
Actor, comedian and three-month old Christian Russell Brand is reflecting on an important lesson he’s been learning on his new faith journey.
In a video posted on Instagram this week, Brand shares that he’s been reflecting on what it means to feel close to God, and what it means to not feel Him at all.
“I’ve been a Christian now for three months, and sometimes I find it quite difficult,” he begins. “What I mean by that is I feel like sometimes Christ is far away. I don’t feel the intimate connection with Christ.”
He then reads 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, which is about new believers taking small steps to grow their faith: “Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?”
“I heard yesterday in church that even when I can’t feel God, God is working on me,” Brand said. “God is working me into the shape that He needs me to be. What I wanted to ask you today is how do you cope when you feel that you’re not close to Christ? Because surely there’s more to this than just feeling OK. If you want to feel OK, then drink a bunch or take a bunch of drugs or eat a load of candy, for temporarily at least that will offer you some sort of salve or at least distraction.”
Brand has posted dozens of videos over the last several months, sharing his faith journey with his followers, asking them for clarity and feedback as he steps into a new season of faith. Back in May, he posted his first update, saying that in just a few short weeks he’d already felt “a big change.”
“Not that I’ve entirely changed as a person,” he said. “Of course, I haven’t, but I’ve taken on a lot of new concepts, and it changes you to accept that it’s not like you’re in a game show, and by doing really, really good things, you can get redeemed.”