We’ve all been there…
If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time you’ll know that faith takes it’s ups and downs. Sometimes it feels like you’re drowning in doubt and others is feels like you could jump off the mountain top and fly. It’s hard to explain these seasons but they happen to all of us. Perhaps the easy answer is that even though we have been given a new life through faith in God, we are still human. We will still stumble and fall until the final day of redemption.
I’ve found myself thinking it would be nice to have some sort of algorithm that would tell me when a changing of the seasons was coming my way. Then I could mentally prepare for the valley or maybe work hard enough to avoid it all together. Unfortunately, life isn’t so kind as to give us heads up like that. You see the thing is, there are so many different ways these highs and lows come about. We go to a retreat and we’re on a spiritual high. Then a week later we’re back at work, overwhelmed and we just can’t fit God in. Soon our bible study starts a new book and we have this spiritual awakening. But before you know it we lose a close friend and we’re back in the pit.
It would be easy to say that if we truly believed in God and His work in our lives we wouldn’t experience these things. Reality is that even the most devout believers go through challenges and face doubts in their faith. The question isn’t really if we will face valleys, but when we will face them, and more importantly how we will face them.
My Story…
When I started Bible Journaling I was drowning spiritually. At the time I knew it, but I couldn’t admit it to anyone. It was a particularly long season of spiritual dryness for me. One that I didn’t do much to help myself out of. I was upset with God for allowing hurt into my life. I felt like I had been obedient to him, but was rewarded with grief.
It was hard place to come out of. Bitterness had taken root and I watered that seed rather than the seeds of faith in my life. It’s not a proud time for me, but as I look back I see God was still working in my life. While I was busy watering weeds He was planting good seeds that I am now beginning to see the sprouts and fruit of.
I can see now that Bible Journaling was the tool God used to reach out and save me from that deep water I had got myself into. You see, Bible Journaling was a way for me to connect with God’s word and remind myself of truth I had been forgetting. I was too busy thinking “Why is God taking so long to help me?” Instead of meditating on the truth, I was listening to the enemies lies and I was believing them! But God, He delighted in me all the same. He wanted to rescue me from that place, in His good timing and through His perfect plan.
“He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.”2 Samuel 22:17-20 (NIV)
Bible Journaling took a passion of mine and turned it into a way to meditate on the truth of God. Once I started meditating on those truths, my heart began to soften. With time I began to be ready for the healing God was prepared to give me.
It wasn’t all at once, but slowly as I continued to steep in Scripture, I began to realize that God had rescued me from the pit. He was giving me new life and I was able to live in faith and obedience to Him once again. I was able to trust His plan in spite of not knowing or understanding what it was.
I won’t fool myself into thinking that I will never find myself in a valley again. However, I hope that as I pursue my relationship with God and as I pursue seeds of truth, those valleys would be shallow and short lived. The key to shallow and short lived valleys is to stay connected to God through scripture and prayer, even when it’s hard. Maybe Bible Journaling isn’t the way for you, but it’s been a game changer for me. If Bible Journaling isn’t your thing, I encourage you to find a way to take what you are passionate about and turn it into way to connect with God and hear His truth.
What are some things you do when you are trying to get out of a spiritual rut? Share your ideas below and encourage one another as we go through our seasons of faith.
Also, be sure to check out last week’s blog where Jeanna shared about how Bible Jouranling changed her prayer life and shared a little freebie with everyone.
