why young people are missing what the bible can really do for their mental health

 I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the younger ones...

My grandkids, their friends, the women in their twenties who sit across from me at Bible study with their oat milk lattes and open notebooks. They’re thoughtful. Deep feelers. They care about the world. And I love that about them.

But I also see the ache behind their smiles. The way their shoulders stay tense. The tired in their eyes, even when they’re young.

They are so full of questions. About God. About themselves. About what’s real and what’s worth holding on to. And I just want to gather them all up sometimes and say,
You don’t have to figure this out alone.

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I think what breaks my heart the most is how many young people are missing the Bible... not because they’re lazy, or careless, or don’t love God — but because they’ve never been shown how alive it still is.

Somewhere along the line, the Bible got treated like a rulebook. Or a dusty old manual. Or a history lesson with maps and kings and not much comfort.

But that’s not what it is.

It’s a lifeline. It’s bread when your soul is starving. It’s a steady hand when everything around you feels like it’s cracking apart.

The world is loud right now. Loud and fast and constantly asking more of you — more productivity, more vulnerability, more content, more opinions.

And I see how that affects your mind.

So many young people I talk to are anxious. Tired. Disconnected. Not because they’re doing anything wrong... but because the world is exhausting. And the pressure to keep up with it all? It’s crushing.

That’s why I wish I could hand them the Psalms like a handwritten note that says:
Here. This is where you go when your mind won’t stop racing.

Or I’d open up Ecclesiastes and say:
See? Even the wisest man in Scripture had days where nothing made sense.

Or I'd point to Jesus walking alone, praying through grief and fear, and whisper:
He gets it. He really does.

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Mental health isn’t a modern issue. It’s just something we’re finally brave enough to name.

And the Bible doesn’t ignore it.

There are people in Scripture who wrestled with sorrow, isolation, anger, confusion. Elijah asked God to take his life. David soaked his bed with tears. Job sat in ashes when the world fell apart.

And God never looked away.

He stayed.

That’s what I wish young people could see... not a holy book that’s too big to understand, but a holy presence woven into every page. A God who meets us in our fear, in our restlessness, in our scrolling, spiraling, sleepless nights.

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So if you’re young, and you’ve been walking around with questions and heavy thoughts and a Bible you haven’t touched in a while...

You’re not too late.

You don’t need to know Greek or have a perfect routine. You just need to open it... and give God a little space to speak.

Start with Psalms. Or John. Or anywhere, really. Just start.

You don’t need to be good at faith. You just need to be hungry for something real.

And if nobody ever told you this, let me be the first:
The Bible isn’t here to make you feel small. It’s here to remind you that you’re seen.

Always.