Taking time to look deeply within and honestly ask yourself how you ended up in this condition is one of the most important steps in addressing spiritual sickness.

Speaking from personal experience, I know how it feels to be spiritually sick—when everything feels dark, heavy, and pointless. When prayer feels empty. When complaining begins to take the place of worship. When your heart aches, yet you don’t even know how to put the pain into words.

You find yourself in spiritual warfare, worn down and discouraged, and the only way forward is to cling to Christ—no matter how difficult that feels.

When the Holy Spirit has been quenched, the pain is real. Your heart feels like it’s burning from the inside. You wrestle with overwhelming emotions, and everything seems dark, negative, and hopeless, as if you’re walking a lonely road with no clear purpose or direction.

Yet even in your darkest hour, God still has a plan for you, and He has not abandoned you. Nothing He allows in your life is meaningless—not the dryness, not the pain, not the season of feeling distant from Him.

Even when you cannot feel His presence or see His hand at work, God is still moving—quietly, faithfully, and intentionally—bringing transformation to your heart for the glory of His name.

Dangers of Drifting Away from God

In moments like these, we all face a choice. We can give up, sit in despair, and let the weight crush us—or we can look up, cry out to God, and ask Him to carry the burden we were never meant to carry alone.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

This invitation is not only for the physically tired, but for the spiritually weary—the ones who feel empty, discouraged, and close to giving up.

Looking back, I can now recognize the signs. I wasn’t guarding my heart. I wasn’t consistently resting in God’s presence. I allowed worry, fear, and self-reliance to take root where faith and trust should have been growing.

And yet—God never stopped pursuing me.

Even when I felt far from Him, He was near. Even when I felt spiritually numb, He was still at work beneath the surface.

What Causes Spiritual Sickness

Spiritual sickness doesn’t happen overnight. It often begins quietly—through distraction, fear, stress, worldly worries, disobedience, or what the Bible describes as the desires of Egypt—like when the Israelites longed to return to Egypt.

The children of Israel wanted God’s deliverance, but desired what Egypt had as well. They were conformed to the world, Egypt’s desires were shaped within them, even though God’s strong power delivered them out of Egypt, they did not make the decision to get Egypt out of them.

Over time, our hearts grow weary, and our spirits become weak.

From Scripture and personal experience, I’ve come to recognize three common roots.

Neglecting Time With God

One of the most common causes of spiritual sickness is slowly neglecting time and fellowship with God—especially in prayer and in His Word.

When we drift from intimacy with Him, we become spiritually vulnerable. Without realizing it, lies begin to sound louder than the truth.

The less time you spend on the holy mountain of God, the more prone you become to chasing the desires of Egypt—remaining at the comfortable foot of the mountain instead of being renewed and transformed. Over time, sin begins to look more enticing.

As a new believer, I carried a lot of the world in my heart. Many old lies still had deep roots in me. But day by day, as I remained in God’s Word, He patiently began renewing and transforming me—slowly uprooting deception and lies that had been deeply planted in my heart and replacing them with truth.

As I once read:

“Fill your mind with God’s Word, and you will have no room for satan’s lies.”

When you come to Christ, old roots begin to loosen and fall away, and God plants new roots—roots of life, truth, and holiness.

Scripture reminds us:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

This transformation is not instant. It is a daily process of sanctification—becoming more like Christ as we surrender our hearts to Him.

I remember a season in my life when I was so angry with God because I didn’t feel His presence anymore. I was terrified of the deep hole that seemed to grow deeper every day. In my frustration, I rebelled against Him and didn’t want to pray—the weight of spiritual dryness felt almost unbearable.

And let me tell you, I felt worse than ever! It was as if all the demons were feasting on my heart.

But God, in His mercy, never left me. I repented, turned back to Him, and slowly—but surely—my spiritual life began to heal. The heaviness lifted, and His power returned to strengthen me from within.

Wavering Faith

Another root of spiritual sickness is a lack of faith and trust—especially when life doesn’t go as planned.

Jesus once asked His disciples:

“Where is your faith?”

Luke 8:25

That question still echoes today.

Where is our faith when things don’t go as planned, and storms surround us?

There was a season in my life when my faith wavered deeply, especially during a time of unemployment. At times, I said I trusted God; at other times, I doubted Him completely.

Fear and anxiety followed me constantly. It felt as if a thorn were lodged deep in my heart, never letting me rest.

I had no peace—because I had not fully surrendered my future to the Lord.

I believed God could provide for others… just not for me.

I couldn’t see any open doors, so fear took over. I gave in to anxiety instead of trust.

After months of unemployment, I found it hard to have faith in the prayers I was lifting to God.

I trusted Him for others, but struggled to trust Him with my own life. And that lack of trust slowly made my heart sick.

Yet Scripture tells us:

If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.
Isaiah 7:9

God is Always At Work

Even when you don’t see it, or feel it… God is working.

Often, His greatest work isn’t happening around us—but within us.

The purpose of hardship is transformation. Trials refine our faith, shape our character, and teach us to rely on Jesus more deeply.

As John Piper once said:

“All of our hardiship are designed to make our faith stronger, to make us rely more on God.”

God does not waste pain. He uses it to draw us closer to Himself.

In difficult seasons, our faith is tested, revealing what truly lives in our hearts. Yet when we surrender everything to Almighty God, peace becomes possible—even in the middle of the storm.

Dangers of Complaining in the Bible

The Israelites complained whenever they encountered situations that weren’t to their liking.

As long as it seemed good for them, they kept God’s Word and appeared to desire Him. But if obedience meant to go a direction that wasn’t pleasing to their flesh, the Israelites complained. “Would it not be better for us?” – These words paint a clear picture of their hearts.

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Matthew 12:34 NKJV

Their core motivation for living was made evident by their behavior and words spoken under pressure; it was for themselves. Their focus was their own lives, not God’s heart.

God Has a Plan For You

Faith is foundational. Without it, we cannot please God:

“And without faith, it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

Hebrews 11:6

When the weight of life becomes overwhelming, we are faced with a decision: Who will we trust?

God’s plans—or the enemy’s lies?

There came a moment when I realized I no longer wanted to live faithless. And when I made that choice—something shifted. Fear loosened its grip. Anxiety no longer had control over my thoughts about the future.

When we fully trust God, peace follows. When we don’t, our minds become crowded with worry, resentment, and fear. Our hearts become vulnerable to lies and easily open to attack.

Therefore, we must fight the good fight of faith so that we will not stand unprepared and naked on judgment day.

Disobedience to God

The third root of spiritual sickness is disobedience.

Why do we resist God’s leading? Why do we fight His gentle correction?

Often, we resist God’s leading because surrender feels costly. Yet obedience is never about us—it is about fulfilling God’s will and dying to our fleshly desires. True obedience is always accompanied by peace and freedom.

The rebellious see God’s Word as a restraining law rather than as protection and life.

The only way we can obey is to take up the cross. For without death to our own agendas and desires, we will eventually have a face-off between the will of God and the desire of man.

When we lay everything at Jesus’ feet—our plans, fears, and desires—our minds are renewed, and our hearts are cleansed.

Scripture reminds us:

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7 ESV

Submission brings freedom. Resistance brings victory.

Run to the Father

If you are feeling spiritually sick today, please don’t give up.

Run to Him—not away from Him. He is waiting with open arms for you to come home.

Ask Him to search your heart. Repent. Invite Him to heal what is broken. Return to prayer. Return to the Word of God.

Because the God who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it.

Have you ever found yourself spiritually sick?
What helped you find your way back to God?

I would truly love to hear your story.

And never forget this:
Jesus loves you.

If you need prayer, I would love to pray for you. ❤️