Juanda GreenThere’s a fine line between personal responsibility and knowing when you need help. Many of us have stood on that line—sometimes for years—unsure whether we’re supposed to push through, pray harder, or finally reach out. If that’s where you are, let me speak to you with the love and clarity of someone who’s been there and walked with many others who have.
Let me say it plainly: You don’t have to choose between faith and help. And you don’t have to carry the weight alone.
The Myth of “Just Try Harder”
Our culture—and sometimes our churches—have taught us that if we just “do better,” things will get better. Read your Bible more. Pray more. Stay positive. And while all of those are beautiful spiritual disciplines, they are not always enough when we’re dealing with mental health issues, trauma, or even spiritual oppression.
Yes, you can be prayerful and still be overwhelmed.
Yes, you can have strong faith and still feel anxious or depressed.
Yes, you can be a leader and still be breaking inside.
Trying harder doesn’t heal wounds. And faith was never meant to be a substitute for help—it was meant to guide us to it.
When Personal Responsibility Becomes a Prison
There’s a holy strength in learning how to take responsibility for your emotions, your relationships, your mindset. But too often, people get stuck there. We end up blaming ourselves for not being “strong enough” or “spiritual enough” to fix what’s broken. We confuse shame for humility. And that confusion can lead to silence, isolation, and untreated suffering.
I’ve sat with too many people who thought they were failures because they were still struggling—after years of trying to “fix it” on their own. That’s not failure. That’s the body crying out for help. That’s the soul asking for deeper healing.
Deliverance and Therapy: A Holy Partnership
As someone who has served both in deliverance ministry and as a licensed marriage and family therapist, I know that healing is rarely one-dimensional. Some people need prayer and worship. Others need trauma-informed therapy. Many need both. I’ve witnessed spiritual deliverance break the power of darkness—and I’ve also seen therapy teach the skills to live in that freedom.
I now believe that God is calling us to a new way—one that embraces supernatural and natural healing. Not a tug-of-war between church and counseling, but a partnership rooted in love, wisdom, and discernment.
How Do You Know When It’s Time to Get Help?
If you’re wondering, it may already be time. But here are some signs:
- Your emotional pain keeps cycling, no matter how much you pray or try.
- You feel numb, hopeless, or exhausted all the time.
- People you love have told you they’re concerned.
- You have trouble managing daily tasks, emotions, or relationships.
- You’re experiencing disturbing thoughts or behaviors that feel out of control.
Please hear me: there is no shame in needing help. You can be strong and in need. You can have faith and seek therapy. You can be walking with God and be working on your healing with a professional.
An Invitation to Wholeness
Shalom is more than peace—it’s wholeness. And wholeness is what I want for you.
If you’re reading this and struggling, I want to encourage you to take the next step. That might be opening up to a trusted friend or pastor. It might be finding a licensed Christian therapist. It might be asking God to reveal where healing still needs to happen—in your mind, in your memories, in your relationships.
Don’t wait until the pain is unbearable. Don’t wait until the wound becomes an identity.
Let’s stop forcing people to choose between help and holiness. Let’s embrace the sacred truth that God can heal through prayer, through people, through counseling, through community, through His Spirit and through science.
You don’t have to walk this road alone. Healing is possible—and you’re worthy of it.
With grace and love,
Dr. Juanda L. Green
D.Min., LMFT
Juanda Green
kwbusiness