Do you feel stuck?
Do you feel like you know the truth but don’t know what to do with it?
Do you feel like there is something other Christians know that you don’t?
Well, you’re not alone.
The Bible is filled with imperfect humans doing their best to follow a perfect God.
That often means they failed, but God never shamed them for this.
God showed them that it wasn’t up to them to be “perfect,” only repentant and faithful.
They needed to turn away from what was against God by turning their hearts towards Him instead.
This is something very difficult to do, I won’t lie to you.
But it’s not difficult because you’re doing something impossible; it’s difficult because you’re doing something against your nature.
Every single person in this world struggles with control, whether they recognize it or not.
But our relationship with God is this: lay your life at His feet and do what He has asked of you.
Both require giving up control of your life and living it for someone who isn’t you.
Our flesh thinks that’s ridiculous, but God says it’s the only way to Life.
So if you were worried that maybe everyone else could do it but you can’t because you don’t know how or think your personality makes it impossible, I assure you that is not the case.
You Are Not Alone
Believe me, I know what it’s like to feel like I’m the one Christian that doesn’t “get it,” that I’m entirely alone in the struggle of being faithful and obedient.
But that isolation and disconnect are lies from the enemy.
Anything that you have experienced in your life, and especially with your walk with God, may be unique to you in experience but not in feeling.
If you think that you alone have felt spiritual apathy or dryness, seasons of intense loneliness or depression, have felt like God has abandoned you, or that you must be doing something wrong?
Then I’m happy to announce you are mistaken.
Here is what the Bible shows us instead:
- The prophet Elijah was depressed.
- David thought God had abandoned him.
- Paul felt the struggle between being faithful and being in his flesh.
- Moses felt lost and confused.
- Rachel felt like she was being punished by not being able to conceive.
- Hagar felt alone in her pain.
- Job felt hopeless and despaired.
The Psalms are filled with spiritual dryness.
The gospels filled with doubt and struggles of the flesh.
The Christians of the Bible are no different than us today in the sense that they, too, were imperfect humans trying to wrap their heads around a perfect God and give Him their hearts.
What should this tell us?
That what we think, feel, and do has never and will never shock God.
Remembering the lessons
I was just having a conversation with my big sister the other day about my own struggles with this. And as we were talking, I was realizing that I had already learned this lesson before, but then life happened, and I slowly forgot.
I talk about reinforcing our faith in my Faith in the Little Things post, and I laughed to myself when I realized how much of my own advice I needed to take.
It wasn’t that life necessarily got too hard for me to handle; it was that I forgot the lesson that would help me handle it.
That lesson is this:
God has already told me what to do and how to do it.
And in addition to that:
You are the only one putting pressure on yourself to accomplish this.
So basically, God has asked us all to do two things:
- Give our hearts to Christ
- Put our trust in Him
Neither of these two directions calls for rushing, striving, perfection, stress, or anything else our flesh likes to do.
No, they only ask for our love, faith, and devotion, and the great thing about that is if you have one, it’s much easier to have the others, and that one isn’t your full responsibility—God puts all three in your heart.
God will continue moving in the background, and then one day you’ll probably have a moment that feels like looking up towards the sun and thinking,
“Huh, when did the rain clouds go away?”
Therefore, when life gets rough, remember that your job is to keep living your life imperfectly while learning how to remain in your relationship with God.
Remaining in your relationship with God
Remaining in or abiding in your relationship with God doesn’t need to be complicated or overwhelming.
You are human. Your flesh and your spirit are in constant battle, and it gets tiring. Don’t tire yourself out by trying to do more for God than He has asked of you.
Remember, God invented rest. He also commands it.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”—Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
You’ve probably experienced seasons of intense fire for God where you were on top of prayer, Bible study, church attendance, worship, etc, but…
You’ve probably also had seasons of spiritual burnout. Anxiety, doubt, depression, apathy, loneliness, and hopelessness.
Both are normal parts of a relationship with God.
However, it’s better to live in the middle spiritually.
This middle does not look like:
- Spending hours in your Bible.
- Staying at church for hours after the sermon.
- Volunteering all the time.
- Praying on your knees for hours.
Not because any of that is wrong, but because it’s not always beneficial when we need rest.
There is nothing wrong with needing less. Spiritual heaviness is real.
The middle ground would look like:
- Swapping Bible study for Bible reading. Short sessions and no notes, just presence.
- Watching a sermon online rather than attending church if you need the rest.
- Serving those at home instead of everywhere else. That’s still service.
- Spending time in silence, letting the Holy Spirit pray for you when you can’t pray.
None of that is failure.
God wants your heart, not your works.
Often, our spiritual heaviness comes from our subconscious trying to perform for God rather than simply being in relationship with Him.
So, give yourself permission to not be 100% all the time. Because God never asked you to be.
Your only requirement is to keep showing up!
Whether at 99%
30%
15%
Or 1% doesn’t matter as long as you are there.
Sometimes you’ll have 0% days. That’s ok too. Your goal is to decrease the length of time it takes to recover from that 0%.
And you approach that goal with God because being in a relationship with Him means problems are not yours to handle alone. God wants to carry it for you.
To decrease the amount of time you spend in these extreme lows, keep this in mind:
Needing a break from spiritual heaviness is not the same as needing a break from God.
His presence only brings life.
Rest looks like taking a few small steps back, not turning around and running away.
Scripture warns us that the devil lies in wait and attacks when we are weak.
So, when we rest, we need to do it with intention so we don’t drift away. Stay vigilant for the subtle temptation to stop praying, stop reading your Bible, and instead start seeking comfort in things apart from God.
And whenever this feels hard to balance, keep coming back to these truths:
Things To Remember
Whatever season you are in, remember that God is aware of your heart and your pain. Most importantly, He is sovereign over it all and has already promised that He works for our good.
But we don’t define what’s for our good. Only God truly knows what is good for us, and He has asked that we trust His judgment.
When Jesus recruited his disciples, He didn’t sit down and explain every single reason why and how it was going to work out for them. He simply said, “Follow me,” and they witnessed Him work in and around their lives.
We are also His disciples, and we too should let God work and follow His lead.
Here’s how that looks simply:
- Don’t run away—draw closer (James 4:8)
- Return to truth, not feelings
- Keep showing up in small ways
- Let conviction lead to God, not away from Him
Because…
- God draws closer to you (James 4:8)
- Feelings fluctuate, truth doesn’t
- Growth isn’t constant momentum
- Sometimes God is strengthening dependence, not removing tension
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”– Proverbs 3:5–6 (NIV)
So what does this look like when you’re actually in it?
Remember when you are struggling with Spiritual dryness:
Reading the Bible and feeling like you are reading any other book, or praying and feeling like you’re talking to yourself. Looking for God’s hand in your life or waiting to feel his presence only to be met with static. That’s real. It’s a common struggle I’ve experienced myself.
Here’s what God says to that:
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”– 2 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV)
Remember that a lack of spiritual feeling doesn’t mean the Spirit isn’t at work within you. The Lord is with you always. We don’t need to see Jesus standing beside us to move forward in faith. Faith is trusting He is there, even when you don’t feel Him, and then doing what He has already asked you to do.
Remember when you are struggling with loneliness/isolation/lack of community:
This is one I’m currently experiencing, and I know it’s hard. You may feel like you’ll never find “your people,” and that feeling of loneliness will last forever.
But, “I will not leave nor forsake you,” says the Lord. (Hebrews 13:5)
I can personally attest to the fact that as long as you have Christ, you are not alone. Even in seasons of spiritual dryness, I come back to Him.
There is a difference between feeling lonely and being alone. The feeling is normal, but it’s not the truth.
The truth is, you have a friend in Jesus and a Father in God. Not to mention His Spirit is literally your roommate!
Often, when we feel lonely, it’s because that feeling is taking up too much space in our minds and crowding out the truth. Try not to dwell on the community you don’t have yet; instead, dwell on the God who has never left or forsaken you, and never will.
Remember when you are struggling with overwhelm/feelings/emotional instability:
Like when your feelings are too much, and all you can do is cry.
First, I totally feel that; second, that’s not failure; that’s just what life does to us sometimes.
That’s why God tells us to lean on Him because we may not be able to carry it, but He can.
“He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”– 1 John 4:4 (ESV)
In the song ‘Jesus Loves Me,’ there’s the line: “They are weak, but He is strong.”
The “they” are our struggles and challenges in this life.
And God is stronger than them all.
Lift up your burdens to Him and allow God to give you rest (Matthew 11:28)
Remember when you are struggling with depression/sadness/grief:
Cry. Scream. Sleep. Wrestle with God. It’s ok. That’s a valid response.
God has never asked us to suppress our emotions. He also expresses His own emotions.
“Jesus wept”– John 11:35 (NIV)
So don’t keep it all inside. Let it out. God is not threatened by our hurt.
He asks that we bring it to Him instead of keeping it to ourselves or sharing it with the wrong people. Lean first on God and then your godly community.
You can take it to God as many times as you need to.
He is listening, and He is responding even if you don’t see it yet.
Remember when you are struggling with health problems/chronic issues/mental illness:
My family is no stranger to all kinds of health problems, so my heart goes out to all who suffer from similar issues. I pray that you find peace in your suffering and that God heals you in the way that you need.
Because God doesn’t promise to heal us the way we want, but the way we need.
And we may not even be healed in this life, but that doesn’t mean that our lives must be terrible.
How many of you would stop running a race if you knew that waiting at the finish line was whatever you hold most dear?
Pray that God makes Jesus your most precious thing.
Our joy and our hope are in Jesus and the salvation He has secured for us. When Jesus is most precious to you, the race becomes easier to run with endurance, no matter how long it takes.
Not because it does a thing to change our circumstances, but because it gives us the best reason to keep going. That hope means that our suffering is never in vain.
Whatever you may be facing right now, please try to remember:
Struggle does not equal failure, and feeling stuck doesn’t equal being abandoned by God.
Take Some Time to Reflect
Ask yourself this question:
“Am I stuck, or am I just unsatisfied with life right now?”
Most of what we call stuck is just struggling with discontentment. That’s natural because we are not meant to be satisfied by this world.
We are meant for more, and until we get there, we rely on God to satisfy, but our flesh gets in the way of that, too.
But don’t be discouraged, the Lord is greater than our flesh, and as long as we continue to abide in Him, we can deny our flesh and satisfy our spirits.
That only takes as little as a whispered prayer in your lowest moment.
Or merely holding your Bible close when you don’t have the mental energy to read it.
Because it’s not about what you do, it’s about why you do it.
If your heart is calling out to God, it doesn’t matter if you are:
Worshiping at church or alone in your car.
Praying for hours or simply sitting in silence.
Studying the Bible or simply repeating the only verse you have memorized because it’s all you can muster.
Just remember:
“…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” — 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV paraphrased)
Say This Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
I’m tired, please give me Your rest and help me to remain in it.
Help me also to remain in You and yield to Your will instead of dwelling on what fosters discontent in my life.
Restore my hope and joy in You and help me to boldly look forward to the treasure that awaits me in Your kingdom.
Help me to endure through my pains and struggles, remembering that perseverance produces proven character and that character produces hope.
Continue to bring to my mind and write on my heart Your transformative Word, as it is so easy to forget. Let me not forget that this life is not mine but yours, and I can rest in that fact.
Lord, my spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak. Please give me the discipline and desire to keep your commands.
So that I may continue the race, staying focused on the hope before me instead of the world that wears me out.
In Jesus’ abundant name I pray,
Amen.
Check out some posts from my other categories:
Living Limitless in Christ-
- Who You Are In Christ (1of 7 post series)
Real Life; Real Faith-
- The Practical Application of Your Faith
- Faith over Feelings
- Everyday Idols Pulling You From God
- Created for Communion: God’s Design For Faith-based Relationships
- Building Faith-Filled Relationships
- Faith In the Little Things
- Living Faith Out Loud: integrating faith into everyday life
- A Walking Testimony: Being a Christian ALL the Time
If you’re new to faith or just coming back:
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