True spirituality—the only spirituality that heals—is rooted in the fact that God is transcendent. He stands outside and apart from His creation. God is holy and just, and He is sovereign over all that He has created. He is the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent one who loves us unconditionally and who desires fellowship with all humankind. But He relates to us on His terms, not on ours.

Therefore, we experience true spirituality only through God’s Spirit, who indwells a person as he or she responds in faith to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. This is the exact opposite of shadow spirituality, which contends that the “god within” merely needs to be awakened and coaxed into actualizing activities. When the superficial, feel-good emotions are stripped away, though, one quickly realizes that New Age thinking is not new at all. It is the oldest of all philosophies, dating back to the Garden of Eden, where the first man and woman thought they could be like God. Indeed, they sought to be God.

True spirituality shows us the tragic consequences of this path. We are all born with a missing dimension caused by the sin of wanting to live independently of God. This sin separates us from Him. The only way to fill that void is through repentance of sin, faith in Jesus Christ, and the indwelling power of God’s Spirit. This is the spirituality that makes us whole.

It is only when God’s Spirit opens our blind spiritual eyes that we truly begin to understand ourselves and recognize our own darkness and moral corruption—in other words, our sinfulness. True spirituality helps us recognize that our desperate inner longing is not a need for independence, but rather a consuming need for dependence—dependence on the Savior.

Biblical spirituality leads us to know the light of the world, Jesus Christ, and makes it possible for us to experience wholeness of body, mind, and spirit in becoming like Him. This healing comes only as the Holy Spirit of God is invited to do His ongoing work of transformation in our lives. We are made whole when we reflect the character of Jesus Christ.

Will you ask the Lord to reveal to you the true answer to your inner longing and to help you understand that your heart is made whole the moment you receive Jesus as the Savior of your soul? Will you ask God to help you walk in the light of His Son through all of life’s challenges that you are facing?

Prayer: Lord, because of Your great love for me, You made me alive in Christ even when I was dead in my sin (Ephesians 2:5). Father, thank You for sending the light of the world, Jesus. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Check out more from Dr. Michael Youssef, here!