Church…blah, blah, blah.
Communion…blah, blah, blah.
Bible study…blah, blah, blah.
Prayer…blah, blah, blah.
Quiet time…blah, blah, blah.
Do you ever feel like you’re living a blah spiritual life?
I definitely do. I’ve been a Christian since I was really little. I know all the right things to do, but I am also tired of doing the right things.
If you’ve been saved for a while, you know exactly how I feel. You feel like you’re walking on a spiritual desert. Maybe you’ve felt that way for six days, six months, or six years. You feel distant from Jesus, but you can’t understand your lack of enthusiasm because He is the only One who loved you enough to die for you.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret: our feelings often don’t make sense. They’re extremely fickle and unreliable.
I have felt far from God for several years of my Christian life. (*Gasp.*) I know. It’s crazy. How could I have grown up in church, memorized countless Bible verses, and written this spiritual growth blog for over a year when I feel so far from God?
Super important truth: Just because you feel far from God doesn’t mean you are far from Him.
I’m sure you don’t need a refresher course on the Ten Commandments or the basic spiritual disciplines because you know all the right things to do, too. We all know that we’re supposed to take communion, attend church, fellowship with other believers, worship, serve in church, study the Bible, pray, and memorize Scripture. We put on our fancy dresses and ties while carrying study Bibles and highlighters…
But inside, many of us feel spiritually dry—and maybe even spiritually dead. (Another *gasp.*)
It’s okay. I promise you’re not spiritually dead if you are saved.
Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:8-11 NASB)
You may be spiritually dry, but you aren’t spiritually dead, thanks to Christ’s death and resurrection. As a Christian, you can still feel distracted and far from God and spiritually dry. Just study the Psalms for a few minutes, and you’ll easily figure out that David felt this way, too.
To You, O Lord, I call; my rock, do not be deaf to me, for if You are silent to me, I will become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help, when I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary. Do not drag me away with the wicked and with those who work iniquity, who speak peace with their neighbors, while evil is in their hearts. Requite them according to their work and according to the evil of their practices; requite them according to the deeds of their hands; Repay them their recompense. Because they do not regard the works of the Lord nor the deeds of His hands, He will tear them down and not build them up. Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplication. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him. (Psalm 28:1-7 NASB)
David experienced feelings of spiritual dryness, but he never stopped turning to God.
Maybe that was one of the reasons God called David a man after His heart. David knew who to turn to, and he did. He knew all the right things to do, and he did them faithfully—even when he felt like God was far away. He sought Him when He seemed silent.
Do you?
Maybe you feel distant from God because you’ve wandered away from Him and have been walking on your own sinful path. Or maybe you can’t understand why He feels so far away.
It doesn’t matter whether we’re on a spiritual high or a spiritual low. We need to keep doing what God tells us to do.
I rarely feel like I get anything out of church, singing hymns, doing my quiet time, or memorizing verses. I sometimes feel like my prayers are bouncing off the ceiling. I am tempted to think that something is wrong with my church because I don’t feel like I’m growing.
But living the Christian life isn’t supposed to give me something because I already have everything I need. Christ already gave me Himself.
Now I am supposed to give Him something—my devotion and my obedience.
So try to stick with it, friend. I know it’s tough. I know it feels like you’re wasting your time, but God is pleased when you obey Him. When you take communion, study His Word, pray, worship, fellowship, and serve, God is pleased.
Whether you feel satisfied or totally fed up with your Christian walk, God is with you. His Spirit still lives inside of you. Just keep doing the right things.
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 