Sustainability.....

No one wants to go into a season of spiritual dryness. No one desires that their walk with the Lord becomes stagnant. No one hopes for spiritual apathy. But it happens. It happens to the very best of Christians. Even the most dedicated of those who follow Christ get lulled to sleep. It happened to me recently, not just for a week, but for a much longer period. The question is why did it happen and how do I prevent it in the future.

Lets begin with the why. It happens because Satan attacks and convinces the believer that the need for spiritual vitality is not that real. The Devil makes one think that they are doing just fine, when they are in fact struggling. In my case, Satan convinced me that if I was in the Word just a little, prayed and went to church that my walk with the Lord was "A Okay." There are a million things that can take our eyes off of Christ: other people, work, money, hobbies and the list goes on and on.

There is one thing however that will bring Him back into sharp focus in our lives and that is to experience just a bit of pain. Introduce an ounce of pain into the life of a believer and spiritual growth will almost certainly follow. Pain is the most sure fire catalyst for growth. Shouldn't we then welcome the pain? Shouldn't we welcome anything that would bring us closer to Him? Afterall, the ultimate point and purpose of life is fellowship with Christ. All things must bow to that purpose. Even good things are not good if they take away from intimacy with Him.

Now for the preventative part. How do we as believers safegaurd against seasons of spiritual futility? Well, I would love to hear your thoughts, but here are just a few of mine. A few steps to sustained spiritual vitality: 1) Be about Him, not about yourself or anyone else. 2) Don't just read the Word, but absorb it and allow enough time for it to change your heart. 3) Give yourself to the Lord fully in uninhibited, absolute, fall on your face, deep, soul shaking worship. Allow God to work in your heart through praising Him and just being fully in His presence.

The cry of my heart is to know the full and complete joy of being His and knowing Him intimately. The Psalmist said it this way, may this be the prayer and hope of my life:
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me (Psalm 51:12).