Find your spiritual connection with God

Some would say that sheep are known for their ‘gentle, social, and herd-oriented psyche’. They certainly have instincts for safety, companionship and routine. Apparently they are emotionally sensitive and, being ‘prey animals’ they are fearful and cautious – they easily get lost. Not so very different perhaps then from most human beings! More usually the word ‘pysche’ refers to the human soul, mind, or spirit—essentially the essence of a person’s inner self. In psychology, ‘psyche’ describes the totality of the human mind, including both conscious and unconscious elements. The word comes from the Greek ‘psukhē’, meaning ‘breath, life, soul’.

‘The human psyche is the meeting point between God and man’ – Morris West

It’s a profound statement which could be phrased alternatively for many people this way: ‘The human psyche is the point of separation between God and man’! Which would you say it is for you – point of meeting or of separation? When the herd runs off saying ‘we don’t believe in God’, do you follow? In his book ‘The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God’, Justin Brierley describes ‘why new atheism grew old and secular thinkers are considering Christianity again’. He has interviewed many prominent atheists including Douglas Murray in his podcast ‘Unbelievable?’. Describing himself as a ‘Christian atheist’, Murray remarked ‘that a number of highly intelligent friends and acquaintances of his had converted to Christianity in recent years. Shockingly, Brierley quotes from a 2019 survey in The Sun which revealed that nine in ten young Brits believed their life lacks purpose. If the psyche leads you to atheism, it leads you up a blind alley, a place where lost sheep gather.

The Quiet Revival

Yet something also seems to be happening among young men in England and Wales which is being referred to as ‘the quiet revival’. In 2018, just 4 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds said they attended church at least monthly. Today, this has risen to 16 per cent, with young men increasing from 4 per cent to 21 per cent, and young women from 3 per cent to 12 per cent. Young people who attend church report higher life satisfaction, stronger community connection and less anxiety and depression than non-churchgoers, particularly among young women. In a meaning crisis where materialism and politics have failed to deliver, belonging to a church community offers a sense of purpose. And young people appear to be seeking this more than ever. (Extract source: https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/research/quiet-revival 16 Apr 2025)

So it seems that Gen Z is looking for more and turning to God to find ‘it’. Putting that together with Justin Brierley’s revelation about prominent scientists and atheists turning to God seems to indicate that more people are finding life-affirming spiritual connection.

‘Men became scientific because they expected Law in Nature, and they expected Law in Nature because they believed in a Legislator’ – C S Lewis
‘In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshiping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship’ – David Foster Wallace
‘We can seek God and find him! God is knowable, touchable, hearable, seeable, with the mind, the hands, the ears and the eyes of the inner man’ – A W Tozer
‘To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement’ – Saint Augustine

Like every human being, these four men had troubles and had been wayward but they were dissatisfied for life without God lacked meaning. So they searched. An intellectual academic at Oxford and Cambridge universities, Lewis was helped by friends to see that a purely material world offered neither hope nor purpose. It could not explain moral order. It could not satisfy his deepest longings. From a strident atheism, Lewis came to accept a deistic universe, admitting, as he put it, “that God was God.” David Foster Wallace wrestled between atheism and belief – sadly, he suffered with depression and tragically committed suicide aged 46 in 2008. Tozer ‘found’ God in his teenage years and spent his life trying to help others find Him. As a young man, Augustine confessed his struggles with sexual lust, pride, ambition and stealing which he described as restlessness. Eventually finding spiritual connection with God, he explained the impact: ‘Our hearts are restless until they rest in You’.

A Third of the Global Population

Current statistics tell us that Christianity is the world’s largest religion, with approximately 2.4 billion adherents in 2020. This represents about a third of the global population and includes people from every nation and strata of society.

They all came to God through trusting in Jesus Christ – their ‘psyche’ was a meeting point and not a point of separation.

Former agnostic actor David Suchet, famous for playing Hercules Poirot and Shakespearian parts, used his psyche by reading a Bible to see if it resonated with him. He started in the book of Romans reading it out loud in a hotel room in the same way he would read acting scripts, as if it was the first time and had been written to him. This so touched his psyche that he decided heart and soul to trust in God.

Back to Morris West. Like many people, he also wrestled with faith in God but ultimately he too trusted for himself.

Psyche Self Awareness Checklist

PSYCHE SELF AWARENESS CHECKLIST – MEETING POINT OR POINT OF SEPARATION? (Score 0 to 10, where 0 is strongly disagree and 10 is strongly agree)

Meeting Point or Point of Separation?	Score (0 – 10)
I often find myself thinking about the purpose of life
I would like to believe in God
I am dissatisfied with much that I see around me and sense there must be more
Actions of kindness and things of beauty can move me deep within
I regret many things I’ve said, thought and done
The idea of forgiveness and a new start gives me much happiness
I can understand that if there is a God that He would punish wrong-doing
I accept that Jesus was a good man who did not deserve to die on a cross
It would be just and fair for God to raise His son Jesus from death for sins that he did not commit
Too many reasons exist for the resurrection of Jesus to say it absolutely could not have happened
Total

0 – 25: It seems that your psyche is a point of separation at the moment. It doesn’t need to stay that way. Take time to think through exactly what are the obstacles to your faith. Dare to ask God for help.

25 – 75: There is real activity in your psyche that is leading you to faith and connection. Why not start reading the Bible like David Suchet did – try starting in the books of John and Romans in a modern version.

75 – 100: Your psyche is definitely a meeting point. If you have not already consciously put faith in Christ Jesus as your Saviour, this would be a good time to do it and get the new start that forgiveness from God brings. See these two helpful links:

1 – Unconnected PDF

2 – https://connect4life.org.uk/free-resources/outeach-resources/#courses