Numbness May Bring Momentary Relief, but Stillness Can Bring Eternal Peace

Numbness is a state of being unable to feel anything. It's not bad when, for example, the dentist needs to fix a decayed tooth. But when it comes to our emotions and thoughts, numbness becomes a form of escape and avoidance. People try to numb themselves by doing anything from busyness, mindless scrolling and binging, to using mind-altering substances to deal with overwhelming emotions and circumstances. The problem is, when the heart and mind are hurting, expressing feelings and vocalizing thoughts is part of the path to healing. Just like you can't tell what's going on with your numbed mouth at the dentist, you can't recognize and express numbed emotions and thoughts.

Before going any further, it's important to note that medication prescribed and monitored by a physician can be helpful and needed. A person experiencing clinical levels of anxiety and depression leading to frequent suicidal ideations or debilitating physical and mental symptoms should consult with their doctor to determine the best course of treatment for them. Even still, a doctor is likely going to start someone on the lowest dose to determine the proper dosage and not attempt to make the person completely "numbed out." The goal is for the medication to aid in regulating feelings and thoughts, not wholly getting rid of them.

Numbing is akin to sloth. Romans 12:11 says, "Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord." The Greek word for slothful here is oknērós, which can also be translated as "shrinking back." Numbing behaviors are shrinking back from discomfort by avoidance and escape. According to HELPS Word Study, the Greek word oknērós (or sloth) can refer to "shrinking backward" that arises from "weary waiting." I don't believe the cause of people numbing themselves to get through life is always a result of laziness, but of weariness. Weariness from heavy emotions and anxious thoughts people often don't want to deal with, or others may even dismiss when someone does cry out. Weariness from suffering that never seems to end, ongoing injustice, cycles of abuse, intense sinful temptations, and all the effects of living in a world cursed by sin and death can feel consuming and paralyzing (Romans 5:12). But numbing isn't the fix our weary souls need.

"...numbing isn't the fix our weary souls need."

In the book of Hebrews, after discussing the importance of growing in spiritual maturity, the author says, "And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises (Hebrews 6:11-12 ESV, emphasis added)." Hebrews 10:39 goes on to say, "But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls (ESV, emphasis added)." The Bible offers a different path to healing and peace than numbing with endless Netflix binges, hours of gaming, bottomless margaritas, focusing on work 24/7, or attempting to sleep it all away. Instead of numbness, the Bible calls us to stillness. Stillness doesn't shut out overwhelming feelings and thoughts. Stillness brings them before God, who can both handle and heal troubled hearts. The antidote to our desire to numb or shrink back is found in being still before God, who promised good to His people (Romans 8:28).

"So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls (Hebrews 6:18-19 NLT)."

God does not lie, and His promises will hold true. We can go to Him with great confidence because of the hope He has given us in Jesus, who suffered for our sins, so that we can experience the goodness of God and have strong and trustworthy hope in His promises. We don't have to make it each day one numbing behavior to the next; we can find peace and strength in the stillness of His presence. We can trust in the interceding work of Jesus and the power of His Spirit each and every day (Romans 8:11, 34).

"We don't have to make it each day one numbing behavior to the next; we can find peace and strength in the stillness of His presence.."

Being still is knowing that He is God and will be exalted among the nations (Psalm 46:10). Being still is trusting God while doing good and delighting in Him (Psalm 37:3). Being still is not fretting over evil and knowing He will bring justice (Psalm 37:6-7). Being still is knowing the Lord will fight for you (Exodus 14:14). Being still is trusting in Jesus, who can calm stormy waters with His voice (Mark 4:39-41). Stillness is found in being constant in prayer, speaking our troubled emotions and thoughts, and pleading with God in our agonizing circumstances, just as the Psalmists. Healing and hope are not found in an unbothered state of self-induced serenity; they are found in casting all that bothers us to the God who loves us. We can't do this from a place of numbed, avoided, and dismissed emotions and thoughts.

Thanks to science, we know that putting words to emotions connects them to language, creating neural networks between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Creating these pathways between the brain's two hemispheres is both stabilizing and healing (Adam Young, "The Place We Find Ourselves"). Basically, people are hard-wired to heal mentally and emotionally by putting language to their feelings and thoughts. And who did that hard-wiring? The God who created all things and who instructs His people to "be still" and "pray without ceasing." The God who gave the entire book of Psalms filled with examples of expressing one's full range of emotions and struggles to Him. The book of Psalms is a deep well of language in the form of songs and prayers that bring closeness with God and healing to embodied souls.

"The book of Psalms is a deep well of language in the form of songs and prayers that bring closeness with God and healing to embodied souls."

The path to hope, emotional and mental healing, and peace is found in the stillness of drawing near to God. Stillness fixes the eyes of a weary soul on the glory of God. Hope emerges by the grace of God and the trustworthiness of His promises. Healing begins when words of brokenness and confessions of sin are spoken to the God who designed our minds in such a way that our brains find healing as we put language to our pain and shame. The peace of God settles the soul through the power of His Spirit dwelling in those who have been saved by His Son Jesus. Numbness may bring momentary relief, but stillness brings eternal peace.