The Culprits For Living A Stuck Life As Christians
One day, I was in my room praying, the Lord began to show me that there was not one reason why I was feeling stuck in life—there were many….
I needed to heal from experiences in my life that had devastated me. I needed to forgive the people that had hurt me. I needed to repent of my sin. I needed to break many generational curses that were keeping me stuck. And I needed to renew my mind with the truth and the will of God.
These culprits were the real reasons why I was paralyzed by fear, doubt, shame, confusion, low self-esteem, and many other negative emotions that were holding me in this idle state. I was in desperate need of healing from so many traumatic experiences that were causing me to live in defeat. And I learned that this was a process which could not happen overnight. That’s when the Lord took me on a journey to healing and restoration. One that has forever transformed my life.
I wonder: Have you ever felt this way? Stuck in life—where you don’t seem to have any direction towards where you need to be going? You’re simply existing, but you feel like there's no real meaning or purpose to your life, despite you being a Christian?
Well my friend, let me tell you: you are not alone.
Coming to a stagnant state in life happens to so many of us. The question becomes: Why do we become stuck if we are Christians?
I’ve found the answer to this has many layers. The truth is, that there is no single reason. It’s more of a conglomerate of culprits leading to a stagnant life. Allow me to better unpack this reality as you continue reading.
The Journey To Healing
As you may know from one of my previous blogs “A Letter To My Readers”, I was stuck in life for many years. My life had no real sense of direction, meaning, or purpose—despite me being a Christian. My spiritual blindness, ignorance, and carelessness toward the Lord had left me completely exposed for the enemy to come and destroy my life. As a result, I was a confused person, living in fear and shame, unsure of who I was and where I fit in.
I didn’t know what to do or how to move out of that stagnation that was eating my life away— until I really began seeking a relationship with the Lord.
As I began to pray, I honestly thought that my life would turn around fast. In my ignorance, I had the idea that God was going to act like a genie—answering my prayers one after the other like wishes. According to me, once I started to pray, I was going to see the desires of my heart being fulfilled in a matter of days, weeks, or maybe even in a couple of months.
But boy, was I wrong.
This journey of healing and restoration with the Lord didn’t happen overnight. It took years—and even now, I know that I’m still not done.
Exposing The Real Culprits Of Stagnation
It was as I surrendered more and more to the Lord when I began realizing how broken I was and how desperately I needed Him to heal and restore me for my life to truly change.
Little by little, He began to do a work in my heart—bringing to light the things that were keeping me stuck. The more I spent time in His presence, the more I healed. And even though I wasn’t perfect (and I’m still not), I became a different person. I was no longer the same fearful Jackie, living in shame and defeat. I began to understand my identity as a daughter of God, living in victory.
The Lord had to bring me to a place where I was healed enough—and my relationship with Him had matured enough—for Him to be able to give me the instructions I needed for my life to start changing in the natural.
Now, looking back on where the Lord brought me from, I understand how important it was for me to heal—so He could then begin to entrust me with the assignment that would bring the meaning and purpose I was searching for.
Bringing Our Thoughts Captive To The Obedience Of Christ
Through my journey, the Lord highlighted to me a very powerful Bible verse that helped me understand the importance of the renewing of our minds for our lives to change.
Allow me to share it with you:
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will."
— Romans 12:2
This verse is packed with so much revelation. It shows how the patterns of the world have twisted God’s truth into many beliefs, ideologies, and standards that don’t align with His perfect will—yet we’ve accepted them as “normal”.
These patterns come from culture, education, our upbringing, and even from the experiences we have lived. But just because something is popular or widely accepted doesn’t necessarily mean it's good in the sight of God.
Many times the things we know to be true, acceptable, and even admirable—the mindsets and standards we live by—are the very things keeping us stuck.
That’s why we need to test everything we know through the Word of God in prayer, scanning our beliefs through Scripture to see if they align with God’s truth and His will.
Checking Our Every Belief Through The Word Of God
Once we begin to run every thought, belief, and ideology we hold so dearly through the word of God—starting with the basics of our faith all the way to the mundane trends of the culture— we’ll be surprised to learn that many of the popular lifestyles we think are acceptable don’t align with the will of God.
The trends of the world tell us that it is ok to have sex and move in with someone before marriage. The Word of God instructs us to do the opposite (1 Corinthians 7:2). If we follow the world’s trends regarding relationships, we risk becoming stuck in this area of our lives. But when we obey God’s standards and His code of ethics for relationships and marriage, we will experience freedom and blessings in that area of our lives.
Many of us live with shame, lack of worth, fear, and low self-esteem. We think it’s normal to feel this way when in reality, Jesus gave His life on the cross to set us free from these feelings of condemnation that keep us stuck. Living this way is the complete opposite of the will of God. Once we understand our true worth and identity in Christ, the emotions that hold us bound lose their grip—thanks to the blood of Jesus.
Often, we think that if we ignore the traumatic experiences we’ve lived and move on with our lives like nothing ever happened everything is going to be okay. But in reality, this only makes matters worse. The unhealed wounds will eventually manifest in our behavior one way or another—through negative patterns, self-protective habits to avoid being hurt, or pushing people out of our lives. I have learned, these coping mechanisms only contribute to our stagnant state. But once we understand that this is not God’s will for our lives—we are set free! He is able to heal and deliver us from anything we have endured. Jesus loves us, cares for us, and He wants to make us whole again, no matter how painful our pasts. He wants us to live an abundant life.
People tell us that it is perfectly acceptable—even justifiable—not to forgive those who’ve wronged us. But Jesus tells us that we need to forgive every time we are wronged if we want Him to forgive us our sins (Colossians 3:13). (I talked about this in more detail on my previous blog “Forgiveness, A Path To Deliverance And Restoration.”). The truth is, living with unforgiveness keeps us bound. It acts like a barrier, preventing us from receiving blessings and stepping into the new season God has for us.
Forgiving others is often the key that will set us free from living a stagnant life.
Can you relate to any of these mindsets?
Transformed By The Renewing Of Our Minds
The good news is that the Word of God truly sets us free! Once we seek to understand it more and personalize it through obedience, we move from being stuck to living in victory. All we have to do is seek Him and allow Him to reveal the beliefs, character traits, and mindsets that have contributed to our stagnation. Once He shows us what they are, we need to:
Submit every thought, belief, and mindset captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Repent from the things He reveals that are contributing to our stagnation.
Obey the Lord in whatever He tells us to do, and be expectant for Him to reveal the next steps that will bring us out of that place of bondage.
As we reflect on our lives, let's remember that we can’t attribute our stagnation to just one thing. More often, it’s a combination of mindsets, attitudes, and traumas—along with a weak or almost non-existent relationship with the Lord—that leads to a stuck and stagnant state in life.
Seeking a relationship with Jesus and obeying Him is vital for our lives to change. The Lord cannot entrust us with the plans He has for us if we’re not pursuing Him and renewing our minds according to His Word and His will. Our sin, fear, confusion, unforgiveness, jealousy, anger, bitterness, and unhealed wounds act as barriers that keep us from stepping into the mission He has prepared for our lives.
That’s why the journey of healing and restoration is so important. Even though we won’t be perfect, we will get to a place where the Lord sees the progress we’ve made and the transformation that’s taken place in our hearts. It’s then that He will begin to entrust us with our next assignment—giving us, once again, meaning and purpose to our existence.
I hope you were blessed by this blog.
Much love,
Jackie