Craig Groeschel Shares His Struggle with Anxiety and Points to Biblical Help

For too long, many churches have approached mental health as a faith problem, like if you just prayed more or believed harder, you'd be fine. We haven't always created the space for people to be real about what they're going through. And that has to change because the church should be the most honest and safe place in the world. In fact, the starting point for salvation is admitting you’ve sinned and made a mess of your life and are desperate for a Savior. It’s the one place we should be able, and even encouraged, to talk openly about everything.

I wrote this book for the person who's struggling and doesn't know who to tell. But I also wrote it for the families, friends, and church communities around them who want to help but don't know how. My hope is that this message helps all of us understand that asking for help isn't a sign of weakness. It's a sign of wisdom.

CW: What did the writing process of the book do to you personally?

CG: This was a deeply personal book, and writing it was harder than I expected. What I didn't know when I started is that I would face another painful mental health challenge in the process of writing it. In that time, my dad passed away.

When he died, we were as close as a father and son could possibly be, but what hit me the hardest wasn’t my dad’s death. It was his previous life. Before committing his life to Christ, my dad was an alcoholic. As a child, I didn’t know anything different. Every day after work, he’d pour himself a big glass of Scotch and water, then, after finishing the first one, he’d pour a second. Then a third. Every night he was at home, without exception, my dad got very drunk. What followed were occasional loud and turbulent fights between my mom and dad. In an effort to stop this pattern, my assignment as a six- or seven-year-old kid was to keep my dad’s attention each time he brought home a bottle of Scotch so my mom could water it down.

Thankfully, God has the power to change a life, because my dad truly became one of the greatest men I’ve ever known. He devoted his later years to addiction recovery, prison ministry, and caring for the down and out. With the time he had left, he gave all he had. Then finally, he finished his race and received his heavenly reward.

But when my dad died, even though I knew he had become a new creation, my mind kept flashing back to those early years. As I processed my memories with Dr. C., he told me he was getting deeper insight into the childhood forces that helped shape my adult life. He told me my childhood with my dad created an unusual determination, an uncommon resilience, and an extraordinary drive. But it also seemed to cripple my ability to ask for help or receive help from others.

That’s when Dr. C. told me that to truly move forward, I would have to understand what I needed to heal. So he asked me a question: “What do you need?” That quest became the catalyst for this book. With all my heart, I believe God wants to do a work in us to heal our hurting mind.

CW: What is the path to being healthy mentally and emotionally?

CG: The first thing I'd say is stop assuming mental health and start pursuing it. Too many people, especially in the church, think that because they're saved, mental health should just take care of itself. But just because Jesus saves you doesn't mean He instantly fixes every area of your life.

The path forward starts with honesty. That means being honest with God, honest with yourself, and honest with people you trust. In John 5, Jesus asked a man who had been suffering for 38 years, "Would you like to get well?" That question stopped me in my tracks. Sometimes we get so used to our pain that we stop believing things can be different. The desire to heal and the courage to ask for help is where it starts.

From there, it's not one thing. It's prayer, community, practical strategies, and for some people, professional help. That might mean therapy, medication, better sleep, better habits. None of those things mean your faith isn't strong enough. Dr. C. always says mental health conditions aren't about weakness. They are conditions, like diabetes or high blood pressure, that need proper care.

The goal isn't perfection. It's progress. With God, there's always hope.

CW: Have you struggled with anxiety in the past?

CG: For a long time, I wouldn't have said I struggled with anxiety. But looking back, the signs were there. What I eventually faced didn't happen all at once. It slowly rolled into my life like a dense fog.

At first, my plan for dealing with it was to use one of my favorite coping mechanisms: denial. I would tell myself, “It’s not all that bad. It’s just a really hard season. I can handle this, just like I have before.” But the dread just kept closing in on me like an emotional claustrophobia. I started to realize that maybe it was too much.

I was almost three decades into being a happily married, well-respected pastor with a bunch of well-adjusted kids, but I realized, aside from all those blessings, I was trapped in a dark place. I was terrified and had no idea who I could tell or how to escape my feelings.

I remember yelling at God, asking why he allowed this to happen to me. I can’t be sure, but I wonder whether part of the reason God allowed me to go through what I did was to be able to share what I learned. Because my experience led me to this book, one I never expected to write.

CW: Can you tell us more about Dr. Wayne Chappelle?

CG: I'll be honest, when I was in that dark season, the last thing I wanted to do was ask for help. But I finally did, and God put an incredible person in my path.

Dr. C. has spent decades doing some of the most high-stakes psychological work you can imagine. He’s prepared military personnel for classified operations, debriefed commanders at the Pentagon, and worked with professional and Olympic athletes on mental toughness. The man has seen some things.

But what makes him unique isn't his résumé. It's that underneath all of that, he's a man of deep faith who genuinely believes God can heal a hurting mind. He became open to using his gifts in a different kind of warfare: spiritual warfare. I was actually the first pastor he counseled. Now he works with dozens of church leaders.

I trust him enough to do something neither of us have ever done before. I waived doctor-patient confidentiality so we could share parts of our actual sessions in this book. He also vetted the entire book from a professional and clinical standpoint, and at the end of each chapter, you'll find his personal response in a section called "Dr. C.'s Reflections." All because I believe what helped me can help you, too.

CW: What Bible verse guided you through the writing process?

CG: There's a verse I keep coming back to. Romans 15:13 says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Dr. C. encouraged me to find a verse that was God's antidote to my negative mindset. In the dark days, my thoughts overflowed with deep feelings of inadequacy. And God directed me to that verse.

I read it over and over and over. I chewed on the meaning of each word. I read it another hundred times. I prayed that verse more than anything else. Sometimes word for word, other times riffing prayers off the words like an improv jazz musician: "May the God of hope. That's right, He is a God of hope. There's always hope, even now.”

With God's help, I changed my thoughts, and it changed my life. I'll be honest, I was at a point where I couldn't believe I could ever change. But meditating on that verse replaced my negative thoughts with God thoughts. Hope and joy and peace and trust started filling me. Little by little, for the first time in years, I felt strong.

I am different today, and it's because of the power of God's Word. That's what I want for every person who picks up this book. Not just information about mental health, but a real encounter with the God of hope who can change your thoughts and change your life.

CW: When you look back at the start of Life Church, is it what you thought it would be?

CG: Honestly? Not even close. And I mean that in the best way possible.

When Amy and I started, we were meeting in a two-car garage with a few dozen people. I was 28 years old, and we were just trying to be faithful with what God put in front of us. I had this secret hope, one I didn't even say out loud. I hoped that maybe, just maybe, someone would give their life to Christ that first Sunday. Just one person. That first weekend, seven people made that decision. Seven. And I was overwhelmed with gratitude.

Now, every single week, we see hundreds of people across our physical locations and Life. Church Online make the decision to follow Jesus. I still can't talk about that without getting emotional.

I never thought about multi-site. I never thought about a Bible App on someone's phone on the other side of the world. None of that was on my radar. But here's what I've learned: when you say yes to God, He can do things you couldn't dream of on your own. That's not a Life. Church story, that's a God story. We’re just working to be faithful to where He’s leading us.

What humbles me most is the people. It’s a generous community that cares for our neighbors. It’s the teenager dragging all their friends to church. It's the person who found hope when they had none. It’s people pointing each other to Jesus. That's why we exist.

CW: What message do you want people to walk away with?

CG: My hope is that every person who reads this knows they aren’t alone, and that God is not distant from their pain. He understands and cares about every part of us, including our mental health. Getting help isn't a lack of faith. It's wisdom. It's how God often does his best work in us. Through community, through counseling, and through His Word.

And when it feels like too much, you can turn to Jesus. Even at this very moment, Jesus is sitting at the right hand of His Father, praying for you. Whatever you're carrying, you don't have to carry it alone. There is hope. And with God, healing is possible.

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Photo Credit: ©Religion News Service/Life.Church

MAINA MWAURA is a freelance writer and journalist who has interviewed over 800 influential leaders, including two US Presidents, three Vice-Presidents, and a variety of others. Maina, is also the author of the Influential Mentor, How the life and legacy of Howard Hendricks Equipped and Inspired a Generation of Leaders. Maina and his family reside in the Kennesaw, Georgia area.