The Ever Mercy Journal

What we may need to rethink about anxiety, faith, and getting help Have you ever been anxious…and then started feeling bad because you were anxious? So now your mind is racing, your body is tense, and you’re wondering if God is disappointed in you. Because surely, if you trusted Him enough, you would feel peaceful…right? Maybe you prayed. Maybe you opened your Bible. Maybe you played worship music and tried to focus on the words. Why am I still feeling like this? Is my faith not strong enough? Am I doing something wrong? Feeling anxious does not automatically mean your faith is failing. But before we correct some of the beliefs that can make anxiety feel even heavier, we need to understand something important: not all anxiety is the same.

Gentle note: This letter discusses suicide, self-harm, and mental-health treatment. Please take care of yourself as you read. I love the Church. It is where I worship, serve, find community, and continue growing in my relationship with God. And because I love the Church, I believe we have to be willing to talk about the hard things too. Including suicide. Sometimes we simply don't know what to say when someone tells us they're struggling. So, with the best intentions, we reach for the spiritual answers we know.

Sometimes faith gets presented as though the goal is to feel the "right" things. Peace instead of anxiety. Gratitude instead of disappointment. Joy instead of sadness. Confidence instead of fear. And when a harder emotion shows up anyway, it can leave us wondering whether something has gone wrong spiritually. Maybe I should pray more. Maybe I should trust God more. Maybe I shouldn't feel this way. But what if faithfulness does not require us to stop having feelings? What if faith and feelings were never meant to compete for space? Emotional honesty does not have to threaten our faith. In fact, Scripture gives us a surprisingly honest picture of what it looks like to experience difficult emotions while remaining deeply connected to God.

Ever Mercy has always been about more than quick encouragement. Sometimes we need one sentence that meets us in the middle of a hard day. Other times, we need room to stay with a question long enough to understand what it’s asking of us. The Ever Mercy Journal is for those longer conversations. This is a place where faith and mental wellness can sit at the same table—without pretending either one makes life simple.