How do we cope with the down times in our lives? Where should we turn when we feel spiritually dry, when nothing in our lives feels productive, and circumstances conspire to discourage us from actions we thought were important?
In short, what can we do when we’re “spiritually” depressed?
It’s in these times that I think the Old Testament provides our best guidance. The Hebrews got “spiritually depressed” a lot.
They called out to God and it seemed forever before they got answers (think of the 400 years of slavery in Egypt). Then when deliverance came (with Moses), it didn’t end up looking the way they expected.
The experiences of Israel in the wilderness give us a lot to glean for sustenance in the valleys of our own journeys. That’s why I’d like to spend some time in the next weeks looking more closely at the lessons we can learn there.
But let’s begin with this thought: times of dryness are part of the faith experience. They’re not pleasant times, but they are invaluable to the growth of our relationship with the Lord.
In my own experience, God uses these times to teach us. Ideas that escape us on the mountaintop get drilled into us in the everyday workaday world of the “lowlands.” As CS Lewis observes in The Screwtape Letters, “He (God) relies on the troughs even more than the peaks” for deepening our faith.
Too often, we try to minimize or deny this brooding depression, or even worse, blame ourselves for failing to keep our spiritual acumen sharp. I’m sure God much prefers we simply pray for help: admit we feel lost, or abandoned, or broken, or unfairly treated.
Then stand and wait to see what God is going to do about it.
Believe that the Lord will answer, but be ready. God’s replies tend to be as challenging as they are surprising.
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