You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

—Psalm 56:8-11

Let’s talk about anxiety and depression—two of the most common struggles with mental health in our world today. Last week we saw how God cared for Elijah in his depression, but Elijah is not the only important figure in the Bible who struggled with anxiety or depression. Today we’re going to look at David, the most celebrated king in Israel’s history.

David lived a difficult life. He was persecuted by Saul, he was captured by the Philistines, he was relegated, at one point, to pretending to be insane in order to save his life, he was exiled to the wilderness, he lost his best friend and later he lost his son. He went through a lot, and when we look at the Psalms he wrote, it’s not particularly hard to see his pain. 

Psalm 56, for example, was written when he had been captured by the Philistines, and several times in the psalm, David describes how his enemies are threatening him. According to the psalm, he is threatened and pursued all day long with no break or rest, and as any of us would be, he was afraid (verse 3).

The idea of King David struggling with anxiety might seem a bit strange. He was a man after God’s own heart. He was a man of faith, mentioned in Hebrews 11. How can someone have faith and still struggle with anxiety? 

For those of us familiar with the church that might seem impossible because it’s not uncommon to hear a sermon on how we are told in the Bible not to worry, but to take everything to God in prayer. If someone is struggling with anxiety, therefore, it seems like their problem is just a lack of faith. They just need to pray more and trust God more and then the feeling of anxiety will go away, right? Not quite.

There is a degree to which anxiety or worry can indicate a lack of faith, but it is important for the church to understand that struggling with anxiety, especially at the clinical level, is not necessarily a sin or a sign of a lack of faith. When we don’t keep this in mind, we risk heaping shame and guilt on someone whose struggle is caused by a physical malfunction of the brain.

David struggled, but that did not disqualify him from having a nearly unprecedented relationship with God. In verse 8, he talks about his struggles—the tossings and tears that God has paid careful attention to, not letting any escape His notice. These aren’t isolated incidents, but God is still relationally close, watching over David. 

So how do we know if our anxiety is a sign that we need to bolster our faith or a sign that we might need to seek help from a pastor or mental health professional? I think the key is verse nine. In verse eight, David focuses on all his pain and struggle, but he doesn’t stay there. Immediately after verse eight, he shifts his focus back to God. 

The last half of verse nine is particularly interesting. The first half of the verse expresses David’s hope for salvation from his enemies, but he ends the verse with the declaration, “This I know, that God is for me.”

The word translated know doesn’t just refer to someone having a fact memorized or understanding a certain concept. It’s a term that carries a connotation of confidence that is developed out of an intimate relationship. It’s a similar kind of knowing as when we experience a strong sense of confidence in a relationship with a spouse or a best friend. 

When things went wrong and a new struggle arose, David turned to God, believing in God’s care and provision. That’s faith. Even if the feeling of anxiety or fear didn’t immediately go away. Even if it lingered for days or weeks while he had to walk through valleys of shadow and death. He still held tight to God rather than the fear itself.

Now I’m going to preface this with a quick reminder that I am not a mental health professional or expert, but when I look at this passage, this is what I see—it’s a matter of what you’re clinging to. 

If we are experiencing anxiety and fear and our focus stays on our fear, I would suggest that we need to work on our faith. Set a regular reminder on your phone to remind you to pray about what’s on your mind. Surround yourself with Scripture that reminds you of God’s sovereignty over your situation. Ask a friend to check on you and remind you to cling to God when the anxiety hits. Be intentional and determined in whatever effort you make.

However, if we are experiencing anxiety and making a conscious, regular effort to cling to God and trust in His care and provision for us, I don’t think the problem is a lack of faith. It would take an extraordinary amount of faith to continue clinging to God even when the fear doesn’t go away. At that point, it might be beneficial to seek help from a pastor or mental health professional, no shame or guilt attached.