Everyone loves to be on a “spiritual high.” You know what I’m talking about—those times when being in God’s presence is a sheer joy and you take delight in spending precious moments with Him as He illumines your mind to new truths. These mountain-top experiences lift you to a heightened awareness of His presence and goodness. I have been experiencing these lately and quite honestly, I do not want to descend the mountain. By the grace of God, I recently completed writing my memoir—On Eagle’s Wings: A mother’s story of hope and healing amidst suffering and loss. The last year and a half has been filled with tears as I recalled the experience of losing my 9 year old son to death. In order to accurately document my story, I needed to return to a difficult time in my past and relive the pain again. I welcomed God’s presence as I painstakingly wrote chapter after chapter. I felt His fresh wounds alongside mine. I know that I was not journeying alone—Jesus was with me all along. Since completing my book, I have been on that mountain-top experiencing so much love from not only God Himself but also from others who have read my story. I sense His approval as I feel His favor resting on me. What a wonderful place to be!
What do you do, however, when you find yourself in that valley and your spiritual energy is zapped and the former communion you shared with God has become rote, dull, and even stagnant? Maybe you are feeling bored with reading the Scriptures and distracted in your prayers. Ironically, we’ve all been there too. I think sometimes God allows us to go back down to the valley, not to punish or discipline, but to allow a fresh hunger to rise up inside of us. While it is wonderful to savor pleasant God-experiences, they are not meant to sustain us in the long haul. I believe that God desires for us to seek Him in new and fresh ways, continually growing deeper in our knowledge and awareness of Him. It is inevitable that old practices and rituals will only become stale after awhile, and could even cause us to feel as if we have hit a “dead end” in our relationship with the Lord. Maybe it is time to put those formerly comfortable disciplines aside to try something new.
As a hermit crab eventually outgrows the shell on its back and has to go in search of a new one that is roomier, we too may feel a need to move in a new and different structure in order to accommodate the growth spurt God intends for us. As Christians I don’t believe we are supposed to settle for spiritual mediocrity. However, we need to do our part in helping to effectuate the change and growth that God desires for us. We can’t sit idly by and do nothing. Even the hermit crab will leave its formerly comfortable shell in search of a new one. We also must leave behind old, unproductive practices in search of new ones.
There are many spiritual disciplines we can use to draw closer to God. You need not look any further than within yourself. Maybe you can establish a new habit of spending the first five minutes when you awake in conscious awareness of God. Before even getting out of bed, think of Him, talk to Him, and let Him order your day. Or maybe throughout the day you can offer up “breath prayers,” which are simply phrases you say to God within a breath. “Give me a heart for you,” or “Help me to abide in you.” It doesn’t matter what you do, simply seek to draw closer to Jesus as you become aware of His presence within you. Don’t settle for spiritual dryness. And above all, don’t wait too long. Sometimes the hermit crab waits too long to venture out of its comfortable shell to find its new home. When it can’t find one fast enough, it dies, unable to protect itself from the weather and other oceanic species. Move forcefully beyond the stagnation and expand your horizons. There may just be another mountain-top experience awaiting you.
"Call to me and I will tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3
The Lord says, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men." Isaiah 29:13
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13
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