Anxiety, spiritual resilience, and learning to listen closer to God
(Featuring my interview with Brett Blanks, author of Listen Closer)*
March 11, 2026 will mark the sixth anniversary of the day the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Around that same time, many U.S. states began implementing closures of schools, restaurants, and other public places.
It’s surreal to think it’s been almost six years.
And yes, we may be officially on the other side of the chaos those months—those years—created. But truth be told, the effects of what the pandemic did to the world still linger.
My podcast, God-Sized Stories, launched in February of 2022, just as the world was beginning to crawl back toward something resembling “normal.” As I started interviewing my guests—bestselling Christian authors, psychologists, theologians—a constant theme seemed to permeate our conversations. As the world awakened from its pandemic daze, the side effects and scars became impossible to ignore.
I spoke with therapists who had decades of experience and suddenly found their offices—virtual and in-person—flooded with children and teenagers suffering from extreme anxiety, fear, and depression.
Seasoned pastors shared stories of deep discouragement and fear among church leaders across the country. Some churches never reopened their doors after the pandemic. Giving fell to historic lows. Many pastors quietly wondered if they could—or should—continue.
And as the world stumbled back to its feet, shaped by social-media-driven misinformation and plastic realities, new fears and unprecedented insecurities gripped the hearts of many.
The COVID-19 pandemic ended.
But new pandemics began.
The Fear Pandemic.
The Loneliness Pandemic.
The Anxiety Pandemic.
The Depression Pandemic.
I would love to say these insidious plagues remain outside the walls of the Church.
But oh—we know better. Again and again, my guests reminded me that the research data includes the Church. God’s people are hurting. Those He died to save—not only from hell, but from the tentacles that imprison humanity—are not immune to these pandemics.
The good news?
The Good News.
Yahweh—the Great I AM, the Covenant-Keeping God, Jesus, the incarnate Son—knows. And He shares in the suffering of His people.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin.”
—Hebrews 4:15
This truth gives me great peace.
We do not serve a God who is distant from suffering or unfamiliar with temptation. At the heart of the book of Hebrews is a clear message: Jesus is the sinless Redeemer who was fully tempted, fully tested, and fully obedient. He suffered not only to redeem us—but to become our eternal High Priest. One who understands. One who intercedes. One who stands with us in our weakness.
But there is even better news.
This sympathetic High Priest does not merely understand our suffering—He is with us in it.
He never leaves us.
He never forsakes us.
We may not feel His nearness when the fire burns hottest. Our hearts may question His presence when our eyes cannot see it. But our doubt does not diminish His truth. Jesus is with us in the trial. And His mercy, love, and grace remain the only time-tested, eternal protocol against the viruses that threaten the health of your soul.
So—how do we live this out?
We do what Paul teaches in Ephesians 6:10–18.
We put on the armor.
We deliberately choose—daily—to pick up each piece of spiritual defense:
The helmet of salvation, reminding us who we belong to.
The belt of truth, securing us against deception and lies.
The breastplate of righteousness, guarding our hearts from accusation and temptation.
The sandals of the gospel of peace, guiding our steps and stabilizing us against the schemes of the enemy.
And then—we take up the only offensive weapon: The Word of God.
Paul calls it machaira(in the original Greek). My English bible calls it a “sword.” But I’ve studied it. It’s not just any sword. The Machaira was the most lethal weapon against Rome’s enemies. And our Machaira is the deadliest weapon against the enemy of your soul.
You hold it.
You speak it.
You lift it high—above feelings, fear, and deception.
And then you stand. You stand on the Rock— the Rock no pandemic can shake, no fear can undo, no darkness can overcome.
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
I interviewed the lovely Brendt Blanks for my podcast. Brendt is a woman who knows how to stand on the truth of God’s Word. And she wrote a beautiful devotional. “Listen Closer” is a 31-day devotional designed to help women replace the world’s lies—and the internal narratives shaped by pain, anxiety, and fear—with God’s truth.
- Connect with Brendt: https://shegaveitago.com/
- Purchase Listen Closer: https://amzn.to/46gPVqj
- Enter our giveaway for a copy of Listen Closer at the bottom of this post.
