Don’t Suffer in Silence

“I can never let anyone know that I am battling this. I just need to keep this to myself and just get through it.” That’s what I told myself when my battle with anxiety began. I was full of confusion and fear because never had I faced anything like this before. Secrecy seemed logical, because surely no Christian with a true faith in Jesus could ever battle something like this to such a great extent! This was the lie that I wholeheartedly believed.

This sudden plague of anxiety felt outside of the norm, especially when I was surrounded by other believers whose lives seemed normal, so to speak. I suffered in silence for a while, only disclosing my struggle to my husband- until I could bare it no longer.

God blessed me with sweet moments with dear friends and family members (you know who you are! 💖) who encouraged me with scripture, prayed with me, and encouraged me. I don’t like feeling needy and I like to be a “do it myself” type of person, but this I could not do on my own. Although the storm raged on, God’s hope continued to shine ever so brightly, in spite of its constant brewing, as I began taking in and dwelling on His truth.

Keeping my struggle a secret was the worst thing that I did. Because this struggle was so great , so was my need for help. Isolated, lonely, and discouraged is what this storm and struggle brought me when I tried walking it alone, which is exactly what the enemy wanted me to do.

My disclosure to others helped me to have a knowledge of what I was dealing with and I learned that I was not alone. In fact, there are so many more people out there, brothers and sisters in Christ, that are suffering in silence.

Maybe you can relate…

Whatever your struggle is today, don’t suffer in silence. Don’t succumb to isolation and discouragement. God was so gracious in His formation of the church, in that we belong to a beautiful body of believers where we can encourage one another and build each other up! These loved ones in my life served as voices of truth that I so desperately needed to hear when finding my way was difficult to near impossible. Find someone that you know that will speak God’s truth to you, and watch God begin shining His hope into your life ever so brightly! He is faithful to do it!