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5 Spiritual Practices to Fight Faith Fatigue
Updated: Mar 20, 2021
You know that feeling right? The one where you feel just so burned out in your faith? You feel overwhelmed or frustrated or just plain weary.
This is something I like to call faith fatigue. I have come to realize this is a really normal part of our faith lives. We fight too hard, try too hard, fail to trust God or fall away from truly loving Him and we start to experience it. I have been through it and I bet you have too.
The good news is that we have plenty to encourage us to fight back against faith fatigue and even put in some preventative measures before it strikes again. These are not here to add more to your plate but for you to experience God more fully and receive His rest and restoration.
1. Sabbath
Our Sabbath practice is one of my absolute favorite things that we do as a household. Sabbath is a weekly discipline of one day set aside and dedicated to rest and worship.
This day is very set apart from our regular routine and it is not just a day to relax or binge some Netflix but it is the pursual of God through the act of rest and admiration of Him. It is a day of trusting God to keep the world in motion while we take a day to sit back and realize that He is good and in control.
Want more information on Sabbath? Or do you want to DESIGN a Sabbath that works for you?
Episode 3: How to Cultivate a Sabbath Practice with Becca Treharne
Episode 13: Creating a Sabbath Practice with Leah Rempel
Sabbath Design Workbook
2. Journal
Journaling is such a great discipline and practice that can remind us of what God is doing in our lives. Faith becomes very personal in the pages of our journals. The trick is that sometimes we don't know what to write. Here are some questions you can start with:
How is He pursuing you?
How is He pursuing others?
How is He answering prayers?
What are you hoping for?
What patterns have you been noticing in your life? How might God be speaking through them?
Who has been coming to mind to pray for?
What do you need to lament?
What do you need healing from?
I have found, personally, that when I pour my heart out on the paper that God refills it with His truth and goodness. Record that too! What is He saying?
Love to write or need some writing encouragement? This episode is for you!
Episode 8: Writing to Leave an Indelible Mark on our Souls and the Kingdom with Rachel Kang
3. Worship
I LOVE time in worship. My son and I are not unfamiliar with cranking some worship tunes from Maverick City Music and dancing around the kitchen together. While I love having music just pumping through our home, there are so many ways that you can worship! Need some ideas? I got you covered:
Painting, Calligraphy, Art
Sitting in awe
Prayer
Silence and solitude
Using your time and talents to serve
Creating something new
Being in and taking care of nature
Worshiping Him is essentially giving reverence to Him and humbling ourselves before Him, so it could look like so many things! If your heart posture is right, almost anything could be worship.
4. Daily Practices
There are somethings that we should still be doing daily even in the middle of faith fatigue! We may be tired. We may be worn out from doing the very things that I am going to list BUT these are our spaces to be with God in an intentional, daily way. A life of faith is set apart for things such as these.
Prayer:
Even when we don't have it in us to formulate a long, drawn out prayer we can still start with something simple: "God, help me." or "God, show me Yourself today." Or recite the Lord's prayer! Don't stop communicating with Him, the only one who can carry you through.
Scripture:
A life of faith is pursuing God and there is almost no better way than scripture. To fall in love with Him, we must know Him. To pursue Him and His kingdom and to be sustained in that process, we must be in God's word.
This Faith School podcast episode was FIRE with the Bible Recap's Tara-Leigh Cobble:
Episode 26: How to Read the Bible and Why it Matters with Tara-Leigh Cobble
Silence and Solitude:
Too often we try to fill our days with noise, distractions (even good ones!). Returning to moments of silence and solitude is a beautiful way to center our hearts and minds on God and to listen for His voice.
Did you know that International Justice Mission values this so much that they have this built into their work day? If these people who have such a global impact can take moments stepping away from rescuing slaves and return to silence and solitude, then this must be SUPER important.
5. Community
Community is one of the most beautiful parts of our lives as Christians. When we accept Christ, we are invited into His family! I remember Sharon Hodde Miller calling this the 'discipline of community' and it really stuck with me. It really is a discipline! We have to be committed to see the fruit of community.
A community is not an exclusive club or a place that we go to feel loved but it is a family that carries one another through difficult times. If we are to really see the blessings, we must enter in with sacred vulnerability and honor those we draw nearer to. We pray for one another and encourage each other to be closer to Jesus and pursue His kingdom, both in our own hearts and the world.
I hope you found something in here that could help you fight back against faith fatigue! Let me know, what do you do to persevere through your faith?
Faith School Podcast is for women of faith who are ready to put their faith into action in every area of their life and to claim the name of “Kingdom Builder.” This practical podcast is not just a list of how-to's, but is here to prompt you to take action and adopt the KINGDOM way of life: Surrender to a Holy God. Your host is Leah Rempel, joining you in the messy middle of a surrendered faith. Listen in every second Monday anywhere you listen to podcasts!
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