Seek the Tension

In the West, we've gotten to a place where we speak of inner tension as a problem to solve rather than a necessity for mental and emotional well-being.

Viktor Frankl, the great psychologist and holocaust survivor (pictured here), wrote this on the topic of tension:

"What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him."

In other words, if you want to be mentally, emotionally, and spiritually healthy the worst thing you can do is try to numb or distract yourself from inner tension.

Instead, seek it out. Embrace it. Most importantly, let it show you the gap between who you are and who you ought to be.

Then pursue who you ought to be with all the effort and enthusiasm you can muster.

I know, in my own life, some of the seasons have come just after someone or something reveals to me how far I am from the man I could be. It's in those seasons, when I am clear about who I am and who I am trying to be, that meaning is most palpable.

If you're feeling inner tension right now, instead of worrying or being afraid of what it might mean, try being grateful for it. Try treating it like a summons to deep meaning.

I think you might be surprised by what God can do with someone willing to embrace inner tension.