Ancient Christian Wisdom for When Life Feels Unbearable

What the Desert Fathers, Isaac of Nineveh, and early Christian texts offer when suffering deepens and easy answers fail

If the start of 2026 feels heavier than hopeful, you’re not imagining it—and you’re not alone.

I’ve been carrying my own share of darkness since late last year, the kind that doesn’t lift when you try harder or think differently. When that happens, I don’t look for motivation. I look for voices that understand what it means to endure.

That’s where early Christian voices have helped me most—figures like Abba Poemen, the author of the Gospel of Thomas, Macarius of Egypt, and Isaac of Nineveh.

These writers knew the inner terrain of sadness, endurance, and spiritual exhaustion. They had no prosperity gospel, no slogans to shout into the void, no pressure to perform joy. They never tell us to snap out of it, to fix ourselves, or to pretend the dark isn’t real. Instead, they offer perspective shaped by long familiarity with suffering.

They've been in the darkness. They know the landscape of trauma.

They speak to the heart without trying to conquer it.

Abba Poemen (Desert Father, 5th c.)

“Do not give your heart to that which does not satisfy your heart." – Sayings of the Desert Fathers 

How Abba Poemen helps:
Right off the bat, this is a reminder that events, inanimate objects, and other people will break our hearts. We even ourselves often let ourselves down, and sell ourselves short. Hoping for anything different is setting ourselves up for disappointment.

There's nothing wrong with having loved ones, a home, and a career, but basing our happiness on those things doesn't work in the long run. If the source of our well-being is in the world, then the world can take that well-being away as easily as it gave.

When that happens, it's time for us to move deeper, find our connection to the divine, and get real. That gives us a satisfaction our external circumstances can't touch.

Isaac of Nineveh (Isaac the Syrian, 7th c.)

“Do not call God just, for his justice is not manifest in the things concerning you. And if David calls him just and upright, his Son has revealed to us that he is good and kind.” – Ascetical Homilies

How Isaac of Nineveh helps:
For those who, like me, wrestle with the contradiction of a loving God against a creation that involves so much suffering, this is a balm. Our survival – our life itself – is based on the death of other creatures, both plants and animals.

I've never been able to square that – and here, Isaac of Nineveh is basically saying "Don't worry, you don't have to figure it out. We know God is good, because Jesus told us so. Beyond that, it's above your pay grade."

Gospel of Thomas

“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.” –  Gospel of Thomas, Saying 70

How the Gospel of Thomas helps:
 Suppressed pain corrodes, and that truth—however bleak—is salvific. Sometimes we don't recognize the truth of our situation. It less painful to ignore or make excuses for people, habits, and events that are off track. Things don't generally fix themselves, but left along will gradually get worse until the pain they cause breaches our senses, flooding us with unexpected despair.

For me, this is when pain becomes almost physical – I find myself leaning over, grasping my solar plexus. Just letting the sensations come as they will is all I can do. It helps to not question or try to stop it, but rather let the emotional wounds bleed as long as they need to.

Macarius of Egypt

“The heart is but a small vessel; and yet lions and dragons, and also poisonous beasts and every treasure of wickedness, are there; and there too are God, the angels, life, the Kingdom, light, the apostles, the heavenly cities, and the treasures of grace — all things are there.” – Attributed to St. Macarius the Egyptian (Pseudo-Macarius), Homily 43, in the Fifty Spiritual Homilies.

How Macarius helps:
This is one of the most psychologically accurate passages in early Christianity. Our inner darkness does not negate our holiness; they coexist within us, just as they do in the world. We are part of creation, and by examining it, we can better understand ourselves.

This isn't a license to harm others or ourselves, of course. What it IS, is a needed memo that spirituality is deeply complex and not at all what we get in Sunday school, or on Instagram reels.

Abba Poemen

“Teach your mouth to say what is in your heart.” –  Sayings of the Desert Fathers 

How Abba Poemen helps, again:
We began our list with Abba Poemen, and we'll close it out with him too. Here, he warns us against forced positivity. He advises us to tell the truth—even when it's grim. Even when we don't have the words to describe our trouble, attempting to name them helps us pull some meaning out of the murky waters of undifferentiated emotion.

It's also a call to stop "hiding the bottles" and give up the fiction that everything's fine, fine, fine.

How are you?

Many of us are so used to answering that with a cheery "great, thanks!" even when we're drowning. I'm not saying we should bleed all over the shoes of every person who wishes us a good day, but finding the one or two we can really talk to can be life changing.

If our family and friends can't or won't respectfully listen, then Abba Poemen urges us to find someone who will. Counselors and religious leaders are trained to take on this important, caring task, but they're only one option. A private journal tucked away in a notebook or on our laptop is another. Anyone or anything (other than AI) that listens compassionately and without criticism is a candidate.

Once the seal is broken on our secrets, sometimes we'll find ourselves telling them over and over again to everyone – even strangers in line at the checkout.

I used to tell friends that I finally found freedom from a particular traumatic event only after telling the story a thousand times.

That number may be off, but the technique is solid. It worked when I thought I'd never be whole again. It worked for me, and I offer it as a suggestion for you, too.

Godspeed on your journey.

If You’d Like to Go a Little Deeper

If these ancient voices speak to you, I’ll be exploring this tradition more fully in a live online seminar on February 7, Before Doctrine, There Was Experience. We’ll look at early Christian spirituality as it was lived and practiced—especially in times of uncertainty and struggle.

You’re welcome to join me here → https://payhip.com/b/fd0my