christians imply that “more prayer” alone fixes everything. But even the Bible’s heroes — David, Elijah, Jeremiah — wrestled with deep despair. Faith and mental health struggles can coexist. Healing often requires a holistic approach.
Following Jesus doesn’t mean we won’t face emotional battles. It means we don’t face them alone.
You Are Not Alone: Relationships Matter More Than You Think
Isolation breeds despair. Authentic relationships breathe life.
Even Jesus, on the night before His crucifixion, longed for His friends to stay near Him in His anguish. If He needed people, so do we.
I can’t overstate this: we need each other. Small groups, Care groups like GriefShare and DivorceCare — these aren’t just nice options; they’re essential lifelines. Technology tries to substitute real connection, but screens will never replace soul-level community.
Powerful Words for Healing: “I’ve Been There Too”
Healing begins when someone shares your burden.
Authenticity breaks the cycle of shame.
Real relationships are the antidote to isolation.
We heal when we hear, “You’re not alone. I’ve walked this road too.”
If you’ve ever felt like no one could understand your pain, trust me — someone at Eastside has been there too.
Honesty Is the First Step Toward Healing
Pretending you’re fine only multiplies the burden.
Healing starts with honesty with saying, “I’m not okay.” Jesus came not for the perfect, but for the broken. He’s the doctor for our souls. And He already sees you — loves you — right where you are.
You don’t have to keep handing out roses to cover up your weeds. You can drop the mask. You can start healing.
Admitting our struggles isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a doorway to strength. It’s the first step toward the life of freedom and peace Jesus wants for you.
It’s Safe to Say “I’m Not Okay” Here
At Eastside, we’re not a museum for perfect people. We’re a hospital for the wounded. A community of wounded healers finding our hope in Jesus.
If you’re struggling today, you don’t have to hide.
You are safe here.
You are loved here.
Jesus — the healer of souls — is here, ready to meet you right in the middle of your mess.
You are not alone.
You are seen.
You are loved.
And there is hope for your garden to bloom again.
Friend, don’t give up. The Gardener who made you has never stopped loving you. He’s planting seeds of hope even now.
Our team has compiled some of the most challenging, difficult, controversial, frequently asked questions we get about faith and Christianity as it relates to life, morality, current events, the end of the world, sexuality, and more. Week by week we’ll unpack seven of these questions in ways that I think you’ll find fascinating and informative. These questions are often the roadblocks for people when it comes to faith and Christianity. We’ve even titled the final week of the series, the subject you thought we would skip and not have the courage to address. You can check out all the messages at eastside.com/you-asked-for-it.
Author: Gene Appel
Eastside Christian Church
Anaheim, CA
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