Understanding Doubt, Spiritual Dryness, and Faith Struggles in the Christian Life • In Milky Way
In the Christian life, life doesn’t mean living, life means the absence of death. Life means light, because death is darkness. Death is a darkness we were saved from by the Christ who went into it to conquer it. For, only He was and is the complete life and light and so able to defeat death.
The Christian life is not like any other life. It is knowing the beginning from the end. It is growing in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of all things because one walks with the Maker of it all. Even in this world of death and darkness, the Christian life must remain what it can only ever be: life and light.
And yet, we remain in this fallen world in a fallen body. So, what do we do when it doesn’t feel like we are the divine (spiritual) children of the God of all things? Our divinely given citizenship of heaven may not feel legitimate at times as we’re temporarily stuck in this hellish darkened world with no life.
But that is exactly what it means to suffer like Jesus so that we can be glorified with Jesus (Romans 8:17). It is being light in darkness, being life when surrounded by death, being hope around hopelessness, being a warrior in a tyrannical world, a lover in the midst of hate, and a peacemaker in the violent wrath and demon possession of mankind.
What Are Spiritual Dryness, Doubt, and Faith Struggles?
Spiritual dryness, doubt, and faith struggles are symptoms of spiritual malnutrition from what our souls consume and feed our human spirits. The physical food we eat isn’t the only food that needs to have high nutritional value. What we watch, hear, and what our minds consistently meditate on (ponder over) is food to our souls.
The nature, essence, and frequency of what our souls consume will result in the nourishment or malnutrition in our souls, which will in contrast demonstrate our spiritual stance.
What Is Spiritual Dryness?
Spiritual dryness is when there is no spiritual nourishment because of a lack or absence of good spiritual food. The only food that is both good and spiritual is the Word of God (the Bible). The absence of frequent meditation on the Word of God produces the spiritual disease of spiritual dryness.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” – Romans 12:1 ESV
If we cannot control what we consume physically and spiritually, we cannot control our bodies, nor can we control the state of our souls. How then can our bodies be living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship, when we cannot control our bodies?
“but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” – Matthew 6:23 ESV
What Does Christian Doubt Look Like?
Our souls are the product of our consumption and meditation. If we continue to suffer spiritual dryness, this will reap spiritual diseases such as doubt. Doubting as a Christian means not being fully convinced of the life we have as children of God according to His Word.
Christian doubt is knowing the promises of God but disqualifying oneself from receiving them. It is having confessed and even believed, but not believing enough to abandon the world with its concepts and precepts that go against the spiritual life we have in the Spirit of God.
It is reading the Word and feeling good when we do, but moving on in our lives as if we are the authors of our lives, and as if it is all dependent on us. It is a little bit of Bible and a little bit of worldliness. And it is in fact believing the world just a little bit more than we believe God.
Doubt is not unbelief, it is the world still influencing our lives and decisions. It is obeying God at convenient places, but obeying the world when it comes to “the serious stuff”. As if we pick and choose when and where God exists in our lives, and where it is too risky for us to “make” Him exist.
Christian doubt looks like trying to be masters over our own lives, and yet we proclaim Jesus as the Lord of our lives. Doubt is being double-minded, and doubt will certainly grieve the Holy Spirit, and even quench Him.
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” – James 1:6-8 ESV
What Are Faith Struggles?
Faith struggles happen when we are unable to live in faith because of the doubt that comes from spiritual dryness. Faith struggles are the result of all persistent spiritual malnutrition that we do not address; an inner darkness that receives no light from Truth.
On the surface of struggling with faith, we can tend to convince ourselves that it is a sound and honest thing to feel, that it’s warranted. But on the deeper level, it is we placing our attention on what is not of God and what is not what God has said.
As Christians in this world, I believe we have granted ourselves the “courtesy” to engage in worldliness, but then that’ll reap the rotten fruits of darkness, and then we turn back to the Word of God and judge it for being too hard or for “not working”. It is not easy to practice the Word of God when we are accustomed to practicing worldliness.
Why These Experiences Are Common in the Christian Life
Christians have one thing in common, they’re all in the world. These experiences are common in the Christian life because we need to strike a balance between being in the world and not being of the world. God does not expect us to handle this or anything else alone, of course, we have His Holy Spirit.
If you think the Father is serious, and the Lord Jesus is serious, Oh how much more the Holy Spirit is serious, says the Father and the Son themselves (Matthew 12:31-32). In truth, the seriousness of the Father and the Son is because of their Spirit, the Holy Spirit. So dealing with the Spirit personally, there can be no dilly-dallying around.
As much as the Spirit is the Father and Son’s loving, gracious kindness and unending compassion, He is the need for the wrath of God, for He is holy and just. He is why the earth opened its mouth to swallow those men and their families in the wilderness (Numbers 16:31-33).
Because He occupies the human spirit and soul, He knows if we are playing games or being serious. He knows if we are truly trying and failing or if we’re trying to fail. There is no making it by faking it with Him, there is only trading in our weaknesses for His strength, and surrendering to His might and power. Without surrender, He cannot work in us because we’ll work against Him.
As Christians, we might tend to forget that God sees our hearts, that He knows every intention and motivation. We cannot get away with anything. And depending on the results of these heart conditions, we might be unequipped to conquer the world because we have made the power of the Spirit blunt in our lives through engaging in worldliness and sin, and what are these but pure darkness?
The Difference Between Spiritual Dryness, Doubt, and Unbelief
Just like a physical disease can have many symptoms, a spiritual disease can have many symptoms as well. Spiritual dryness, doubt, and unbelief are symptoms of the spiritual disease that is spiritual darkness (lack/absence of light; lack/absence of the knowledge of God).
As Christians, we tend to convince ourselves that ‘darkness’ is a word solely reserved to describe people who drink blood, are devil worshippers, and those who commit crimes against humanity. But darkness is also what can inform our emotions and thoughts to be the way they are, which inevitably leads to doing what is dark. Just because how we act on envy is not of the most vile nature doesn’t mean it’s acceptable or not dark.
“Be angry and do not sin;” – Ephesians 4:26 ESV
Doubt vs Hardened Unbelief
Doubt is not complete unbelief, it’s like 50% unbelief. Doubt is wavering in conviction and being able to be moved from one position to the next by big and small winds. Whereas hardened unbelief is looking up into the infinite sky and convincing yourself that nothing made that. Hardened unbelief is defying all logic and soundness just so you can be in opposition.
Hardened unbelief is the evil of all evils, and it is the eternally unforgivable sin of making a liar out of the Holy Spirit.
“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” – Romans 1:20 ESV
Temporary Weakness vs Persistent Rejection of Faith
Temporary weaknesses are why the Lord knew to leave us with the Helper (John 16:7), who is the Holy Spirit. Our Helper is the Spirit of truth, and He guides us into all truth (John 16:13), so with Him by our side weaknesses are not where we go to fall, they are where His strength is magnified as we overcome darkness with light and lies with truth.
But the persistent rejection of faith is what it means not to have the Holy Spirit either in us at all or by Him not doing inner work within us. Without the presence or inner work of the Spirit, we cannot grow spiritually or emotionally, nor can we establish a renewed mind. So we remain in a constant state of unbelief caused by rejecting faith, and this is spiritual darkness.
Emotional Numbness vs Spiritual Rebellion
Emotional numbness is an inability to feel, acknowledge, and process (get through) one’s emotions. Emotional numbness should not go unaddressed because if we are not aware of our inner selves, how could we be aware of the Holy Spirit and His still voice? If we cannot feel and process our internal state, what control can we have over our external life?
Spiritual rebellion is letting spiritual dark forces take control over our mind, soul, and spirit. It is not knowing the truth of God, or not practicing the truth of God (from His Word) in our lives, as we give the deception from unspiritual, worldly, and demonic doctrines power over our lives internally and externally.
So, spiritual rebellion is knowing what the Word of God says but letting something else take over in our minds. Or it is not knowing what the Word says and leaving oneself open and unarmed to the fiery darts of the evil one.
Common Causes of Spiritual Dryness and Faith Struggles
- Suffering and unanswered prayers
- Emotional burnout and exhaustion
- Hidden sin and spiritual distance
- Isolation from Christian community
- Intellectual questions and confusion
- Disappointment with church or Christians
- Not crying to the Lord first or depending on His Spirit and Word
Suffering and Unanswered Prayers
Oftentimes the Lord may use suffering to draw us closer to Him, but when we withdraw from Him instead, it is because our faith is struggling to reconcile what is happening to us. This is why we cannot lean on our own understanding because it is limited and mostly unspiritual or worldly.
When unanswered prayers offend and move us away from God and His Word, it is a great telltale sign that our relationship with God is not based on who He is but on what He can do for us. It is a strong indication of us using God for what we love, instead of loving God for what we have in His name, which is first and foremost eternal life, for, this world and all its possessions are passing away forever.
Emotional Burnout and Exhaustion
Being emotionally burnt out and exhausted may result in us perceiving that low feeling for low faith and absent hope. If we do not reach emotional maturity through establishing spiritual maturity by growing in the knowledge of God, we won’t be able to be self-controlled. We’ll live by being tossed to and fro by our emotions, which’ll cause fatigue and spiritual dryness.
Anxiety, Depression, and Mental Fatigue
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”, is what Philippians 4:4 says. When we suffer from anxiety and depression, and we know the Lord calls us to rejoice in every circumstance, this misalignment may discourage us greatly and our faith may suffer. It is essential to pay close attention to where we place our attention to combat anxiety and depression, as well as mental fatigue.
If we are not doers of the Word, but just hearers, and our attention is placed on worldliness and not on the light and truth of God and His Word, this will be the perfect internal environment for anxiety and depression. We must renew our minds with the Word of God so that when the fiery darts of the devil try to kill, destroy, and steal from us, we are in the full armour of God, ready to win each battle.
Hidden Sin and Spiritual Distance
If we do not acknowledge sin in our lives, and we are deceiving ourselves, then this will be revealed in our spiritual reality. Spiritual distance between the Holy Spirit and us will begin to establish, as the Holy Spirit cannot help us with what we don’t see the need for help with. If there isn’t a problem we perceive, how could we begin to accept help for it?
Isolation From Christian Community
If we are not surrounded by true Christians, then we are surrounded by worldliness and darkness, for, only Christ is the Light and we are the light of the world in Christ Jesus. So often in the Word of God, people suffered from demon possession. It’s been centuries upon centuries now, how much more is this what people of the world suffer from?
If we are not around faithful followers of Christ, what are the chances of being surrounded by demons? High, if not complete.
Intellectual Questions and Confusion
Too much information is cluttering the mind. Pointless information is not knowledge, and only knowledge will bring clarity, understanding, and truth. Truth is light. Where there is no truth, there is only darkness. Intellectual questions are for the physical realm, and they can be relevant because we are in the physical realm.
But intellectual questions cannot comprehend the spiritual, because these are of different, opposite realms. Being unaware of this will cause confusion and confusion can weaken faith.
Disappointment With Church or Christians
One thing about being a Christian in this world, as I’ve mentioned earlier, is this: we are still in the fallen nature and body. This does not mean the blood of the Lamb did not work, quite the contrary, the blood of the Lamb is what has qualified us to soon receive a new glorified, eternal body. This is why we will be glorified with Christ: because we will have suffered and endured the world with Him (Romans 8:17).
Church or Christians being disappointing has nothing to do with the Lord Jesus and Truth, but everything to do with the fallen nature of the world. We need to stop equating the failures of the Church and Christians in the world to the integrity, holiness, and truth of God.
Not Crying to the Lord First or Depending on His Spirit and Word
We need to practice running to the Lord first and crying to Him first before anyone else in our lives. We need to depend on God’s Spirit and His Word more than we depend on anyone or anything else. This removes the disappointment one might perceive from the Church or Christians, as we each have access to the Godhead. It is God who works in us, not any other thing in this world, or any person (Philippians 2:13).
Signs of Spiritual Dryness and Weak Faith
“But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible,” – Ephesians 5:13. This is why we need to practice spiritual discernment, sharpened by the Word of God, to reveal to ourselves with the help of the Spirit, what things in our lives may reveal spiritual dryness and a weakening faith.
Feeling Far From God
God is within us as disciples of Christ Jesus, and so feeling far from God should tell us this: I need to draw near to God so He can draw near to me (James 4:8). We must, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;” – Isaiah 55:6 ESV.
Lack of Desire for Prayer or Scripture
Lack of desire for prayer reveals two things: habit and hardship. When we have the habit of not desiring to pray, it is a sign that we are not spiritually aligned with God because how else can we talk to God? Prayer is not only closed eyes, but it is open-eye communication with God like He is right there with you, because He is.
Secondly, I found that the more we might need to pray because of a desperate situation causing suffering, the more we become reluctant to pray. We need to learn to pray in these moments because these reveal spiritual maturity and these prayers are pivotal in our lives, purposes, and destinies. We don’t want to get somewhere later than we should’ve just because we failed to pray and be rescued sooner.
A lack of desire to read Scripture is a good telltale sign that we do not yet have an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit. Because if we do, how could we not want to hear from the most important Person in our lives?
Spiritual Apathy and Numbness
Spiritual apathy and numbness reveal to us that our spirituality has not been stirred in accordance with light and truth, because in light and truth, we are spiritually in peace, joy, love, patience, etc., and these are far from numbness. Spiritual apathy is spiritual stagnation, and spiritual stagnation can lead to spiritual eternal darkness as we are not engaged in spiritual light and life.
Constant Fear, Confusion, or Guilt
The Lord clearly lets us know that we have not been given the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7), and that He is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), and He also lets us know that we are not condemned in Christ (Romans 8:1). If we are suffering fear, confusion, and guilt, then we are meditating (pondering over and over) on the deception and lies of the world, and we are not being doers of the Word.
Feeling Spiritually Stuck
When we are feeling spiritually stuck, it may be because what we are doing does not lead to spiritual growth. If we are trying methods of spiritual growth that are not reading the Bible, prayer, Christian gathering, praise and worship not just with our lips but with what we do and how we live, and being doers of the Word, then we cannot grow spiritually.
If we do not have a close and intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit then we are not growing spiritually, for, it is God who works in us.
Biblical Examples of Doubt and Spiritual Struggles
We are not alone, brothers and sisters. God’s prophets, apostles, and chosen individuals had to endure the world as well. Suffering with Christ means Christ’s Spirit is there with us, helping us, strengthening us, grooming us, and rescuing us sooner or later according to His purpose. And ultimately, we are rescued unto the true and eternal life.
Brethren, in our suffering and enduring, first, we should never think that the Lord is punishing us or has abandoned us. Second, we should rejoice always by never failing to remember our eternal life—grasping eternity even in our present time. And lastly, we should remember that the Word of God is for teaching and exhorting us (2 Timothy 3:16-17): our brothers and sisters in the Bible weren’t perfect and at times made mistakes, it is our duty to learn from them.
David’s Spiritual Exhaustion
Psalm 6:6 – “I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.”
Psalm 143:3–4 – “For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.”
Elijah’s Burnout and Despair
1 Kings 19:4 – “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.’”
Job’s Confusion and Suffering
Job 10:1–2 – “I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say to God, Do not condemn me; let me know why you contend with me.”
Job 30:20 – “I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me.”
Thomas and (Intellectually) Doubting Jesus
John 20:25 – “So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’”
Peter’s Fear and Weak Faith
Matthew 14:29–31 – “So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’”
Luke 22:61–62 – “And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord… ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly.”
How to Respond to Spiritual Dryness and Doubt
- Continue spiritual disciplines consistently
- Stop measuring faith by feelings
- Seek wise Christian community
- Address emotional and mental exhaustion
- Practice patience during spiritual seasons through humility and hope
What NOT to Do During Spiritual Struggles
- Don’t build theology on emotions
- Don’t assume God has abandoned you
- Don’t ignore emotional burnout
May your mind be renewed, your faith be strengthened, and your peace be anchored in Christ, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Renew your mind and build emotional resilience with spiritual growth through biblical truth.
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