Does your anxiety mean you’re failing as a Christian? Is God disappointed in you because your heart races, your mind spins, and you can’t seem to calm down?

In this compassionate and powerful episode of From Guilt to Grace, host Andy Choate tackles one of the most painful and persistent lies many believers face: that anxiety equals spiritual failure. With raw honesty and biblical clarity, Andy explores the difference between having anxiety and responding in faith through it.

Drawing from Philippians 4 and the deeply emotional scene in Gethsemane (Matthew 26), Andy reminds us that even Jesus felt anxious—and still trusted His Father completely. Faith is not the absence of fear, but the choice to seek God through the storm.

In this episode:

• Why quoting “Be anxious for nothing” out of context can do more harm than good
• How Jesus' own sorrow and distress prove that anxiety isn’t a sin
• What it really looks like to exercise faith in the middle of mental health struggles
• Encouragement for the anxious heart: “God sees your trembling and still calls it trust.”

If you’ve ever prayed through panic, worshiped through worry, or walked with God through weakness—this episode is for you.

“Faith isn’t proven by calm feelings—it’s proven by coming to God when everything inside you is shaking.”

This podcast is a spiritual encouragement, not a substitute for licensed mental health care. Please consult a professional for clinical support.

Where’s the Fruit? Trusting the Spirit When Growth Feels Slow

Have you ever looked at Galatians 5 and thought, “If I really have the Holy Spirit… where’s the fruit?” You're not alone.

In this deeply honest episode of From Guilt to Grace, host Andy Choate walks through the quiet spiritual panic that many Christians with mental illness experience when reading about the fruit of the Spirit. With tenderness and Scripture, Andy explores how intrusive thoughts, compulsions, doubt, and depression often distort our view of sanctification—and why spiritual growth isn’t about instant transformation, but long-term, Spirit-led formation.

🔍 Inside this episode:

• Why Galatians 5 can trigger anxiety in believers with OCD, anxiety, or depression
• How Jesus' parable of the sower (Matthew 13) reframes what fruitfulness really looks like
• A reminder that sanctification is a process, not proof of salvation under a microscope
• Practical ways to recognize love, joy, peace, patience (and more) already at work in your life
• A powerful truth: the fruit of the Spirit is not about your perfection—it’s about God’s presence

If you’ve ever felt disqualified from grace because of your struggle, this episode is for you. You are not fruitless—you’re growing, slowly but surely, under the careful hand of the Gardener.

“Don’t confuse slowness with absence. The fruit of the Spirit takes time—and it’s already forming in you.”

This podcast is a spiritual support, not a substitute for clinical care. Please consult a licensed mental health professional for diagnosis or treatment.

Moving Forward When You Feel Stuck

What if your next breakthrough isn’t a giant leap—but just one small step?

In this episode of From Guilt to Grace, host Andy Choate opens up about the paralyzing grip of OCD and the exhausting search for certainty that often keeps us stuck. Through the lens of 2 Corinthians 5:7 — “We walk by faith, not by sight”, Andy explores how perfectionism and fear can stall our spiritual growth, especially when mental illness is in the mix.

This episode is for anyone who:

• Struggles with doubt, fear, or compulsive reassurance-seeking
• Feels stuck in their faith journey because they don’t “feel ready”
• Needs permission to start small
• Wants to move forward even when anxiety screams, “Don’t!”

You’ll walk away with practical encouragement to take just one step of faith, even if it’s messy or uncertain. Andy reminds us that failure isn’t final, grace is abundant, and walking with Jesus isn’t about sprinting—it’s about stepping forward one day at a time.

"Don’t wait for 100% clarity before obeying. Take a step. Let the fruit follow."

This podcast is a spiritual companion—not professional therapy. For mental health care, please consult a licensed provider.

Is God punishing you with anxiety, OCD, depression, or another diagnosis? Host Andy Choate remembers praying, “What did I do wrong?”—until John 9 rewired his thinking. In this follow-up to our debut, Andy walks verse-by-verse through Jesus’ healing of the man born blind and dismantles the age-old lie that illness equals divine retribution.

Inside this episode:

• A personal confession – Andy’s own “please-stop-punishing-me” prayers and how they stalled his walk with Christ.
• John 9 unpacked – Why Jesus’ answer (“Neither this man nor his parents sinned…”) still speaks to every modern diagnosis.
• A mindset flip – Viewing mental illness as an outlet for God’s glory rather than a cage of shame.
• Practical next steps – A simple prayer shift and questions that move you from inward spiraling to outward Kingdom impact.

Whether you’re wrestling with OCD, bipolar disorder, PTSD, or chronic doubt, this episode reminds you: your struggle is not a cosmic slap on the wrist—it’s fertile ground for the works of God to be revealed in and through you.

From Guilt to Grace is a spiritual companion, not professional therapy. For medical or psychological treatment, please consult a licensed provider.

Listen in, breathe deep, and let grace redefine your story.

Welcome to the very first episode of From Guilt to Grace — a mental health podcast for Christians learning to root themselves in the grace of God while navigating mental illness.

In this powerful debut, host Andy Choate shares his personal journey with obsessive-compulsive disorder, including the specific struggle of scrupulosity — a form of religious OCD. Through honest reflection and biblical truth, Andy invites listeners to examine how mental illness can distort our identity and our view of God.

Rather than allowing a diagnosis to define us, this episode helps us recalibrate our “I am” statements through the Word of God. You’ll be led through Scripture-based affirmations that speak louder than shame: I am forgiven. I am loved. I am not alone. I am complete in Christ.

Whether you wrestle with OCD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or any other form of mental struggle, this episode reminds you: your mental illness may shape your experience, but it does not get to name you.

This podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health care. It is a spiritual resource created by a fellow traveler — not a therapist — on the journey from guilt to grace.