Faith Fatigue

Things have been a little crazy lately. It’s been a minute since my last post, and looking back at it, it’s interesting to see how I was feeling going into this school year. I had no idea what was in store, and I know I’m not the only one who thought that. I sometimes still don’t really know what’s going on because, you know, it’s 2020. And again, I’m sure I’m not alone there.

Anyways, let me tell you why it’s been a minute. I was feeling good going into the school year. It was good to be around a setting of people again on a regular basis, and it was good that things were beginning to go back to semi-normal. I felt like I could finally relax again, but then I had that feeling where as soon as you take that first breath of relief … something comes up.

The weight of junior year had suddenly begun to push me down. No literally, when I was first handed my APUSH book I nearly fell to the ground.

So my life had suddenly gone from doing absolutely nothing to always having to do something, and it’s been hard to adjust to that major schedule change. I’ve spent a lot of my weekends having to skip other things to get work done. And as many of you probably already know, around this time of year, right before the holidays roll around, is when a lot of students start feeling extra stressed and unmotivated because it’s time for a break. That is absolutely 1000% me right now. And again, I’m sure I’m not the only one, so I’m going to get to my point about what I’ve learned over the past few months.

I’m going to be honest, going back to a semi-regular schedule has definitely distracted me from my walk of faith that I developed during quarantine. I feel like a completely different person now than a few years ago, and maybe even this time last year because of Christ. And I’ve noticed that when I start to become distracted by worldly things like stress, I notice I start to act a little like who I was before. And that has really opened my eyes about how much we need God to get through anything.

Here’s something that might be helpful with that: I have recently learned that, with the weirdness of the world right now, we can’t look at every hard thing in life as something we need to simply drag ourselves through. Like “Ok, I just need to get through this really hard test week at school and then I’ll be good” is a phrase I’ve used a lot before. And as good as it is to take one thing at a time, that phrase still didn’t help much. But, we also need to be careful that we don’t try to convince ourselves that “x” situation isn’t hard enough to worry about. For example, comparison. “Ugh, I’m really stressed out with school right now and it’s really bringing me down. But it’s ok, I shouldn’t complain because at least I’m still healthy.”

I never realized this or learned this until it was said straight to my face. It’s completely ok to accept that any tough situation in your life is hard, no matter what it compares to. In fact, it’s a healthy mindset to have because it is the first step toward healing. Without accepting that something is hard, we’re not going to have the opportunity to grow as a person and in Christ.

So maybe try thinking of it this way: instead of seeing any tough circumstance as just something that’s hard, maybe try also thinking of it as a way to grow. Think: “Hey, I’m currently in a situation that’s going to make me a better person when it’s all over with, and that’s pretty cool. I wonder how God’s gonna do it.” That doesn’t mean all of the “Ugh, I don’t think I can do this” moments will go away, but it can give us a hope for a better ending that will happen. Not might. Will.

So how do we stay motivated with this? The way to stay motivated and doing our best without feeling stressed out all of the time is to stay consistent in our time with God. How do we stay consistent? Make time to spend with God, even if it’s sacrificing five minutes of sleep. It only benefits us, and I find that it makes me feel more peaceful but also more alert during the day even if I sacrifice a little bit of sleep for it. You could even ask God to feel willing to stay alert throughout the day if you’re tired, because I know I have been really tired lately.

But, I’m not saying that this is going to make all of the feelings of stress go away. I have definitely still felt stressed, tired, and have procrastinated from time to time. But staying consistent helps us find the God-given blessings in the midst of chaos, and those blessings keep us motivated to keep going. Even when we may be going through moments in life where nothing interesting happens, never give up!

Don’t give in to the faith fatigue. That’s the enemy trying to distract you. I hope my experience has encouraged you to face the temptation by staying consistent! I will do it with you.

James 1:2-4

— “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (NLT).

Romans 15:13

— “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit” (NLT).