Comedian Anjelah Johnson and former football player J.B. Copeland have an important message about choosing the familiar over the unknown.
“A lot of times, we choose the familiar hell,” Copeland said while appearing on Johnson’s “Funjelah” podcast. “And that’s what I had done. And sometimes, I still do choose, you know — that uncomfortability is something that we don’t want, but sometimes heaven is on the other side of unfamiliar, and it’s on the other side of us learning how to walk with ourselves, and walk with the people around us to get to that place, even though it’s very uncomfortable.”
Johnson agreed, saying she often finds herself “choosing the comfort” of familiar discomfort.
“It’s uncomfortable. I know it’s going to be uncomfortable, but I know it,” she said. “So there’s that sense of control coming back…at least I know.”
Related: Here’s What Faith Over Fear Really Looks Like
The comedian added, “It’s those unknowns that’ll just dig you into that dark hole.”
Copeland replied, “I think what I’ve learned over the years…[is that] it’s almost impossible to have faith in the midst of familiar. I think faith is only — can only be exercised in the midst of uncertainty and unknown.”
Copeland has been open about his struggles with mental health and addiction to prescription painkillers.
“It was kind of a thing we were all doing, but for me, there was a deeper thing in me that was like, ‘I need this to feel okay.’ And it just got worse and worse,” he told PEOPLE. “I didn’t know how to get help or what that looked like. I was used to just saying a prayer and hoping that this thing would be taken from me. There is power in prayer, but at the end of the day, there also is more power when it comes to addiction and actually getting therapy and taking care of it.”
Eventually, Copeland told his wife about his struggles and entered rehab. Today, he is sober and sharing his story, encouraging others to seek help; whether it’s for substance abuse issues, or other mental health challenges.
“If you’re a man, there’s another man out there you can be completely honest with. When you bring that level of honesty to a relationship, the only option you have is to grow,” he told Muscle & Fitness. “We need accountability, and we can’t have it when we hold secrets. So, get things off your chest. What you’re feeling, struggling with, and thinking, is important. The truth will set you free.”
Copeland’s words are an important reminder that we have to prioritize faith over fear — and be unafraid to ask for help when we need it most.
Read Next: 10 Pastors and Christian Leaders Who Are Preaching Faith Over Fear Right Now
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