Helping you navigate the tension between faith & mental health by looking at a tension point, a talking point and a truth to ponder.
Tension Point
"I feel like I’ve been out in the wilderness when it comes to faith for so long. I wonder if it will ever change?"
Talking Point
Have you ever felt ‘lost in the wilderness’ when it comes to your faith? Do you have a sense of wandering, lostness, a lack of direction or feeling like you aren’t in the place you thought you’d be on your faith journey?
Often, when life is going well and we feel good, we can sense that God is close and our relationship with him is in a good place. But when life is tough, we can feel as if God isn’t as close or that our relationship with him isn’t quite as healthy as we thought it was.
We may be deeply grieving or coming face-to-face with past trauma. We might have felt on the outskirts of church community or been re-assessing some of our core beliefs. Or maybe we’ve always experienced that wilderness sensation ever since deciding to follow Jesus. Whatever the reason, it can feel lonely, particularly if we can reference times in the past when we have experienced being ‘close’ to God, enjoying fellowship with other believers.
We often link faith with a sense of being found, known, held, seen and in the right place. But when life gets heavy or we’re hurting, there follows a sense of not being as close to God as the doubts, waves of anger and mistrust seep in. This can feel so disconcerting.
Truth to Ponder
Isn’t it interesting that much of Jesus’ teaching to the people he loves focuses on those who are lost, scattered or hiding? The lost sheep (Luke 15) already belonged to him – it was part of his fold – and yet the sheep still got lost in the wilderness.
Of course, we refer to being ‘lost’ as not having yet found Jesus, but maybe feeling lost can also embrace the everyday, the highs and lows and daily grind. Jesus says ‘It’s not the healthy that need a doctor but the sick’ (Mark 2:17) And yes, this is in relation to the sickness of sin… but let’s not forget that he was also talking to people who had been cast down socially and spiritually.
Being ‘lost’ is the acknowledgement that we cannot navigate this life alone, the very need we have to belong to God is the essence of faith. We don’t just need to be ‘found’ once at the beginning of our salvation story, but throughout our lives, in moments of feeling misunderstood, hurting or hiding. Whenever we are ‘lost’ God is right there. He offers us his kindness and compassionate care to re-centre us and meet with us.
Next Steps...?
Notice what you are experiencing and ask yourself- do I know why I feel distant and lost? Awareness can be the first step in acknowledging what is happening and what you want to be different.
Why not talk to someone you can trust about what you are experiencing, either a friend or a counsellor or therapist who can help you make sense of your experience in a non-judgemental space.
Can you show yourself compassion as you daily acknowledge your lostness, and allow yourself to imagine being found by God with kindness and care? (Notice if you find this concept of a gentle God foreign, you may want to address this in further depth, perhaps with a counsellor).
Sometimes this experience can derive from the belief deep inside that God either doesn’t want us close, or will reject us, so we feel safer in the wilderness. These beliefs are valid and it can take some time to unpack the hold they have over us. Exploring this with a professional or one of our facilitators on the Freedom Course can be beneficial.