THE GOSPEL IN PSYCHOLOGY — MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING
Man is restless. He asks the same question across time and culture: Why am I here? Why do I suffer? What gives life purpose? Modern psychology frames it as the search for meaning, the drive behind choices, the source of hope or despair. Long before Freud, Frankl, or others, the gospel offered answers rooted not in theory, but in reality—the reality of God and His gospel.
Viktor Frankl, in his reflections on suffering, wrote that those who find meaning endure trials better than those who do not. He saw the human spirit pressing toward significance, even amid unimaginable pain.
The Bible confirms this longing and gives its true object: God Himself. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Our lives are not accidents; they are authored by a loving God, and every trial carries a purpose under His sovereignty.
The search for meaning also touches our deepest struggles—guilt, shame, loss. Psychology may teach that understanding or reframing these experiences brings peace. The gospel goes further: it gives forgiveness and reconciliation. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Our past does not have the final word; God’s grace does. Meaning begins not with self-realization, but with redemption.
Frankl emphasized that meaning can emerge even in suffering, and the gospel speaks the same truth, pointing to the suffering and victory of Christ. “We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4). The Christian life does not promise escape from trials, but a reason for enduring them—a hope rooted in the God who never abandons.
The gospel transforms the search for meaning from abstract desire into living reality. We are not left grasping for purpose in the void; we are invited into the story of God, to serve, to love, and to be transformed. Our lives gain coherence, even when circumstances do not, because they are centered in Him who is eternal, faithful, and good. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
The deepest longing of the human heart—purpose, significance, meaning—finds its answer not in philosophy, not in therapy, not in human achievement, but in the gospel. Christ is the meaning behind our lives, the hope in our suffering, and the fulfillment of our search.
Lord Jesus, You are the purpose behind every heart and the hope in every trial; teach us to rest in You, to trust Your plan, and to live fully in the meaning You have prepared for us. Amen.
BDD
