98. The Real Reason You're Stuck Spiritually (And How God Heals It)

Have you ever felt spiritually stuck—like you’re doing all the “right” things but still feel far from God? This episode is for you.

In today’s conversation, I share a deeply personal and biblical perspective on why we sometimes feel disconnected from God. It’s not always a lack of effort—it’s often a quiet rebellion: our tendency to trust everything but Him.

But here’s the beautiful truth—God doesn’t just correct rebellion. He heals it.

This is a vulnerable one, but it’s filled with so much hope.

 In This Episode, I Talk About:

• What “quiet rebellion” can look like in our everyday lives
• How fear, anxiety, and self-protection quietly block our trust
• Why God’s healing doesn’t wait for perfection—it begins in surrender
• My story of feeling lost and how God pursued me like the one sheep
• How to open your heart to God even when you feel overwhelmed or stuck

 Scriptures That Anchored Me:

• Proverbs 3:5 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart…”
• Hosea 14:4 – “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely…”
• Isaiah 57:17–18 – “I have seen their ways, but I will heal them…”
• Romans 5:8 – “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
• 1 Peter 2:24 – “By His wounds, you have been healed.”
• Luke 15:4 – The parable of the lost sheep
• Psalm 107:17, 20 – “He sent out His word and healed them…”

 From My Heart to Yours:

You’re not alone if you’re having a hard time trusting God.

You’re not alone if you worry, feel anxious, or carry stress—even though you’ve prayed and longed to be close to Him.

I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to feel lost in your own faith.

But God doesn’t meet us with shame—He meets us with mercy.

He’s not waiting for you to fix yourself.

He wants to meet you in your stuck place and gently lead you into healing.

 Free Devotional: 

“And He Saved Them”

Want to go deeper after this episode?

I created a free devotional to help you reflect more deeply on today’s message. Inside you’ll find:

- Scriptures from the episode 

- Reflection + journaling questions 

- A guided prayer 

- Space to connect with God from exactly where you are

 Click here to download 

Let’s Keep the Conversation Going:

Come join the Curious for Christ Facebook community—a place where we talk honestly, ask big questions, and find real encouragement together.

Join here 

Final Thought:

You’re not too far. You’re not too broken.

God sees where your trust is wavering—and still, He chooses you.

He heals. He pursues. He restores.

Thanks for listening to Curious for Christ. I’m so glad you’re here.

Thanks for listening! Your support means the world. Join our Curious for Christ Facebook Group and become an Insider for weekly inspiration and encouragement on your faith journey.

Want to go deeper? Let's connect—set up a FREE Discovery Call today. See you next time!

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Hi, friend.
Welcome back to Curious forChrist, and for those who are
new to the show, welcome.
I'm so glad you're here.
Today's episode might stirsomething deep in you, and
that's a good thing because weare going to talk about a word
we don't always want to hear,and it's rebellion, not the
loud, dramatic kind from movies,but the quiet, subtle rebellion

(00:23):
that happens inside our hearts.
When we resist fully trustingGod.
Maybe you feel distant from him.
Maybe your faith feels stuck,like you're trying, learning,
doing all the right things, butinside you're doubting if
anything will ever reallychange.
Maybe your prayers feel hollowor rushed.
If that's you, this episode isfor you.
Here's a question to start usoff.

(00:44):
What if the distance you feelfrom God isn't just
circumstantial, but a quietrebellion you haven't named yet?
The truth is to grow closer toGod, we have to start by seeing
ourselves clearly.
We know the destination.
We want peace, healing, intimacywith our creator, a purpose,
clarity, confidence.

(01:05):
All of those things, and they'renot bad.
But to get there, we have tostart with ourselves.
And sometimes what we see isn'tpretty.
So we avoid looking.
But friend, the beauty of thegospel is this, God meets us
there in our rebellion andoffers not just forgiveness, but
healing.
So let's dig in.

(01:32):
Welcome to Curious for Christ.
Do you ever find yourself lying,awake at night wondering about
God's plan for your life?
Maybe you wake up with bigdreams, but feel unsure where to
start or what your next stepshould be.
If you're curious aboutexploring your faith and finding
purpose, then you've come to theright place.

(01:52):
Hi, I'm Alexandra.
I too felt lost and sure of thedirection my life was taking.
I yearned to understand mypurpose and have someone guide
me, but I kept telling myself Iwas too busy.
The timing wasn't right, and mylack of clarity prevented me
from being consistent until Ifound Christ.

(02:13):
He brought peace into my lifeand revealed the way to find
purpose by anchoring myself.
In him.
In this podcast, we'll journeytogether exploring the Bible to
gain a deeper understanding ofhim and cultivate your own
personal relationship withChrist.
So open up your Bible, put inthose earbuds and listen up

(02:34):
because God is speaking to you.
He's making everything new andyou don't wanna miss it.
Let's get started.
Okay, so what is.
Rebellion, really, let's startwith this truth.
When we don't fully trust God,we end up trusting something

(02:58):
else, whether our plans, ourfear, our trauma, our need for
control, and that'smisalignment.
And the Bible calls itrebellion.
Proverbs three, verse five says,trust in the Lord with all your
heart and lean not on your ownunderstanding, but let's be
real.
When life gets painful, whenprayers go unanswered or when

(03:18):
fear creeps in.
What do we do?
We start leaning on ourselves.
We take control, we rush, weavoid, we get impatient.
We stop praying before makingdecisions.
We dwell in our worry, even whenGod says, do not worry, and if
we're not dealing with the hurt,that's in the way of trusting

(03:38):
God.
If we're not asking him tosearch our hearts and help us
dig deeper, then what we'redoing quietly, sadly, is.
Rebelling, but here's the hope.
God doesn't abandon us there.
Which leads me to part two,God's promise to heal the
rebellious.
Listen to this promise in Isaiah14 verse four.

(04:01):
I will heal the waywardness andlove them freely for my anger
has turned away from them.
Waywardness means turning fromthe path, wandering, straying,
looking for fulfillmentsomewhere else, and yet God says
I will heal that.
I will love you freely.
Then in Isaiah 57 verses 17through 18, he says, I have seen

(04:24):
their ways, but I will healthem.
I will guide them and restorecomfort.
These verses bring me to tearsbecause God doesn't just correct
rebellion.
He heals it.
He says, I've seen it all, and Istill choose to restore you.
And if God already sees it all,we can stop hiding.
Let yourself see it too.
Let him show you where yourheart is divided.

(04:47):
And then look at how the NewTestament builds on this
healing.
Romans five, verse eight says,but God demonstrates his own
love for us in this.
While we were still sinners,Christ died for us.
And one Peter two, verse 24says.
By his wounds, you have beenhealed.
God's heart is not to reject therebellious, but to heal them.

(05:09):
Because that's what we needemotionally, spiritually,
relationally.
His discipline is neverpunishment for punishment's
sake.
It's always redemptive.
It's always out of love.
So for our guilty souls outthere, pay attention to this,
God draws near to the wayward,to the overwhelmed, to the

(05:30):
stubborn, and he says, comehome.
I want to restore you.
Part three, To paint the pictureclearly.
Let me share a part of mypersonal story.
I want to take you back morethan 20 years ago.
So just so you know, God hasalways been faithful to teach
me, to guide me, and yes, tolovingly discipline me.

(05:50):
And I've learned over time thathis correction is not rejection,
it's care.
Proverbs three, verse 12 remindsme the Lord disciplines, those
he loves.
And I've learned to receive thattruth, not with resistance, but
with surrender.
So 20 years ago when I wasstudying the Bible with a few

(06:12):
women from my church, I was justbeginning to study the Bible and
I had so many questions.
Who am I?
Why am I here?
What's the meaning of life?
Is love real?
Can I ever feel whole?
Then one scripture found me.
Luke 15 verse four.
Suppose one of you has a hundredsheep and loses one of them,

(06:32):
doesn't he leave the 99 in theopen country and go after the
lost sheep until he finds it?
That verse wrecked me in thebest way because for the first
time.
I saw myself clearly, I was thelost sheep, and that's not easy
to admit, but it was true.
Being lost means beingdisoriented, disconnected
without grounding or direction.

(06:55):
But suddenly, as I accepted thatdiagnosis, that wasn't too
hopeful.
The ache I had always felt.
Made sense.
My whole life made sense, thegrieve, the losses, the
confusion that I've felt foryears.
And then Grace met me because inthis very verse where God tells
me that I'm lost, he also saysthat he left a 99 to confine me.

(07:19):
And he continues to search youuntil he finds you.
And indeed he found me.
He moved me across a continent,removed every false comfort, and
met me in my vulnerability.
I had lost my father.
I had lost my mother years priorto that, and I was in a new
country.
I felt very vulnerable, but Iwas ready.

(07:40):
I was ready to receive him Hisgift, I didn't know it at the
time, but that was mercy.
It was healing.
That was the beginning ofrestoration for me.
And why am I sharing this story?
Because I want to give you hope.
Yes, there's bad news.
The truth is we are all lost insome way.

(08:02):
We've all rebelled, wandered,resisted the very one who made
us, but that hard truth that weneed, restoration is always
followed by something fargreater, the comfort of God's
presence.
And that's what we long for,isn't it?
Not just answers or quick fixes,but him, his nearness, his love,

(08:23):
his peace, his healing, and he'sthe miracle.
He not only wants to restore us,he can.
He's willing and he's powerful.
God sees straight through us.
There's nothing hidden from hiseyes.
His understanding is infinite.
He knows the exact places we arerunning, the fears we bury, and

(08:44):
the lies we believe, and yet hemoves toward us in love.
No one had ever told me I waslost.
Not really.
No one named the ache inside mefor what it was.
But when I opened God's word,something pierced through my
soul.
And it wasn't shame, it wasclarity.
It was truth.
It was love.
Only he could show me the truthabout myself, and only he could

(09:09):
lead me home.
Part four.
Seeing ourselves clearly is agift.
So just like any gift, we haveto be able to receive it.
We need to ask God for the gift,and then we have to receive it.
And there's a tension here.
It takes humility to say, I'vebeen rebellious.

(09:29):
I've trusted other things morethan God.
But that humility, that's notthe end.
It's the doorway to healing andto being restored and coming
home to God.
Psalm 1 0 7 verses 17 and 20says, some became full through
their rebellious ways.
Then they cried out to the Lord.

(09:50):
He sent out his word and healedthem.
Friend healing begins when youstop pretending.
When you stop saying, I'm fine,and start asking God to reveal
what's really going on.
Don't look to the left or to theright.
Just focus on God and be open.
Yes, it might hurt.

(10:11):
But it's a healing kind of pain,like surgery that removes what's
destroying you.
And God is right there in theprocess.
He's not waiting on the otherside of your healing.
He is in it with you.
Okay, so part five, what thismeans for you, my friend, if
something is stirring in youtoday, if you feel tender or
convicted, like maybe you'vebeen trusting other things more

(10:33):
than God, please hear this.
This is not condemnation.
It is an invitation.
Let God show you what's in theway.
Ask him to help you dig deeper.
Take the time you owe it toyourself, and God will meet you
there.
He's not looking for perfection.
He's looking for surrender asurrendered heart.

(10:57):
Surrender your fears, surrenderit all, and ask God.
To show you what's in the waybetween you and him.
So this is it for today, myfriend.
If this episode stirredsomething in you, I created a
free downloadable devotionalcalled He Heals the Rebellious.
It includes all the scripturesfrom today, journaling prompts

(11:19):
and prayer reflections to helpyou sit with God in this truth.
You can find it in the shownotes join us in the Cures for
Christ Facebook community at bTLY slash Curious for Christ
Community where we are talkingmore about these specific
topics, honestly, gently withfaith and encouragement.

(11:40):
Until next time, and remember,God sees the real you.
He knows when your trust waiversand still he heals.
He pursues and he calls you hisown.
You're not too far.
You're not too broken.
You are loved right here, rightnow.
Thanks for listening to Curesfor Christ.
And I'll see you next time.

(12:03):
Hi, I hope you enjoy today'sepisode.
If so, would you like to take 30seconds and share it with a
friend who may also strugglewith knowing God and his purpose
for their life?
Also, leave a review on ApplePodcast and let me know what
topics you'd like to hear aboutin the future.
Your voice matters.

(12:24):
I'll meet you back next Friday.
For another episode.