You say God, I say I’m drowning.

Last Updated on July 24, 2025 by Pen Pixel

You ever prayed so hard your tongue got tired but your brain kept screaming?

You ever cried in tongues but still felt hollow?

Have you ever quoted “faith without works is dead” but felt like you were the dead one?

Yeah. Me too. And sometimes, God feels far. And that hurts like hell.

It’s not because I don’t believe. It’s not because I stopped going to church. It’s not because I’m faithless.

It’s because I’m human. And humans get tired.

The Key Takeaway.

Faith doesn’t always look like fire. Sometimes, it’s crawling through fog with your eyes closed, screaming “Are you still there?” and still showing up the next day.

Mental health doesn’t always fit into Bible verses. And that’s okay.

You see, there’s this weird, unspoken rule in church spaces that says “if your mind is broken, your faith is weak.”

Lemme just call BULLSH*T. (Okay sorry… bullpoop for the church girls 👀)

• Mental illness isn’t rebellion.
• Anxiety isn’t a demon.
• Depression isn’t a spiritual attack every time.
• Panic isn’t a sign you need deliverance.
• And therapy? It’s not anti-Jesus.

Listen,

• You can love God and still need help.
• You can speak in tongues and still feel empty.
• And you absolutely can worship with all your chest and still go home and cry on the bathroom floor.

Those two realities? They can live in the same body. You can believe and break.

FAITH-BASED MENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES & SUPPORT.

I’m not writing this to convince anyone that “God is enough.” We already know that. We’ve heard it.

But what happens when your mind won’t listen to what your mouth is saying?

What happens when your faith feels too small to carry the weight of your sadness?

• What happens when scriptures don’t “hit” anymore?
• When Psalm 23 feels like just… words?

Let’s go there.

“God is my therapist” is not a personality type.

• It’s okay to believe in divine healing and book an appointment with a counselor.

• It’s okay to take antidepressants and still pray before bed.

• It is okay to say, “God, I trust You… but I’m also drowning.”

People act like getting help outside the church is betrayal. But I call it stewardship.

Imagine if Jesus healed the blind man by telling him, “Just have more faith.”

No. He did something.

Touched. Spat. Sent him to wash. Faith with action. That’s the model.

So why do we guilt people into silence when their brains are sick? Why do we shame Christians for not being “happy” 24/7?

You wanna know the truth?

Half the strongest people in the Bible were lowkey depressed as hell.

• Elijah LITERALLY begged God to kill him. (1 Kings 19:4)
• David was always crying in caves.
• Job cursed the day he was born.
• Even Jesus… SWEATED BLOOD from stress.

But somehow, we’ve turned church into a performance where no one’s allowed to limp.

“Just pray about it” is not a mental health plan.

That phrase has probably sent more people into quiet suffering than we’ll ever admit.

We don’t need more prayer warriors. We need safe spaces.

Prayer is powerful, yes. But so is honesty. So is community,so is a support group and so is crying without someone slapping a verse on your pain like a bandaid over a bullet wound.

Sometimes, the most spiritual thing you can do is say,

“I need help. I can’t carry this alone.”

Some things church didn’t teach us about our minds:

• Not every low mood is demonic. Some of it is trauma. Some of it is brain chemistry. Some of it is burnout disguised as spiritual dryness.

• You don’t have to be “happy” to be holy. You can be holy and have mood swings. You can be holy and want to disappear sometimes. God doesn’t kick you out when your joy fails.

• Healing is not linear. You don’t get prayed for once and suddenly become whole. It’s often messy, slow, and invisible.

• God uses doctors too. Your pastor can’t replace a therapist. Your cell group can’t diagnose bipolar disorder. Let’s stop expecting spiritual leaders to fix things they were never trained for.

Let’s talk about crying. Real crying.

• The type you do in your room after shouting “amen” in church.
• The type where your nose is running, chest is tight, and you’re angry at God for not fixing it yet.

You ever feel like everyone else’s faith is working but yours? Like you’re the only one who keeps breaking?

Yeah.

Faith doesn’t always feel like light. Sometimes it’s just not quitting. And sometimes it’s whispering “I still believe” while you’re lying on the floor… again.

So what does real, faith-based support look like?

• Someone saying “You’re not crazy. And you’re not alone.”
• A leader who says, “Try this therapist, they helped me too.”
• A sermon that includes: “If you’re depressed, please seek professional help.”
• A friend who doesn’t try to fix you but sits in the dark with you.
• Church groups that teach emotional intelligence, not just prayer points.
• A prayer line that doesn’t feel like a confession booth.
• Pastors who go to therapy too.

Support should feel like oxygen. Not like another spiritual exam you’re failing.

“My faith isn’t working.”

Yes, it is. You’re still here, aren’t you?

You may feel broken. But broken things still belong to God.

• You may not be clapping during worship. But you came. That’s faith.
• You may not be shouting hallelujah. But you’re breathing. That’s faith.
• And you may not feel happy. But you’re holding on. That’s faith.

And sometimes, God is not looking for fireworks. He’s just looking for breath. One more breath.

Your mental health is not an enemy of your faith. And your faith is not a cure-all for your brain. It’s not either-or. It’s both. You can have Jesus and a therapist. It doesn’t mean your faith is fake, it just means your pain is real. And God? He’s big enough to hold both.