Jessa Duggar Seewald has been doing some self-reflecting lately. In a new video, the Counting On star revealed how she overcame a “spiritual depression.”
The video was shared this past Sunday on Instagram and in it, Seewald described her journey as a Christian. The path hasn’t always been easy for her and doubt led her to some dark places. The candid video is a must-watch for anyone who might be struggling with their faith right now.
Jessa Seewald grew “unsettled” in her late teens and the doubts persisted into her twenties.
After accepting Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior as a young child, Seewald said she struggled with her relationship with her faith as she aged.
“I felt a bit dry in my relationship with the Lord. I didn’t have [the] drive to be in God’s word. I wasn’t praying like I should,” she explained in the video. “I could see this goal of where I wanted to be in my relationship with the Lord, and I wasn’t there.”
“I was discouraged,” she confessed. “I had doubts about my salvation…I felt unsettled, restless, and frustrated. I think if Christians were more open about the hard times, I think if Christians were more raw, you might find that more people go through this.”
Yes, Christians. Please get “more raw” for the cause.
The mom of three recalled that at the time, she didn’t feel depressed, but looking back, she now knows she was.
“If somebody asked if I was depressed, I probably would have said no,” she explained. “But I guess you probably could call it a spiritual depression.”
Seewald went on to discuss what helped her heal at the time, declaring that she had to let go of the unrealistic expectations that she put on herself when it came to being a Christian. Those expectations included reading the Bible every day or having quiet time to pray.
“There’s no chapter or verse in the Bible that says we have to read our Bible every day.”
“We have to account for the fact that there are trials of faith. There are difficulties that we walk through,” she said. “There’s no chapter or verse in the Bible that says we have to read our Bible every day.”
“I feel like I had a burdened down conscience with an unspiritual expectation,” Seewald revealed. “Yes, we should prioritize time in the word, but I had taken it a step too far, and I was hinging whether or not I was a good Christian on if I had good quiet time [for prayer].”
“I didn’t have gospel rest. I wasn’t resting in my justification. I wasn’t resting in what Christ did for me,” she said. “For a Christian to rest in their justification, the fact that they are saved, Christ lived the perfect life that I could never live.”
“I think in my mind, I had the mentality of, ‘Thank you, Christ, for saving me. I’ll take it from here,’ which is not at all how the Christian life works,” she still kept going.
Seewald admits that although she’s journeyed far, she’s “still got a long way to go.”
“Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, so that is our justification and we can rest in that,” she said that learning this helped “release” her soul of “so many burdens I had placed myself under, and helped me to look to Christ.”
Release those burdens, like a good ol’ fashioned exorcism, Jessa!
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Seewald expressed her hope that others can use her words and experience to grow in their faith as well.
“We’re in this journey until we die, and then in an instant, we are changed into the likeness of Christ,” she went on. “In this life though, we experience hardships, and yet we keep running after Christ and Christ holds us fast. I hope this is an encouragement to you, and I pray you will rest in Christ and his work of righteousness on your behalf.”
For those who have been struggling with faith, Seewald’s video should be a comfort that you’re not alone. Others have also had doubts at times and that’s part of the journey according to Seewald.
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