I have seen a lot of individuals on social media lately asking for Prayers, because they are “in a dark place right now.”
My Brother, a self professed “atheist, ‘incapable’ of being a Christian,” is struggling right now as well with depression.
I’m not saying that having trust in God is a cure-all for depression, but I do think having faith is certainly a perspective that many who suffer from melancholy or a sense of gloominess are lacking.
There are other factors that can contribute to one experiencing such feelings: a change in the seasons, the loss of a loved one, or the state of our union, magisterium, or other institutions that once offered us a sense of stability (I would include Family into this category as well), among other things that are out of our control.
From what I see, often times individuals try to self remedy these sensitivities with vice or disordered desires and impulses:
- Alcohol or abuse of medication(s) to temporarily numb the sorrow or negative feelings.
- Thoughts that, “If only I were rich, then I will be happy.” This could lead to gambling, or putting everything into side-hustles to the point where you are falling into shady “get-rich-quick” schemes. Or purchasing things on Amazon using credit cards (living richly, while enslaving oneself to debt).
- Turning to comfort foods, another temporary boost with negative consequences if it becomes habitual.
- Sleeping it away. Sleeping, like exercising, is healthy, but if done for the wrong reasons, it can become disordered.
We must not confuse feelings with a lack of faith. Feelings come and go. Turn on any dating reality show and you will hear terms like, “falling in love” or “smitten.” What happens when the butterflies (which are natural and designed by God) fade away? This is when individuals often make poor decisions to get back to these feelings:
- Go outside of the Marriage or Divorce.
- Go to the bar with friends to “free” yourself.
- Or turn to porŋography.
What we do with our feelings is a choice.
We can choose to love or choose to walk away. St. Mother Teresa descried experiencing a “dark night of the soul,” where she felt like God had abandoned her or a sort of “blankness” in her faith journey. But, she chose to trust God anyway. She chose to serve unloved and discarded souls anyways.
As Christians, we naturally want to hold onto that mountaintop experience (Matthew 17:1-13). Some Christians who experience this feeling of loss of faith or a sense of disconnectedness from the Holy Spirit, do things that God does not will for their lives:
- Walk away. A common statement uttered is, “I did not feel like I was being fed.” Did you feed others?
- Some Protestants will go back up for an Altar Call (again), because they want to get back to that feeling they had the first time they encountered or gave their lives to Jesus. Though, the action is not entirely bad, the individual is maybe chasing a feeling and not necessarily kindling their relationship with Jesus.
- Making a deal with God. “Lord, if you do [this], I promise to do [that].” Trust God, don’t try to manipulate Him.
Are we chasing a feeling? Are we letting our feelings cloud our good judgement(s)? Jesus is the answer. If you would like to get to know Him, here are some good ways to let Him in:
- Pray - Like in a healthy relationship, communication is helpful. Tell God that you are struggling. He cares.
- Read The Bible - It has been said that Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. If you want to get to know Jesus and His ways better, Prayerfully read Sacred Scripture.
- Adoration - When Jesus visited Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42), Mary chose to sit and visit with Christ, while Martha was running around doing things. Jesus wants to spend time with you.
- Reconciliation - Sometimes negative feelings are a byproduct of sin. Like in any relationship, we will make mistakes. We will say and do things that hurt those we care about. These negative feelings are natural, but to hold onto them or pretend like we have done nothing wrong is not the way.
- Receive The True Food and True Drink - Jesus said in John 6, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” He goes on to say that “this is the bread that came down from Heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate [Arby’s Mozzarella Cheese Sticks] and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” Many who heard this said, na, we don’t believe this. And they walked away, returning to their former ways.