Winning the War in Your Mind P2
Does God Care About My Mind | Gareth Nicholson | 27 September 2026
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Are we facing a mental health crisis?
What role is AI playing here?!
We've seen the effects of social media on anxiety and loneliness...
Technology is arguably neutral, but how we use it matters!
The World Health Organization estimates that nearly one in seven people globally live with a mental disorder.
South Africa’s National Mental Health Policy Framework 2023–2030 cites an estimate that 15.9% of South Africans experienced a mental or substance-use disorder in the previous 12 months.
The care gap is massive. Estimates differ by population and method, but the South African Stress and Health study estimated a treatment gap of approximately 75% for common mental disorders. A later costing study estimated a gap of 91% among people unable to afford private healthcare.
According to one illustrative care model, everyone has hurts, hang-ups, and habits and needs some healing.
5-8% of people require professional care
30% of people require structured support
The rest require a safe place to process the ordinary stresses of life - washing those dirty dishes before they pile up and fall over with a crash!
The Church can and should become a safe community where people are noticed, welcomed, listened to, prayed for, referred wisely, and not abandoned. Washing dishes!
Proverbs 24:10 (CSB) "If you do nothing in a difficult time, your strength is limited."
It's time to DO SOMETHING! We are going to build a framework to help people get the help they need, where we can, through training and equipping those who have a heart to help.
“Does God care about my mind?”
Yes, God cares about your mind because God cares about you! He cares about your thoughts, emotions, body, relationships, work, choices, habits, private life, and public life. Mental health is not a separate compartment from spiritual life.
Psalm 23:3 says, “He refreshes my soul.” The Hebrew idea of soul (nephesh) speaks of the whole living person (mind, will, intellect, emotions, body)
Paul prays in 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless…”
In the Greek:
Spirit - pneuma - the eternal part
Soul - psyche - the mind/will/emotions
Body - soma - physical body
In the Old Testament, New Testament, and TODAY, God is restoring, renewing, and rebuilding!
Here are four invitations to push through:
Matthew 11:28–30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me… and you will find rest for your souls.”
1. Push through the NOTICING
When was the last time you stopped to think about what you are thinking about?
Some things we notice immediately. Other things we overlook because we are not paying attention, because they feel normal, or because we would rather not dig into them.
Truth: We cannot change what we refuse to confront.
You can choose to ignore warning signs for a while... but when the pressure comes, the pain follows.
Ask:
What am I feeling?
What thoughts keep returning?
What is happening in my body?
What situations trigger a strong reaction?
What am I trying not to notice?
Have I started calling something “normal” simply because it has been present for a long time?
The prayer of examen is a helpful practice to NOTICE - each evening before you go to sleep, ask these questions:
Where did I experience life, connection, or grace today?
Where did I feel drained, afraid, reactive, or disconnected?
What thoughts, emotions, and body signals did I notice?
What do I need to bring honestly to God or another person?
What is one small faithful step for tomorrow?
2. Push through the BRINGING
This is hard.
Noticing is not enough if we continue to carry everything alone.
Bring what you notice to God, and bring it to safe people, not just to A.I.!
Struggling does not equal weak faith. David, Elijah, Jeremiah, and Jesus all show us that wrestling and faith can and do coexist!
Freedom and healing are not the absence of a struggle. Freedom and healing the struggle in the presence of God, trusted people, and the right support.
3. Push through the RENEWING
Renewal is hard!
Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” A yoke represents a way of learning and living under a Rabbi.
Our lives often follow the direction of our strongest repeated thoughts, like ruts in a road
Breaking free of the ruts and finding a new path.
Romans 12:2 says: “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Renewal takes time. It takes partnering with teh Holy Spirit.
Common Lies:
“I am alone.”
“I am powerless.”
“I am unlovable.”
“I must carry everything myself.”
“If I ask for help, people will reject me.”
The process of renewal involes interrogating lies and replacing them with truth
What is the lie I am believing?
What is true in the light of Scripture?
What would it look like to practise that truth today?
Who can help me test my interpretation honestly?
Healing may involve Scripture and prayer, wise pastoral or clinical help, medication, sleep, friendship, practical boundaries and community. It is not “prayer or professional help.” It may be several channels together; not every pathway is right for every person.
4. Push through the LIVING
Matthew 11:29–30 in The Message says: “Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace… Keep company with me, and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
The goal is not to become someone who never struggles. It is to learn a different way of carrying life with honest dependence, healthy boundaries, mutual care and wise action.
To live in the way of Jesus is to act from identity, values, mission and wisdom rather than compulsion, fear or reactivity. It is to practise what we are learning in ordinary relationships, work, rest, prayer and community.
What might God be asking you to notice today?
What might God be asking you to bring today, to him, to a person?
Where might God be wanting to do some renewal work in you today?
Where might God be inviting you to live differently today?
Life Group discussion questions
What makes it easier or harder for people to speak honestly about their mental and emotional health in Christian communities?
Which is easiest for you to notice: your thoughts, emotions, body signals, or behaviour? Which is easiest to ignore?
What is the difference between listening, fixing, and rescuing?
Which lie “I am alone”, “I am powerless”, “I am unlovable,” or “I must carry everything” do you struggle with the most?
How can prayer, Scripture, professional help, and community work together without one replacing the others?
Try the first three questions of the examen together. What might we learn by reviewing a day prayerfully rather than critically?
References
World Health Organization: Mental health — global context and definitions.
South Africa: National Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Plan 2023–2030 — local policy context and the 15.9% estimate cited above.
Treatment-gap figures vary by population, definition and method. The figures used here should not be collapsed into one universal claim;
Helpful Resources
Dr Andy Yarborough — The Well Clinic
Dr Andy’s free resources include practical tools for emotional awareness, self-leadership and wholistic self-care. Particularly helpful are the Awareness Journal, Emotion and Parts Mapping, Holy Listening, and Rhythms of Wholistic Self-Care and Leadership.
Craig Groeschel
Winning the War in Your Mind — practical help for identifying destructive thought patterns and renewing the mind.
Heal Your Hurting Mind: Biblical Hope for Anxiety, Depression, Burnout, and the Emotions No One Talks About - with Dr Wayne Chappelle — Groeschel shares his own experience of anxiety and burnout alongside practical psychological tools and biblical hope. It is especially relevant to this series because it brings together faith, mental health, and professional wisdom.
Brené Brown
Atlas of the Heart — a helpful guide to understanding and naming our emotions, developing emotional language, and building deeper connections.
Peter Scazzero
Emotionally Healthy Spirituality - A helpful guide to integrating emotional maturity with Christian discipleship.
The Emotionally Healthy Leader - Particularly useful for leaders navigating stress, boundaries and sustainable service.
These resources are intended for reflection, growth, and conversation. They are not substitutes for professional counselling, medical care, or crisis support when you need them.
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