What do you think about the weather? How is your job going? Is your family doing well? It was a normal conversation between friends
until this question turned the corner of the conversation to more real
matters. What do you do when your walk with the Lord seems stale or when you
feel like you are in a rut? I have
thought long and hard about this conversation over the last few days. And it wasn’t until yesterday, as I was
online looking for a diagnosis for physical symptoms on the internet that my
answer began to piece together.
Are you eating regularly? Translated: Have you been in God’s Word
regularly?
You expected this question. But doctors ask questions we anticipate
because they are important not because they are pat. If you haven’t been in God’s Word, it will
drastically affect your soul just as missing a meal can affect your body. In this case, my dear friend is regularly
in God’s Word. Which naturally led to the next question, What are you eating? Does
that matter? Isn’t all the Bible God’s
Word? Certainly! However, can I make a
case for the fact that at certain times you need to change your spiritual diet? Keep in mind this verse, John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am
the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in
Me will never thirst. This is speaking directly to our dependence on God for salvation. God is the sole provider of soul
food. However, after we are saved our
need for a true source of soul food doesn’t change, it is accentuated. A good source of food in the blah days are
studying the attributes of God and reading about Jesus. In other words, spend more time gazing at
God. What you see will amaze you. Seeing God lifts you out of the doldrums of
this life.
Furthermore, remember that no
spiritual eating is done without interaction with our God through prayer. Praying must accompany reading. It is the fork that must be picked up in
order to carry on our feeding. Why
prayer? The Holy Spirit illuminates the meaning of God’s Word and it is the
Holy Spirit that unleashes the restoring, refreshing and repairing aspect of
God’s Word (Psalm 19:7).
Is there a blockage somewhere? Translated:
Is there unconfessed sin in your life? Several years ago it was recommended to me
to drink this pasty substance that would get rid of gunk that has built up in
my body that needed to be shed. My
body needed a cleansing. There was gunk
that needed to be gotten rid of. Our
soul, too, needs cleansing. Look
carefully at the familiar verse. I John 1:9(NASB) If we confess our sins, He
is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. The symptoms we feel are not to be treated with a pill that simply
takes away the indicator that something is wrong. Instead, we must heed the warning light that
is meant to signal to us the root cause of our issue. Often this root cause is sin. Just as our body struggles when there is a
blockage somewhere in the system so too does our spiritual body. Isaiah 59:1–2 (NASB95) Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it
cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. Spiritual distance with our God comes
from our own sin. Sin blocks God’s face
from us. Therefore, hunt down sin
daily. Once you find the sin source,
agree with God about the problem, stop engaging in this sin, and in the process
the cleansing of our soul will take place.
Don’t overlook the sins of the spirit when you search out your spiritual
issues. Bitterness, anger, resentment,
worry, and fear are sins that many leave unchecked. And whatever you do, don’t blame your sin on
others. Take responsibility!
Have you exercised recently?
One of
the issues that we most need to confess in our lives is self-centered laziness. Sometimes
our blahs come from a lack of exercise.
The point of food is energy but if I never exert myself, the food never
is used up and turns to fat. Get up and
look for a way to minister for the Lord. God doesn’t give us life, energy, or His Word
for idleness. Depression is a common
ailment of many, and I have found that one of the best treatments is looking for
ways to serve others by getting up and serving. Remember, that intercessory prayer tops this
list! You will be amazed how a focus on serving
others affects your spiritual walk.
Are you interacting with the body? - Remember that while your walk is personal with the
Lord, your walk is also clearly interrelated with the walk of others. You are a part of a body. The failure of proper interaction between one
organ and another causes many physical problems and our interaction with our
brothers and sisters in Christ does the same.
In fact, when we don’t interact with other believers, we fail them. Did you know our interaction with one
another stimulates us and others to love and good deeds? God uses others to keep us functioning properly;
Hebrews 10:24-25 makes this clear.
Are you interacting with the whole body? Remember, interaction with one part of the
body may be good, but the whole body has to function together. Therefore, healthy interaction with the
whole body is necessary. Don’t skirt
the issue. Deal with the real
relationship issues you have. Matthew
5:23–24 (NASB95) 23 “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and
there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be
reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
Is God teaching you about the aging process? We all get older and sometimes we have to
deal with things that accompany aging.
But did you know spiritual maturity brings about something unique. It brings about the understanding that every
day is not meant be lived on the top of the mountain. In fact our faith is most suitably grounded,
when we learn to live in the routine of life in a way that is content with what
we have and are. Accompanying
spiritual maturity is contentment.
Philippians 4:11–13 (NASB95) 11 Not that I speak from want,
for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to
live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of
being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Make a list of things for which
you are thankful. Count your blessings! And then remember you deserve none of
them. They are all a portrait of God’s
grace to you.
Have you had a checkup lately? Have you
considered stopping what you are doing for a day or two and doing a spiritual
inventory? Just as a routine check-up
physically has merit so does a routine check-up spiritually. Have you considered taking a day for a
spiritual evaluation? Perhaps working
carefully through a list like this or a more extensive list and really taking
spiritual inventory before the Lord would be beneficial. Asking another person to help you in this
evaluation process would increase the value.
Perhaps taking 6 weeks with a spiritual mature believer to deal with a
spiritual issue with which you have been struggling might be the need.
We all need constant renewal. May our wonderful God refresh your soul and
mine today!
