Posttraumatic Faith Disorder

I’ll admit that faith is a sore subject for millions. It’s been abused, mishandled, distorted, and ultimately disfigured. Sometimes it seems like there’s a custom-tailored faith for everyone:

If we go through GALATIANS 2: 20 – “I’ve been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” – is too clunky for you, trade it in.

Exchange it for easier, no-money-down model.

If trusting in the miracle- working power of Jesus is too out there for your modern mind, play it safe. Don’t ask God to provide for you supernaturally. Don’t dare to ask for physical healing or anything else that would put God on the spot. Because what if he doesn’t come through?

A lot of Christians I know stagger through life in a daze. Suffering from posttraumatic faith disorder, they hunker down in the basement, open a can of Beanie Weenees, and wait for the end of the world.

Am I reading your mail? If so, you’re probably stuck in spiritual survival mode. You’ve settled for spiritual mediocrity. You’re not trying to be a hypocrite. It’s just that so far the faith thing hasn’t, well, worked for you.

But we can’t let abuses and misunderstanding hold us back. God has no plan B.

The Bible throws down the gauntlet in HEBREWS 11:6 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.

Without faith it is impossible to please God.

It doesn’t get any plainer than that. Faith isn’t just a Get Out Of Hell Free card. It’s the vital building block of your relationship with God. And it’s the only real foundation worth establishing your life on.

We can’t abandon the life- changing promise of full-frontal faith because some have dealt with the topic recklessly and un-biblically.

It would be a shame for us to let bad experiences or past disappointments keep us bound, poor, and blind to what God wants to do in our lives.

We’ve got to find a better way.