At some point in our lives, we are likely to experience a crippling sense of anxiety. The statistics speak for themselves — according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, roughly 40 million American adults a year will suffer from an anxiety disorder. It is a serious issue that continues to plague the lives of believers and non-believers alike.
At a recent Q&A session in Knoxville, Tennessee, Christian singer-songwriter Lauren Daigle opened up about her own mental health struggles and talked candidly about how her faith helps her manage often crippling anxiety. Responding to a question posed by a young fan about how to effectively deal with anxiety, the successful recording artist talked freely of her faith in the Lord and how this acts as a healing balm during times of emotional strife.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m an anxious person, until anxiety comes,” Daigle explained at the Look Up Child Tour event March 14. “It happens a lot.”
“There are times when it’s like ‘this isn’t me!'” she said.
One day, however, Daigle felt something shift dramatically in her battle against anxious thoughts and feelings. The breakthrough came, she said, when a close friend recited a quote taken straight from Scripture: “Perfect love casts out all fear.” — 1 John 4:18.
“I listened to that over and over again,” Daigle said of the famous verse.
“I know someone who loves me beyond my wildest dreams,” she said. “He has a love that is so rich for me. He’s actually looking out for yesterday, today and tomorrow.”
“So, even now, as an adult when more anxiety has been added to my life, I have to say ‘OK God, I want to know what you see for tomorrow. Can you come and give me that peace, so that I can rest tonight? I might have fear here, but If I really believe in that perfect love, I can push that aside,'” the “Peace Be Still” singer declared.
Daigle even offered a recent example of a spike in her anxiety levels.
“Last night, I just started crying out of nowhere. I realized it was anxiety,” she shared.
Coming to the end of a successful tour, the singer was apprehensive about what was next.
“I was anxious about coming off the road and going into a different pace of life,” she said.
Speaking to the young fan directly, Daigle continued: “It might be going to school and facing people who are unkind,” she said as an example of a fear-inducing situation. But in her own experience of angst and worry, the award-winning singer explained that, “God saw me through every single day, and his love was always available.” And she encouraged the God could do the exact same thing for this brave youngster.
“He was always looking out for me in places that I could not see,” Daigle continued, personally addressing the young girl in the crowd. “That’s what I focus on — your love is better than me trying to control tomorrow. Your love is better and will have my back better than I have my own.”
Many of Daigle’s songs are reminiscent of a psalmist’s lament, candidly addressing issues of suffering and emotional torment:
“Where are You now
When all I feel is doubt?
Oh, where are You now
When I can’t figure it out?” goes Lauren’s hit song “Look Up Child.”
“I hear You say
‘Look up child.’
You’re not threatened by the war
You’re not shaken by the storm
I know You’re in control
Even in our suffering
Even when it can’t be seen
I know You’re in control”