By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  10/08/20

People who claim they are “spiritual” define their spirituality as any dimension of the human experience that is beyond the physical—whether it is the occult, paganism, mysticism, or any human-designed religion. Their goal is for people to become enlightened and empowered. They seek a strong self-esteem and a balance of spirit, body, and mind. Unfortunately, these are elusive goals that leave their seekers spending their lives constantly searching for more.

Christianity provides something far greater than improved emotional health; it provides complete emotional transformation. Only God can heal our emotions and make us whole. We will never find wholeness unless we make Christ the center of our lives. The apostle Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Many of these human-designed spiritual distractions may seem helpful on the surface, but they lead us away from the only one who truly wants to see us forgiven, healed, and whole. Jesus longs for us to receive the power of the resurrection through which we can find real transformation.

Through Christ we become new creatures. Through Christ we receive the Holy Spirit and become genuinely spiritual people. “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The world desperately needs to hear this message of true spirituality. They are seeking to fill that spiritual void but will remain eternally empty without Christ.

Prayer: God, help me to share the message of true spirituality with those around me who are seeking to fill the void in their lives with “spiritual” things. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).