Stop Faking Fine: The Spiritual Cost of Pretending Everything’s Okay

Let’s stop pretending.

You show up to church, force a smile, maybe throw in a “blessed and highly favored” just loud enough to be heard. Meanwhile, your life is falling apart, your prayers feel like voicemail, and your soul is screaming for help.

But no one knows. Why? Because you’re faking fine.

The Lie We’ve Learned to Tell

Somewhere along the line, we were taught that good Christians don’t bleed. That faith means being “strong,” stoic, always hopeful, never shaken.

So we hide. We lie. We throw a coat of spiritual paint over the cracks in our hearts and call it faith.

But let’s be honest, faking fine is exhausting. And worse, it’s dangerous.

What It’s Really Costing You

Pretending you’re okay doesn’t protect your faith. It turns your walk with God into a performance instead of a relationship.

Here’s what you lose every time you fake fine:

• Connection with others – No one can support the version of you that doesn’t exist.
• Honesty with God – You can’t heal what you won’t admit is broken.
• Room to grow – Real growth starts with real confession. Faking fine keeps you stuck.

We weren’t created for surface-level spiritual life. We were created for deep, gritty, vulnerable relationship with God and with each other.

Jesus Never Asked You to Perform

Here’s what you’ll never find in the Bible: “Thou shalt smile through the pain.”

Jesus didn’t fake fine in the garden of Gethsemane. He didn’t put on a brave face while sweating blood. He asked for the cup to pass. He wept. He let His people see Him break.

So why are we so afraid to admit we’re hurting?

The truth is, spiritual strength isn’t the absence of struggle—it’s choosing to stay with God in the middle of it.

Real Faith Sounds Like “Help”

There’s more power in a whispered “God, I’m drowning” than in a shouted “Praise God!” when you’re falling apart inside.

You don’t have to prove anything to God. He already knows. You’re not shocking Him with your anxiety, your anger, your doubt, or your weariness. He just wants you to bring it to Him instead of pretending it’s not there.

Stop Smiling Through the Storm

The church doesn’t need more plastic people in nice outfits pretending their lives are in perfect order. It needs honesty. It needs people willing to stand up and say, “I’m not okay, but I still believe.”

That’s what helps people. That’s what changes lives.

And guess what? God doesn’t heal masks. He heals wounds. But you’ve got to show Him the wound first.

A Better Kind of Strength

You know what strength actually looks like? Crying in your car and still choosing to pray. Admitting you don’t know what to do and still asking God to guide you. Walking into church even when your faith feels paper thin.

That’s not weakness. That’s worship.

Give Yourself Permission

It’s okay not to be okay.

Say it out loud. Let it sit. Let it be true.

You don’t need to earn God’s love with your performance. You’re already loved in your mess. The sooner you stop pretending, the sooner healing can begin.

Take the mask off. Let someone in. Let God in. Faking fine might keep you looking strong, but real strength begins where pretending ends.