I’ve Got Issues
A is for Anxiety
Psalm 23
A Psalm of David

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

Four Actions
1. If you are dealing with excessive anxiety or you think you might be, you need to see a
therapist. HNW offers free counseling to their members. This is a massive blessing and if you
need more help than they can offer they’ll put you in touch with the right people to help you.
If you’re afraid, take someone with you. If you don’t have someone, then ask a staff member
to go with you. But go.
2. Medicine isn’t the enemy. There are a lot pastors who stand on stages and condemn the
medicine people need to treat their anxiety, depression, or other mental illnesses. Listen to
me closely. 100 years ago there was no medical treatment for polio. But now we have a
vaccine to prevent it. I personally celebrate that because it leads to more human flourishing
and whether the inventor of the vaccine was a Christian or not I think it honors Jesus. So
every day when I reach up in my cabinet and get a 20mg pill to take that helps treat anxiety
and keep my blood pressure in check I thank God. Yes, you can be overmedicated, so be
careful, but don’t be foolish. God is honored with people flourish.
3. As a church, we have to handle this better. People who experience mental illness need to
know that they are loved by the community of God. I have a life group back in Plano who
does this exceedingly well. They have removed the stigma around anxiety and depression in
order to love and care for one another through mental illness. They speak about it openly
and in turn nobody feels like they’re walking alone. Listen, people need more freedom to
share their struggles in safe environments. If you have a friend here at HNW who deals with
anxiety, today would be a good day to let them know that you’re in this with them. Join a group!
4. You need to walk through this with Jesus. God has made a way for us to come into right
relationship with Him. Share the Gospel.