When we're super close to God, on a "Spiritual high"... maybe from a conference, or just a great conversation, or maybe some intense prayer-- we could say we are on a mountain top. Everything is great! Life is wonderful! God is good!
And then there are the valleys... the times when things are really rough. Someone betrayed or disappointed you. You lost someone dear to you. Money is tight. Whatever it is, you feel your need for God desperately, and you are forced to rely on Him. (We hope...)
But what about the rest of the time? After all, you don't stay on the mountain top long... and hopefully you don't linger in the valley, either. So... then what? Everything's just flat, boring, common... you aren't super close to God, and you don't "need" Him desperately...
As I continued to ponder this, the thought came to me-- are the sides of the mountains really flat? Oh no, not at all. There are bumps. Lots of them. Big and little. There are curves in the path. There are mini mountains and valleys... Plenty of chances to cry out to God for help, and many many chances to praise and thank Him. All too often, though, we overlook them. We tend to think we are on a spiritual "plain". Stuck out in the flatlands.
If you look at it this way, though... every day is filled with moments--bumps--where we can call out to God. And if we take those chances, recognizing our constant need for God and His constant goodness to us, we will continue to draw closer to God and develop a more Christ-like attitude.
So, challenge yourself: learn to recognize the bumps and low spots-- and respond either with thanksgiving or pleading with God for help!
Thank you; this is thought-provoking. After a recent time of backsliding - I let myself think I was too busy to read the Bible and pray, only the most important things I do :P - I began to wonder if there are ANY plains in the Christian life. Perhaps we are always either climbing or sliding back. I'm trying to live with that perspective and take care to put my effort into climbing. The Celestial City is at the end, and is the best of all encouragements to keep going.
ReplyDelete~Edith
You are welcome, Edith! :) Yeah... I know how that is. Funny how we lie to ourselves. :( This morning it was rather an effort to pray, for some reason... but I pressed on and did it anyways. I wish it was always easy... but it just isn't. Hopefully, though, as I continue to draw closer to Christ, it will become more and more of a joy.
ReplyDeleteHmm... interesting though. I don't know, really. Perhaps that is true--we might think we aren't going any where, when, in fact, we are either sliding back or going forward at a barely perceptible rate... *ponders* I'll be thinking about that a while now, hehe.
Yes indeed! Thank you, that is a helpful thought. :)
With Joy, because of Him,
Carissa