Probably being the other side of three score years and ten has something to do with it, but I notice that anxiety levels (mine) can fluctuate.

Which is to say the imaginative graph that traces the lower valleys of calm, and follows to the upper spikes of anxiety, sometimes looks like a seismograph during an earthquake. I wonder why?

One theory that is emerging is that singular issues are prone to dominate. That reading the news or watching images introduces into the mind, unwelcome and intrusive stress. A person, even on the other side of the globe, says something, tweets something, and I want to tell them they are wrong and dangerous. An image is on my TV screen and I want to speak with the people involved, to challenge their brutality.

But it can just be someone driving the wrong way in a car park.

I began, on reflection, to acknowledge that it was my choice to allow singular issues to take over my mind – which brings us to the mental health aspect.

Perspective is one word that reminds me that there is much more going on in this world than the items that hit the news headlines. There are people saying and doing constructive and helpful things, even loving and gentle things. There are beautiful things, wondrous things, even redemptive things – which brings us to the Bible aspect.

Having studied books of the Bible, preached from it, and having read it all, I begin to realise that God is saying: individuals are important, single issues are important, but that a great story is being written that is over and above, and in and through it all. I suspect for example, that one of the reasons there is prophecy included, that there are those mysterious apocalyptic writings, is to underscore that there is more going on than the little bit that I can see or hear.

And I suspect that my Heavenly Father is even interested in my mental health – perhaps that is why the word “peace” occurs about 250 times in the Bible.

One of those is in these words from Jesus:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”    John 16:33