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Part of series: Permission to Feel · Introduction
How Our Emotional Life Becomes Spiritual
Daily plans that will guide you down the path toward letting go of masks and embracing the great life that comes from relying on God.
It’s okay to not be okay.
Jelly Roll captured this truth perfectly in his 2024 hit “I Am Not Okay,” which I have listened to countless times. He talks about losing track of days and losing sleep at night. The final lines of the first stanza especially captured my attention: “So if I say I’m fine, just know I learned to hide it well.”
Each time I have listened to this song, my heart has been moved. The song gave me permission to feel. I could feel the impact of hard times in my own life, in the lives of our immediate and extended family, and in the lives of our friends.
As I saw the song climb the charts, I realized that what I experienced personally was true throughout the country and likely the world. We are not okay.
The lyrics describe a psychological phenomenon called “masking”—when someone hides or suppresses their natural behaviors, feelings, or struggles to appear “normal” or to avoid judgment, rejection, or stigma. Masking is a survival strategy during difficulty, and almost everyone I know is either going through a struggle or knows someone who is.
But masking comes at a cost—a cost that is particularly high for men. Both men and women mask their struggles, but men are much less likely than women to turn to a friend for emotional support or reach out for mental health help in times of crisis. America’s men are lonely and, tragically, they are far more likely than women to die by suicide.
This is not the path God wants for us. God is the answer when we feel that we are not okay. He is the answer that allows us to take off the mask and thrive as our authentic selves, weaknesses and all. He is the answer that allows us to stop suppressing or hiding uncomfortable emotions. In fact, the most painful emotions in our lives—like fear, anger, heartbreak, shame, loneliness, and pressure—are exactly what guide our hearts to him.
Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the hard times we had in Asia Minor. We were having a lot of trouble. It was far more than we could stand. We even thought we were going to die. [9] In fact, we felt as if we were under the sentence of death. But that happened so that we would not depend on ourselves but on God. He raises the dead to life.
2 Corinthians 1:8-9 NIrV
Life is hard—not all the time, but any progress meets resistance. This leads us to a simple premise: the hardness of life is meant to turn us from self-reliance to God-reliance. When we admit that we are not okay, we acknowledge that this life is hard, but we believe that this hardness is there to help us learn to depend on God rather than ourselves.
This course invites us to do what Jelly Roll’s song does so honestly: take off our masks and admit that we are “not okay.” Admitting this is not defeat. It’s the doorway to God-awakening. Our masks don’t protect us; they prevent the breakthrough we desperately need.
You protect me with your saving shield. You support me with your right hand. You have stooped to make me great.
Psalm 18:35 NCV
When we take off our masks with God, our emotional lives become spiritual. When we feel low, God stoops down and lifts us up. He creates a truly great life full of deep attachments, powerful victories, and fulfilling purpose.
What follows are five days of Scripture, reflection, and practical steps adapted from an article and workbook I have written for The Chemistry Lab. These daily plans that will guide you down the path toward letting go of masks and embracing the great life that comes from relying on God.
- Day 1: God-awakening
- Day 2: Real prayers
- Day 3: Emotional resilience
- Day 4: Awareness of need
- Day 5: True greatness
Let’s get started.
Finished the introduction?
The introduction done.
Up next · Day 1 · Opens Fri, Nov 6 God-awakening