Author and speaker Kristen Clark, co-founder of GirlDefined Ministries, says that when we’re feeling anxious or depressed, we need to look at the root cause. Upon reflection, Clark realized her dissatisfaction in life after struggling with infertility came from not fully putting her hope in God.
“If we don’t get to the root, we’re so often just going to be putting Band-Aids on our problems … but we’re not drilling down to, ‘OK, I feel this way. I’m reacting this way. I’m thinking this way. So what’s going on in my heart? Why am I acting this way?'” Clark says. “And I know with my own journey of infertility that I’m still on, I still don’t know what’s to come down the road.
“I have had to so often look at my heart because I’ll have days where I wake up and I see so-and-so got pregnant or so-and-so just had their second baby and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so behind.’ So I start feeling depressed … And I mean, it’s hard to be happy and rejoice. … As I look at my heart, I see, you know what, my hope isn’t actually in the Lord right now. … [But] I know from looking at Scripture, and I’ve told myself these truths, that true satisfaction doesn’t come from our circumstances changing.”
Trusting in the Lord is key to getting through the trials that will inevitably come in this life, Clark explains on the Charisma News podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network. Though this is not always the cause of mental illness, we do need to ask ourselves: Could it be that I’m not believing the truth of God’s Word about Him being my ultimate Comforter? Is Jesus’ presence what we long for most?
“The Lord worked in my heart and just drew me to Himself during that time, and reminded me that I can trust Him with His plan for me; I can trust that He is good,” Clark says. “And even though what’s happening is so hard and isn’t necessarily good, in the sense [that] it’s part of the fall, I can trust that God is going to strengthen me and give me peace if I look to Him.”
To listen to more of Clark’s story and encouraging advice on getting through hard times, click here for the entire episode.
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