The Pulse You Cannot Feel. Spiritual Assurance

Finding Life When Doubt Creeps In: Spiritual Assurance

Spiritual assuranceYou press your fingers against your wrist in the dark, waiting for that steady beat of reassurance. But all you feel is silence. The thought sneaks in: What if it’s stopped? What if there’s nothing there this time?

Many believers know this moment well—sometimes at 3 AM, sometimes after a weary prayer, sometimes when failure weighs heavy. The panic rises: Is there real spiritual life in me? Or have I been fooling myself all along?

We reach for a spiritual pulse, desperate for proof. But all we sense is emptiness. No warmth. No rhythm. No faith.

And yet—every nurse will tell you this: not feeling a pulse doesn’t mean the heart has stopped.

The Panic of Silence

The search for spiritual assurance often begins with honest reflection. But it can quickly spiral into something like spiritual hypochondria.

• When did I last feel close to God?

• When did prayer last feel alive?

• When did I desire holiness more than comfort?

Each question piles on the fear. And in the dark, a voice whispers: Real Christians don’t lose track of their pulse. If you were truly alive, you’d know it.

But here’s the truth: the absence of sensation is not the absence of life.

Where We Look vs. Where Life Really Is

We often check for life in all the wrong places.

• In emotions—the warmth of worship, the stirring of prayer. When those fade, we assume God has faded too.

• In performance—spiritual routines, victories over sin. When we stumble, we conclude our faith has flatlined.

But even the longing for God’s presence is evidence of His presence. As A.W. Tozer once said: “The spiritual life requires constant seeking, constant longing.”

The pulse of faith is not found in fleeting feelings or outward achievements. It beats quietly, deeply, in the unseen places of the soul.

God’s Diagnosis vs. Ours

When Elijah hid in a cave, convinced he was the last faithful one left, God revealed otherwise: “I have reserved seven thousand in Israel…” (1 Kings 19:18).

When Peter denied Christ, sure his faith was dead, Jesus had already prayed: “I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:32).

Life was still there—hidden, steady, beneath fear and failure.

The pulse we seek comes from a source outside ourselves. It beats whether or not we notice.

The Truth in the Silence

So when doubt creeps in and your soul feels numb, remember:

Absence of feeling is not absence of life.

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

God knows your pulse even when you cannot feel it. The heart is still beating.

👉 Up next in The Pulse Series, we'll explore where Scripture guides us to find the true, steadfast vital signs of spiritual life.

💡 Where have you been searching for your spiritual pulse? What might change if you trusted God’s diagnosis instead of your own?